Man, it’s been a minute since I’ve visited my own website. Hell, it’s been a minute since I’ve wanted to do anything to feed my creative side. I took to Instagram a couple weeks ago to do a poll on whether or not I should share my best and worst of 2020–the people (20 to be exact) want to know what I was up to. So here we are! This is my 2020 recap: the good & the bad.
- Paid off my car! I purchased my car, Reese Cup, at the start of my travel nursing career at the end of 2014. Though she was quite the splurge at the time (looking back) I wouldn’t have had it any other way. She’s my fave and now she’s mine-mine as of January 2020.
- Traveled to Columbus, OH. Though extremely cold and snowy, I got to visit my best friend in her new home relatively soon after she relocated. (January 2020)
- Completed Alex Elle Writing Course. One of my New Year goals for 2020 was to do more introspective work and everything that I kept seeing Alex Elle post on IG was resonating with me. I loved her energy and perspective and I wanted to tap into similar insights. Plus, I love writing so participating in her journaling class made so much sense for me. (January 2020)
- Solo trip to Seattle, WA. Since my solo trip to Austin, TX in 2019, I’d decided to do a solo trip at the beginning of every year thereafter. Seattle had always been a bucket list travel spot for me and I figured “why not?” This was in February 2020 when coronavirus was *just being talked about. The buzz of its danger was looming, but business was carrying on as usual. Wow! What a great trip for me it was indeed. Little did I know that’d be the last for a long while. (February 2020)
- Ran a 15K. I had plans to run the Kentucky Derby Half Marathon in April 2020 and so I had started my training in November 2019. I looked up races I could do in the area to see how I was progressing (track my time, pace, etc) and this race popped up. On a whim, I signed up and did what needed to be done…finish. LOL
- Cancelled cable! For whatever reason, I’ve always had cable (privilege). In May of 2020 I realized I could live without it. Y’all may be like, “duh,” but I had a tight grip on cable. I’m happy to report that I don’t miss it…not one bit.
- Restarted therapy…with a black woman. Black therapists matter. I’ve done therapy off and on in the past but they were never BLACK. And man-o-man what a difference it made for me personally. I could go into detail about why, but I’ll spare you. I’ve been consistent with my sessions and healthier mentally consistently since July 2020.
- Car Accident. I was in my very first car accident with Reese Cup. We were rear-ended on a cute sunshiny day in September 2020. I was more shaken up and inconvenienced than anything else, but it could’ve been so much worse.
- Boxing. It’s been a bucket list item of mine to try boxing since I was young. I’m always nervous to try something new that I could quite possibly be trash at coupled with the irrational fear that everyone is watching me. But, everyone has been so friendly. However, I very sparingly go as I have to be strategic about the number of people in the class given that we are very much still in the thick of an uncontrolled pandemic. (October 2020)
- Became DEBT FREE at 30! This one was major. I made a declaration in 2013, after graduating nursing school, that I would pay off all my student loans by the time I was 30. Technically, I didn’t make it, but I did pay them off in my 30th year and it honestly feels so surreal–even now. Don’t ask me for nothing though because I’m replenishing. (November 2020)
- COVID +. Somewhere in the midst of me minding my own business I tested positive for COVID-19. My only indicator was loss of taste and smell and congestion which I’m still suffering the effects of to this day. As a nurse, but also someone who navigates anxiety, no one tells you the mental toll this virus has over your mind. No one talks about the isolation and the fear of not knowing what the virus’ plans are for your particular body. Literally so much bad shit happened in 2020, but those 14 days in isolation, not being able to taste and smell (I’m queen of diffusing essential oils, burning candles, cooking and trying new foods) completely did an overhaul of my psyche. What a dark time for me! (December 2020)
- Acceptance into a Health Coach Program. I have plans and a legitimate rationale for why I am obtaining this credentialing, but that explanation is for another time. (December 2020).
There you have it, folks. My 2020 recap of good and bad stuff. Of course so much more happened, but those are the twelve most significant. 2020 gave me time–time to focus on me, time to focus on my financial goals, time for me to connect with those that matter most, time for me to realize how I want move differently in the next months and years to come.
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