2021 Rewind

 

Happy New Year everyone!

This year has defiantly been the craziest one in a long time and yet it has flown by.  Looking back it seems surreal to me all that has happened in the past 365 days. So, as is tradition I wanted to share with you a look back into last year in my 2021 rewind.

I started to write this post detailing what happened and how I felt each month, but I only made it to April and I didn’t like how negative it made the year sound.  So, I wanted to try something else that would recognize the hard times but focus on the good times.

The first three months of 2021 was the lowest I think I have ever felt.  Anxiety was at an all time high, I was fed up, sad and spent most nights in floods of tears.  It was during this time that I really learnt the importance and power of gratitude and looking on the positive side of things.  As cases/deaths decreased and the vaccination process was in full swing, we began to come out of lockdown.  By April, the end was in sight, the roadmap was set out and we would soon be able to see family/friends and the events industry would open giving me the hope that I would return to my dream job.

Although these months were some of my worst, I learnt so much and so I don’t want to forget that. I normally describe myself as a glass half full, positive person.  But being positive doesn’t have to mean you are happy all the time.  It means that even on the toughest days you know better ones are coming. This is a lesson I hope to carry with me forever.

Better days did come and looking back I actually did a lot more than I thought, despite various restrictions!

I had some amazing family reunions from dinners and shopping trips to my Aunties wedding.  It was so nice to finally see everyone again and what a way to celebrate than at a wedding.  It was a beautiful ceremony and the evening was filled with lots of dancing, laughs and crazy games.  I even got to help decorate it which was so nice to do again!

In May I recorded a song with my sister about our relationship and growing up together which was so much fun. Check her out on Instagram @wattnotsings for amazing covers and originals.

I made some amazing memories with friends, making the local paper watching the football, breaking out of my first escape room, going on dog walks and dancing away at the local festival.

In July I had the best staycation with my boyfriend and my family in Wales.  We climbed Mount Snowden, climbed a waterfall, went extreme canyoning and so much more.  It was a beautiful week filled with love and laughter that I will always remember. 

 

In October I completed the Great South Run blindfolded and deaf in order to raise money and awareness for Ushers Syndrome.  My boyfriend and I completed it in under 2 hours and raised an incredible £1,422.  It will be a day I never forget as I crossed the line and hugged my cousin who was diagnosed with Ushers Syndrome. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing boyfriend who was quite literally tied to me the whole way round!

To celebrate my birthday, my boyfriend and I were lucky to make it to Paris in November!  It was such a magical weekend as we saw all the sights from The Louvre, Notre Dame, St Chapelle, Arc de Triomphe and even climbed the Eiffel Tower. Our first trip away together and I didn’t want it to end.  Although it was very different due to COVID restrictions, we were lucky to get to go and do all that we did there. If you want to read more about out trip, check out my previous blog post: Birthday trip to Paris.

Another great thing to come out of 2021 was my job.  The year began in roadworks, dreaming about events. In August, my dream came true as the events industry re-opened and I landed an internship at one of the local museums.  I met some amazing people and learnt a lot during my time there.  My biggest achievement being planning and coordinating the first live event on their newest attraction, a WW2 vessel.  As I stood there watching the performance, news camera around me and audience members singing along my eyes filled with tears.  This had been what I was waiting for.  I was back in the world of events and I felt so happy.

Having been triple jabbed Christmas was finally here and I got to celebrate it surrounded by all my family.  It felt so good to be able to bring our traditions back and sit around the tree once more.  Although the crazy is starting to come back with a new variant on the loose it didn’t matter for we were together at last.

Unfortunately, my new year hasn’t started how I had hoped.  As the clock struck midnight, I sat on facetime to my boyfriend, a shot of night nurse in my hand watching the London fireworks suffering with COVID. 

It may not have been the start to the year I had hoped, but if I have learnt anything from last year it’s that it can always go up.  2021 had its good times and its bad.  I feel I have grown a lot as I experienced new things and took on new challenges.

I don’t know what 2022 will hold but unlike last year, I feel a lot more positive and I know good things are coming.

