I can’t believe how fast 2022 flew by! And in all that busyness, I can’t thank all of you enough for your support of my blog. Time is precious & there are many writers out there, so I am honored that you have chosen to spend some of your cherished reading time with me.
To reflect back on the past year, I wanted to share my top 10 blog posts, ranked by popularity. Take a stroll with me down memory lane, maybe read one you missed, and leave me a comment below on which blog post was your favorite!
This was such a fun trip! My mom & I went on a girl’s trip to Assateague Island, which, despite living in Maryland my entire life, I had never been to! You can read about our adventures & get ideas for your next trip here.
4. Pittsburgh Weekend Trip: Mental Health, Music & the Monongahela Incline
Joseph surprised me for my birthday with tickets to go see Imagine Dragons in Pittsburgh! It was a bucket list goal of mine & a dream come true. And, of course, we made a weekend trip of it. You can read about our adventures & get ideas to plan your next trip to this historic city here.
5. 10 Helpful Tips for Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
If you find you are struggling with feelings of sadness this season, give this blog post a read for 10 tips that may help you improve your mental health.
6. Why I’m Running the New York City Marathon
Running the New York City Marathon was a bucket list dream for me, & I got to do it alongside my team members at Charm City Run. Read about my running journey & what inspired me to run this race here.
Do you struggle with staying motivated, procrastination or finishing tasks? Maybe you’re feeling burnt out from a busy work schedule or overwhelmed with out-of-work responsibilities. Here are 7 simple tips to help increase your productivity, so you can spend your free time doing the things you actually want to do.
9. North Carolina Weekend Trip: Hiking, Zip Lining & Delicious BBQ
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product after clicking the associated link, I will earn a small commission off of that purchase.
I have always wanted to be one of those people who kept a daily journal. I would go through periods of my life when I regularly wrote in a diary, but to be completely honest, these were normally periods of only a few days in length. My longest stint was summer of 2019, when I kept a journal recording everything that happened every day of my 4K for Cancer journey. I thought at the end of it, I would keep the habit going, but as soon as I returned to normal life, I fell back into old habits and the journal stayed untouched on my bookshelf.
The shame of this is I actually enjoy writing, and there are many moments in my life that I wish I had recorded. The one thing I learned from journaling during 4K is it is impossible to remember all the little details that happen, but those are the ones I want to remember most. I love reading over conversations I had with people and the little things I saw while on that trip.
One of the main reasons I have always struggled with keeping a journal is that I struggle to keep my writing short and concise. I feel like I have to record every little detail of my day, which is rather time consuming and tedious when I am sitting in bed at night, ready to fall asleep.
Emily & me at Joseph’s & my engagement party
My solution came in January last year when I was visiting my childhood friend (and current matron of honor), Emily. While talking, she told me about a habit she had adopted over the last few years after seeing her dad do it. Every year, she buys a planner, not to record what she has to do, but to write down what happened each day. At the end of the day, in the space on the calendar, she records everything that happened that day. Sometimes, it’s just the mundane tasks of everyday life, but other days the content is more exciting. The most beautiful thing about this is that, whether big or small, all those special moments that happened are recorded. And if she has more to write than will fit in the little calendar square, she turns the page to the weekly view to write a little blurb about her day.
I bought a planner that week to integrate this habit into my own life, and since then, I have faithfully written in that little book every day. I love the fact that I am restrained to a small space to write about my day. It is a totally doable task at the end of the day, and it makes me think about what the most important details of my day were so they will be the ones that get recorded.
I just have to say, what a year to start this habit! After the beginning of March, my life suddenly became a lot less normal, as did the lives of most people on the planet. I can’t say every day at home was an interesting calendar square to fill out, but every interesting conversation or little hobby I started for fun or work was recorded. Looking back through my planner today, I can’t help but smile while reading all those little moments that I would have forgotten by now.
One of my favorite things about this is that I can easily turn back to any day to see what happened. So, a year from now, I can look back to see what happened today. I can remember exactly how I felt and what happened on any day by easily flipping to that calendar page.
In addition to the original idea given to me by Emily, I have added a few extra steps. At the beginning of the month, my planner has a space to record goals and important dates, and at the end of the month, it has a page for notes. These are my spaces to spend a little extra time at the end of the month thinking back over what happened and reflect on my experiences. In the goals section, I record goals, achievements, and big events that happened; in the important dates section, I write the days the most important things that month happened with their corresponding number; and in the notes section, I write a little summary of my month.
I love three things about this little extra step I have taken. One, I tend to be very hard on myself. I am a perfectionist, and I am often looking for the next goal to achieve rather than recognizing myself for what I have done in my life. Having a section dedicated to recording the achievements in my life, whether big or small, is a little act of self-care to recognize myself for the hard work I have done. Two, I love that the most important dates are marked, so I can easily look to see which days meant the most to me and then flip to those corresponding calendar dates to read more. Three, the notes section honestly gives me closure at the end of each month and it helps me to better reflect on what is happening in my life and set goals for the next month. I can’t know where I want to go if I don’t know where I have been. This moment of reflection both helps me to make sense of difficult times (such as during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic), celebrate happier months (my month of engagement and travel with Joseph), and look forward to what I want to do next with my life. It’s like taking a moment at the end of each month to write a closing to that chapter of my life.
