I’ve been sharing my “Best Of’s” from the past year over the last several weeks, but that only touches on the year that I’ve had.  There are things that I can’t put into words: frustrations, challenges, and bright spots; just like every other year… but here we go.

I started 2022 with a lot of optimism, I chose the word “Growth” as my word for the year because I wanted to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone. I had been in my position at work for about 6 months and had a relatively new team. We were working well together and starting to see some good momentum starting. I was resigned to my family situation, just starting to come out to people IRL, and trying to give myself grace to get back into my reading groove after two years of anxiety-prompted reading slumps.

Overall, I think this was a good year. Work went really well with winning praise and awards and seeing a lot of recognition for my team. I also got some travel in to areas of Oregon I had never been before, including an amazing trip to the coast. I either attended or planned (or both) several successful events and got to try new things, like my first wine tasting. I was also able to donate more this year to amazing causes and give back in a lot of unique ways. I got to know the people I work with better. And I got to know myself better.

I read great books, and bought so many books. I participated in my favorite readathons again after missing out part of 2021. I fell back in love with blogging and am excited about writing posts again. I got an entirely new wardrobe and have embraced some new styles. And I had more good mental health days than bad.

The year wasn’t all good, of course. We experienced a loss in our family when my uncle’s wife passed away, as well as my sister-in-law’s father. My brother totaled his car, but was thankfully not hurt. And the election season brought all of the tension and differences between myself and the rest of my family to the surface again. I had to come to the realization that being surrounded by people with such negative energy is not good for my mental health.

But I think that I am stronger now than I was at the start of the year, and I’m ready for whatever the next year brings…