Hi! Originally, I was going to write about some things I'd like to stop seeing in 2017, but it came off too whiney and cranky for me so I scrapped it. lol I found a post on Pinterest with 50 question prompts for those with bullet journals, and I liked the questions so I thought I'd share my answers. I probably should have done it last month since the last set of questions are a look ahead at 2017, but I didn't think of this until earlier today. lol I don't know what I'll do for February on through the rest of the year, but I thought I'd split these up and post them throughout January.
1. What one event are you going to tell your grandchildren about?
This was the year that two of the largest nations in the world simultaneously lost their shit; I can't sum that up with just one event. lol One event that I will tell them about is the election of our PEOTUS because that, for me, will probably always stand out as one of the most polarizing moments to be alive to witness. Now for all I know, Trump's going to come in office, defy expectations and completely own the game by giving us what we didn't realize we actually needed, and in four years I'm going to laugh at how apocalyptic his election initially felt to me. But the truth is, that's probably not going to happen and whether my fears are confirmed or not, I won't ever forget how afraid I was watching the election that night.
2. If you had to describe your 2016 in three words, what would they be?
Stagnant. Discovery. Backward.
3. What new things did you discover about yourself?
I discovered a lot about myself, which is why the second word I used to describe my year was 'discovery.' I found out why I seek certain things from others, I found out where I got my feeling of not being enough came from, I discovered quite a few things about my anxiety, my health and how they relate to how I feel in a relationship, and I discovered a bit more about my underlying sense of optimism that I'd thought was permanently buried under the blanket of cynicism I wear daily. This was a big year for self-therapy for me so even though the year overall was pretty shit, in terms of self-discovery and help it was a pretty good year.
4. What single achievement are you most proud of?
Hmm. It's kinda sad that there's not anything I can immediately recall, mainly because this year didn't net any large successes for me. Can I come back to this one?
5. What was the best news you received?
The best news I received, hands down, was that my uncle was going to be okay. In September he had total knee replacement surgery and some post-surgery complications resulted in the incision having to be reopened and cleaned. He wasn't placed back on his blood thinners afterwards, which caused clots to develop in his leg in the days following the procedure. On the day he was supposed to be discharged, moving his leg caused a clot to break loose and travel to his lungs, where it lodged and caused him to code three times. We nearly lost him that day, and the fear from almost losing him is not something I'll be likely to forget anytime soon. The next couple of weeks were very touch and go and there was a very big gray area over whether or not he'd make it through, but his body recovered amazingly and today, he's doing awesome. So the confirmation that he was going to pull through is near and far the best news I received in 2016.
6. What was your favorite place that you visited in 2016?
The happy place inside my mind? LOL I didn't have the good fortune to visit anywhere new in 2016, so this one's a blank for me.
7. Which of your personal qualities turned out to be the most helpful this year?
There were a few things that happened this year that required me to stay calm, find out facts and solve an issue without panicking and my ability to do that (it's ironic that I can do that considering I have anxiety disorder and can't do it on a daily basis) has come in handy each time. My mom had a medical crisis shortly before my birthday in January, my uncle had a legal issue in May and a medical emergency in September/October, and my siblings' father and one of my nieces had the same medical emergency during the summer. Because I can separate my feelings from the facts needed during a stressful situation, it helped me calm my family when needed, get the answers that we needed and fix the situations that I could. It feels like that's my superpower, because when I really need to disconnect and get shit done in a crisis, I do. It's on a daily basis that my anxiety makes me its bitch.
8. Who was your number one go-to person that you could always rely on?
Nobody. I have a couple of people around, but the amount of things they don't know about my life could fill a football stadium. As for people I could rely on, I'm batting a steady zero right now other than myself. And always being able to rely on yourself isn't a bad thing at all, so either way it's win-win for me.
9. Which new skills did you learn?
I would have loved to have learned a bunch of new skills but I did learn more about web design (which is how I was finally able to create this pretty cute design you see now lol), I learned about photography and product photos in particular, and I learned some basic home improvement skills, both common and a couple unorthodox. Common--caulking, sealing and insulation basics. Unorthodox--filling holes and gaps in the wall with cotton balls, then sealing them in there with sealant spray. LOL
10. What or who are you most thankful for?
I am immensely thankful that I've gotten the opportunity to watch one of my nieces grow and thrive this year. I'm sure every adult in a child's life says the same things I'm about to say, but my niece is so smart. She's observant and precocious and hilarious and resilient, to say the very least about her. It's been so much fun to be part of the teaching process, even if I may have caused some headaches in the process by showing the girls Baby Bum videos that were then put on repeat for months. lol I wish I could watch the process on a daily basis with both of my nieces, but I digress. Either way, it's been a blast watching both of them make the transition from silent, waddling babies to sassy, galloping toddlers. lol
11. If someone wrote a book based on your 2016, what genre would it be?
Comedy and self-improvement, although the book should be marketed as 'self-improvement for cautionary tale purposes.' lol
12. What was the most important lesson you learned in 2016?
I learned a few painful lessons this year. The biggest lesson though was that some people don't learn and some don't change. Your pain may be ammo to fuel someone else's negativity and hatred, and even if you live your life by the saying, "Do onto others," you have to acknowledge and understand that many others, many many others, do not and will not. If, to you, your loved ones' feelings and pain are as important to you as your own, it's going to be especially hard to wrap your mind around the fact that it may not be mutual. I struggled with this one a lot in 2016, and I would have saved myself a lot of pain if I'd accepted that fact sooner instead of trying to change it. I also learned that among the beauty of the world lies a lot of ugliness. Between the vivid colors of nature and life lay the darkness of shadows, which may or may not consume you. You may not be scary and ugly but the world often is, despite its vivid colors. That one was very hard to deal with.
13. Which mental block(s) did you overcome?
I know I had writer's block, but I don't know if I had a mental block. I probably did, but I apparently haven't overcome it yet since I can't name anything. lol
There were quite a few 'lol''s throughout this post, hmm? I wish I could apologize for it, but I can't. I'm an LOL addict; I've had this issue since my Myspace days. I have legitimately written LOL's in my posts for that long. I've tried several things to stop myself from using them outside of texts, but none of them have worked so I'm just going to accept that it's here to stay. I'm dying to write another one, but I won't. Until next week's post, anyway. But LOL overdoses aside, I hope you enjoyed this first peek into my 2016, even though to me it sounds rather sad. Make sure you come back each Saturday this month so you can see the rest of my answers and I'll see you soon!
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