2022 Year in Review

My mom used to write a family Christmas card letter, so here's my version of that.

2022 has been a wild ride of a year with events in this order: getting promoted, getting married, buying my car out in full, going on my honeymoon - but then life took a nosedive with my mother passing away, followed by getting covid, having my in-laws move abroad, and losing my job. It has been challenge after challenge and throughout it all I have just wondered when things were going to let up.

The good that has come from this most difficult year of my life is knowing that somehow I have the strength to make it through even the darkest of times. But, I only have this strength thanks to my incredible husband, family (and new amazing family by marriage), friends, and pets.

Despite the challenges, life still goes on and we find ways to fill the time. I like to quantify some achievements to reflect on how much I did. In 2022 I still produced a ton of content for work that got thousands of pageviews and YouTube views, applied to 180 jobs, walked 2.86 million steps, biked 203 miles, finished 22 books, went on trips, explored new restaurants, made an impact in my community and reduced waste with 30 donations in my local Buy Nothing group, and a whole host of other things in the past 365 days.

Next year brings change - my husband and I will be moving to the Hudson Valley in New York to be closer to the extended family in February. Making the cross-country move is not going to be easy, but with my mother and paternal grandmother both being from New England, I knew I had to give east coast living a try. After a year being kicked around by things outside my control, it feels great to make a bold and big choice that shakes things up after living in the same place since graduating college almost seven years ago. 

This year's theme for me was resiliency. Let's hope next year's theme is something like, "fun weekend getaways exploring the east coast and maybe home ownership if interest rates go down."

If I have any advice to give after this year of adversity, it's to hold your loved ones close and take the big leap that's been in the back of your mind. It's worth giving yourself a shot. Obviously do your research and be prepared before making big life decisions, but now I know first hand what they mean when they say “life is short,” so live it up.

Cheers to a better 2023.