2022… A Year’s Reflection

2022…

It has been quite the year. With lots of amazing moments and memories, and some not so amazing. Overall, 2022 has been left with the reputation of a year to reflect on, to look back on and say “hey let’s not take this to the new year” or, “I did this so well, let’s continue”.

I learned a lot about myself this year. I finally got out of the Covid-19 hiding, and got out into the world to start learning about myself. Yes, Covid has been long over in The Netherlands, but the mindset was always there, to want to stay home and keep my static routine. A major personal event finally pushed me out of it, and in just a few months, I developed and worked on myself, to the point where I am (almost) fully satisfied. 

The first half

The first half of the year was crazy. I moved to Paris for six months, lived it up with my bestie, and had a major internal glow up where I felt so fulfilled. I kept the blog going, picked up more on TikTok, made some amazing new friends and created memories to last me a life time. It was also a big moment where I took a step back and realized this was my own version of how I grew up. Having moved around a lot with family, changing schools, I was finally able to do that again, but by myself. Amazing. 

Summer was the best time, traveling the US, meeting new people, and creating close relationships with really important people in my life. Within all of this, my lovely niece was born, and as an aunt, I got a new sense of responsibility and maturity within me. 

The second half

However, as any normal person, not everything is always smooth sailing. As difficult as the hardships this year were, I would not have it any other way. All the tears and screams that came out were just part of the process. And it’s also very important to not let bad moments tear you down. I’m not gonna lie, there were weeks where I did not want to get out of bed, but my amazing friends around me made those moments so much easier to overcome. 

Looking back at everything that happened, I can only say how greatful I am. My life motto has always been “everything happens for a reason”, and this really allows me to not focus or overthink too much. There’s believers and there’s doubters, and by now I’m sure you know which one I am. Some things have to happen to create a path for better things to come. And sometimes bad things happen just because they need to. Without this mindset, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome and see the positives to shitty situations. I was able to set myself straight, accept the mistakes I made, and taking away very valuable lessons. 

The second half of the year included my new internship. At an amazing company, where I met some amazing people. In six months we built a big family and made so many memories. Now, despite me staying with the company, they are off to other things. Some are moving to Australia, others are simply going back home, and the friendships I built with them will be brought forward along with our lives. All the hours we spent complaining, drinking our hot chocolates, and all the samples we shared. It was an amazing chapter of my life, and a huge and inspiring part of my year. However, the next six months are going to be looking amazing as well. 

It’s not all about ups and downs

Of course every year it’s important to reflect on everything that has happened and see what you took away from it. However, besides that, this year I picked up a lot of new habits, and let go of others. With a big shift in my life I felt like I needed more, especially building a healthy lifestyle. My life went from 0 to 100 real quick, from doing nothing, to living the life in difficult mode, with way too much going and having too much to juggle. I found peace in the little things. Like making sure my train time is spent on something productive. Usually that would be reading, but sometimes there are other things I need to do that have priority. 

The list is much longer, and perhaps one day I will share the moments that have actually changed my life. But in the meantime I’ve thought a lot about next year. I’ve got my goals and plans, which I very much plan on respecting. 

The List

I have created a list of all the things I want to be sure to implement on the new year. These are things I’ve been slaking in recently, or things I am doing now that I want to continue, or just things that I keep telling myself I will do later… Some things may even seem stupid and irrelevant to others, but to me they are important.

1. Create a healthy work/life/study balance (oof!)
2. Keep meeting my closest friends
3. Eat healthier
4. Take my vitamins on time : )
5. Meditate before going to sleep
6. Keep reading
7. Workout at least once a week – 2 if possible
8. Sleep 8 hours (!!!)
9. Spend as little time on my phone as possible
10. Read/watch more news
11. Buy more magazines – and ACTUALLY read them
12. Start YouTube (?)
13. Talk more with my family
14. Go on more dates with my other half

This is all I could come up with for now, however, every day I find something new to add so I will continue expanding it. Having this list as guidance is that much more motivating to make sure I implement them. In my journal I have also made a list of all my goals for the new year, but I feel as if that is a lot more private. I highly suggest you do the same, especially if you feel the way I do. After all, there is no harm in trying, and manifestation actually does work. 

With all of this said, happy holidays to everyone and I hope this has brought you some motivation to reflect on your own year. 

xx

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