Hi, folks. It's been quite some time since I checked in. I'm writing to you after my first semester of college—I have so much to tell you about—but I wasn't able to find the time during those 14 weeks to write for myself. So I've been very excited to have the time over Break to write for this blog. There is lots to process and lots I'd love to (over)share with whomever is kind enough to read what I write.
I loved my 2021. I am also glad to see it gone. This past year gave me new playlists and good thrift finds, abundantly annotated margins and the best chai I've had to date, glorious milestones and the weirdest funniest best new friendships. It also brought with it difficult goodbyes and weeks spent on Zoom, frustrating news headlines and too much time spent apart, moments of doubt and days of little motivation. I raise a glass to it all.
What is the welcoming of a New Year without reflection and nostalgia? Without acknowledgement of, and appreciation for, the people we started as and how far we've come since then? Here is my year, in photos. In my 2021, I...
1. Caught the most beautiful sunsets.
2. Found beauty in the mundane.
3. Social distanced in the great outdoors.
4. Sipped on some joe.
5. GRADUATED
6. Stuck my nose in some good books / fell even more in love with words.
My recs from this year (weeded out the two-star reads so you don't have to):
My favorites:
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
The Song of Achilles & Circe, Madeline Miller
A classic:
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
A mystery (or two):
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton
Then She Was Gone, Lisa Jewell
Because everyone else was reading it:
Normal People, Sally Rooney
The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides
7. Filled myself on good food.
Photographed (clockwise):
Cheese Louise - Portland, ME
Furin - Valpo, Indiana
Made myself (:
Nonnina - Chicago, IL
Beatnik On The River - Chicago, IL
8. Bid a temporary goodbye to old friends...
9. ...And met the most wonderful new ones.
10. Took some selfies.
I had so much fun with this post. Not a lot of writing in this one, but oh don't you worry. That is on its way, dear reader. It was a relived adventure sorting through the many photos on my camera roll from the past year; you all have managed to put such a smile on my face no matter how trying the times or how steep the climb. Thank you for making my life a shining portrait of whatever I choose to make it and for giving me the colors to make it beautiful. Cheers to another year of love found and love lost, easy laughter and growing pains, snoozed alarms and our harder days. We made it another year.
2021 was a year of actively choosing to see the glass half full. I suppose I say this from a pretty privileged seat; I mean, I hardly have to look at the bright side of things when I'm living on it. (I owe this to the people who make me lose track of time, who make me laugh 'til it hurts, who are there to catch me when I stumble. I would be nowhere and nothing without you all.) Nevertheless, I think we can all agree that it is a sigh of relief to see it go. Here's hoping this next year will be a reparation of sorts...Doesn't seem too much to ask, all things considered.
Cya never, 2021. You won't be missed. 2022, show us what you got.
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