Let's Chat How I've Really Felt

I started this blog about 2 years ago with the idea that I could document my life as I entered my 20s to share the good the bad and the ugly sides of growing up, sharing tips and tricks along the way.  I have always loved doing it and over the past few months in particular, I have found it a HUGE help in distracting my mind from the crazy situation we are in and I hope it helped do this for others as well, even if it was for only a few minutes. 

However,  I do feel with blogs and social media, people can get lost in what is really going on and what people really feel.  Just because that is what you see or read, doesn’t mean it is the whole truth.  I mean do you really think for the past three months I woke up every day and had a full face of makeup on, a cute outfit and went on a run every day..... no chance haha! The thing to remember with a lot of social media and blogs is that people share what they want you to see, including me. 

You may have noticed that I have not spoken much about the current situation and if I’m honest it’s because I didn’t know what to say....I didn’t want to think about it.... I was in my little bubble of baking, reading and sunbathing in the garden, so that is what I shared with you.  I guess you could say I was distracted and trying not to think about what was going on outside my front door and in a way I wanted to help distract some of you from all of the crazy.

For us in the UK this week in particular has seen lockdown restrictions ease.  As this has happened, I have found myself reflecting on the past 3 months.  Like I said before, I started this blog as a way to document my life and share this with you in the hope that it helps some of you whether that be with tips, recommendations or even to reassure you that you are not alone.  With that being said,  I wanted to share with you how I really felt during lockdown and how I am feeling now we are coming out. So, grab a cuppa tea and a biscuit.... this could get deep!

When the virus first began to hit the UK, I remember feeling very scared and anxious as people began to panic, supermarket shelves were bare, restaurants were empty and retail shops closed their doors. It all seemed to happen so fast and I couldn’t wrap my head around what was going on.  When we first went into lockdown, I remember leaving my office at work a few days prior thinking we would be back to work after a few weeks. I remember seeing my boyfriend saying we would see each other soon thinking we would be reunited in a few weeks.  Not once did I think 3 months later and I would still not be back in the office and only allowed just allowed to see my boyfriend.  I was upset and frustrated that this was happening and I had no control over it.  That along with the fear of the unknown did not help my anxiety.  After spending the first week in bed in tears, I finally decided I had to get up and do something to distract myself.  So, I kept myself in a little bubble where I would bake, paint my nails, sun bathe and work on my blog and Instagram.

Some may think I’m crazy when I say this, but once I got myself out of this dark place I did enjoy being in my little bubble.  I got to do things I don’t normally have time for and I liked that I had more time to focus on me. I learnt a lot about myself and those I love and there are many things I would like to continue doing now we are coming out of lockdown.

When I say I was enjoying time in my little bubble, that isn’t to say I wasn’t aware of what was going on outside my house.  I found myself almost addicted to the news watching it every day at 5pm to see what announcements came finding my tummy tighten more as the days went on.  I couldn’t and still can’t believe how surreal this whole this was and still is.  At times I still find myself asking if I am dreaming.   I did have my bad days, we all did!  I found distance from my boyfriend difficult, I lost a family member and my job. There were times where I found myself focusing on the negatives and had days where I didn’t get up and didn’t do anything. But I have tried not to let those feelings consume me, and I tell myself to have the down day (get it out my system) then I picked myself up and get on with it trying to focus on the positives.

If I’m being 100% honest I think I have found coming out of lockdown harder than going into it. I was very anxious about the whole idea as I knew things would not be the same but I didn’t know what to expect. When first seeing people for social distancing meet-ups it did feel very strange at first, but we soon forgot why we were sat 2 metres apart and just accepted it as conversation and laughter filled the air. It took a few trips to shops to get used to the new normal of queuing, one way systems, masks and sneeze screens.  But as the days have gone on, I have found myself doing things such as 2 metre social distancing, queuing and hand sanitising without even thinking about it - so I guess you could say I am getting used to the new normal.  

This whole thing still isn’t over and anxiety with the fear of the unknown is still there, some days better than others.  But I am trying to take each day as it comes as that is all we can do right now.  I have learnt to accept that not every day is going to be great and that is okay.  We all experience things differently.  So, I just wanted to be honest with you all and let you know what has really been going on the past few months as Instagram and past blog posts are just a snippet of my life.  We all have our good and bad days surrounding the current situation and that is okay. I hope this post has helped some of you, I am always here for a chat if you need!