If you struggle to keep a journal, I highly recommend incorporating this habit into your life. It takes less than two minutes at the end of each day, but I feel it has honestly increased the positivity, productivity and gratitude in my life. Giving myself a moment to reflect at the end of each day and month helps me to focus on the good in my life. And knowing that this moment is coming at the end of each day encourages me to spend my time more wisely so I will have something to write about.
And it’s not too late to start! Check out the links below to get your planner, & some of my favorite journaling tools, & get started right away. The best time to have started this habit was the beginning of this year (or honestly, many years ago), but the next best time is today.
A 2021 planner to get you started
This planner has all the sections you need to help get you started on your new journaling technique.
Amazing pens
You don’t need a boring, black, ballpoint pen to journal with. Check out these beautiful, fine point markers, perfect for journaling, drawing, or just writing aesthetically-pleasing notes.
Washi tape
Washi tape is my new obsession. It makes everything look so much prettier & organized, even if it isn’t. Check out this set on Amazon, or do your own search! There are so many different colors, sizes & designs.
Planner Stickers
Maybe you’re not feeling the creative vibes of making your own stickers with Washi tape. No problem! Check out these beautiful stickers that you can decorate your planner with. There are over 1,500 designs to help you keep that planner looking beautiful and organized.
There is no doubt about it – 2020 was a crazy year, filled with multiple devastating events. But, despite all of the bad that happened, there were some things that managed to give us hope to carry on. Somehow, while the world was struggling, we were able to keep ourselves afloat by recognizing how resilient and strong we are when we work together and help one another.
So, if you are struggling to remember anything good that happened last year, read below to remember 12 encouraging events that helped us to get through a challenging time.
January – We fought the wildfires together
January was our first taste in 2020 of how capable we are of tackling challenges far beyond our abilities when we work together. People from all over the world donated money, and firefighters from other countries flew to Australia join workers and volunteers in fighting the blaze.
February – The Chiefs won the Super Bowl
They may not be your favorite football team, but everyone loves a good underdog story. This was the first Super Bowl the Chiefs won in 50 years! That is something worth celebrating.
March – The Cares Act was signed
Despite the rifts between Democrats & Republicans, when our country was in need, these two groups came together to sign a document that provided relief to millions of Americans and businesses who were suffering at the beginning of the pandemic.
April – Spotify launched Daily Wellness playlists
In addition to many other mental health resources that became available, Spotify launched its Daily Wellness playlist. This simple daily collection of songs and podcasts gave people peace of mind and a simple way to engage in self-care.
May – SpaceX launched 2 astronauts into space
Elon Musk reminded us just how resilient and tenacious the human race is when he successfully launched two astronauts into space…and brought them home safely.
June – NASA inaugurated the Jackson Headquarters
NASA named its headquarters in Washington, D.C. the Jackson Headquarters in honor of Mary W. Jackson, the first Black female engineer to work there. 2020 was a year for Black voices to be heard and, hopefully, for change to have begun.
July – A COVID-19 vaccine became more promising
In the month of July, deals were made and the first trials of vaccines for the novel coronavirus shows promising results. For the first time, we were able to hope that we would be able to beat this terrible disease soon.
August – Polio officially left Africa
In August, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the poliovirus is no longer present in Africa. This means just two countries are still threatened by this disease – Afghanistan and Pakistan.
September – Meals were donated to HurricaneLaura victims
After the devastation of Hurricane Laura in Louisiana, Rikesh Patel, a local McDonald’s owner, initiated the delivery of 10,000 free meals to those in need. it was a true act of generosity, service and kindness amid a catastrophic event.
October – NASA landed a spacecraft on an asteroid for the first time
2020 was quite the year for space exploration events. In October, NASA landed OSIRIS-Rex on an asteroid. It was a mission that took four years of work, and it may lead to new discoveries about the history of our solar system.
November – A record-number of Americans voted the first-ever female Vice President into office
No matter how you feel about the results of the 2020 presidential election, there has to be a bit of pride for the number of Americans who took on the responsibility to be a part of our democracy and make their voices heard. In addition to this, the first female vice president in history was elected, which is groundbreaking to say the least.
December – The first COVID-19 vaccine dose was administered
After a year of chaos and fear, the first vaccine dose for the pandemic that seemed to characterize 2020 was given. As we look forward now to 2021, we are now able to have hope that life will return to some semblance of normal in the near future.
This list is by no means meant to diminish all of the tragedy that occurred in 2020. But, perhaps by remembering the few good events that did happen will remind us how very much we have to be grateful for, even when life is threatening to make us forget. For me, 2020 was a reminder of just how blessed I am, and it was confirmation that most people are dedicated to helping one another. This past year, I saw more selflessness, compassion and generosity than I have in a long time, and that alone gave me hope for a brighter future.
