Hey Owlets,
This year has been a whirlwind, not in terms of time going fast but in everything that’s happened. Recently I’ve noticed online that it’s become cool to hate this year, and yes this year has been pretty terrible, but I’m a firm believer of trying to find the positives in everything. Growing up with my Dad’s poor health I’ve always been taught to make the most of every day, and jumping on the “I hate this year” bandwagon totally goes against that. Instead, I wanted to spread a little positivity by discussing a few good things that have happened to me this year, and I hope that this will encourage you to look for some positives too.
While this isn’t done in order of preference I feel like someone is going to start asking questions if I don’t mention the most obvious thing first. 2020 has seen me go from the girl who said she was done with guys and was going to spend all her time travelling to living with my boyfriend. I honestly didn’t see this coming, and I actually don’t think it’s something that would’ve happened for a long time if it wasn’t for the pandemic. It was something we had discussed before as a thing that could happen in the future, but something about managing to stay in one room together for 4 months without wanting to kill each other moved things along a little. I actually have to laugh because at the end of 2018 I met up with my friend for Christmas drinks and she said how she didn’t want children, while I said I was just going to travel and wasn’t interested in dating. Fast forward two years and she has a one-year-old while I have a home with my boyfriend - it’s really weird to think how much has changed but I can genuinely say I’m really happy in life right now.
Strengthened Relationships
This kind of goes hand-in-hand with my first point, but it’s broader than just mine and Jack’s relationship. 2020 has shown me the people that I can truly count on. Yes, being in one room with your boyfriend for 4 months is make or break, but I also want to take a moment to appreciate my friends. There’s nothing quite like everything going wrong to show you who you can rely on. I moved here this year leaving all my friends behind and I’ve been lucky to end up really good friends with Jack’s friends, but it’s also friends that have made the effort to keep in touch or go out of their way to check on me that have made my heart feel full. This year may have been one giant cock-up but I’m leaving it with closer friends and knowing people better than I could’ve imagined.
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| Taken in January when life was normal |
I Found a New Appreciation for my Home Town
I don’t even know if this counts because I’ve just moved, but by “home town” I just mean my local area in general. Since my first trip three years ago I’ve been pretty much constantly on the move, either within the UK or abroad, and I’ve not really appreciated having a city that receives millions of tourists (yes millions, I fact-checked) every year right on my doorstep. I’m always planning the next time I’m going to leave, and not being able to leave has made me look at and take time to explore the local area a lot more. This year I’ve explored more Bristol suburbs than I think I’ve ever visited in 24 years of living here and now when Jack has time off and we want to go for a walk we have so many options, when at the start of this year I felt like we went to three different places and that was it.
My Blog Grew & Gave Me Purpose
I’m not usually one to speak about my job or finances on the internet, but it feels important now. Since leaving university in 2017 I’ve been a bit lost. I tried freelance photography for a while and decided I hated it, I had a few part time jobs and then I just kind of floated for a while. I lived at home with my parents and had some savings so money wasn’t a major issue so I decided to focus on building my blog. I still felt a bit lost and while I got to do a few amazing trips I’d probably made about £50 in my entire time as a blogger. When lockdown happened I decided to really push my blog and I was shocked how quickly things grew. I’d never had the time to push it because I was travelling, but with being at home I’ve managed to turn my hobby into a job. Thanks to 2020 I can officially say I’m now self-employed as a blogger, copywriter and freelance just-about-anything-that-pays-my-rent. I feel so lucky to be able to do this full time now, rather than a “I’m just going to do this full time for a while until I figure out what I’m doing with my life”. Somehow the year that threw everything we knew out of the window has given me the sense of purpose that I’d been lacking. I never knew what I wanted to do in life, and it turns out that blogging is what was missing.
I’ve Become more Independent & Confident
I have to laugh as I’m writing this because I know how many times a week I phone my parents to ask them how to do something that I feel everyone else already knows, but I do still feel like I’ve become more independent. Before this year I would ask my family for support on EVERYTHING. With the pandemic you were only allowed one household at viewings, so where I would’ve asked my family to come with me to give me their opinion I had to rely on my own instincts. I’ve learnt a lot this year and as much as I hate to say it I do think I’m more of a successful adult now than I was this time last year. I can handle a lot more stress and do a lot more without asking for help, and for someone who struggles with overthinking about everything that’s a big thing for me to do.
2020 hasn’t been a good year for anyone, and I know that I write this from a position of privilege as someone who hasn’t had to risk their health to go to work, lost their job or loved ones in the pandemic. I always get a little nervous to write things like this because someone will always take offence at me trying to be positive. I know that this year has been varying degrees of difficult for everyone, but I hope this encourages you to look for even the smallest specs of light in this awful year because I promise you that being thankful for the small blessings will make this year feel a lot less awful.
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