I think 2020 was the fastest year of my life. It’s so crazy how fast time flew by. I can remember being a kid and having some certain date to look forward to, like a trip or a birthday, and thinking it took FOREVER for even a couple of weeks to drag by. But now, I look back on 2020 and can’t believe that an entire year has passed by. It’s weird, it feels like 2020 was like three different years in one, but it still went by at double speed. This year was filled with so many ups and downs, and so much change and uncertainty due to the virus, but I feel like I grew so much and experienced so many new things! It’s always fun to look back at the year, because I forget so many little things I did back at the beginning of 2020. I also wanted to reflect on my goals from this past year and whether or not I accomplished them!
Like I mentioned, 2020 felt like three years in one. There was the January-March part, when I was back at college for my spring semester of freshman year and still trying to get in the groove of school and being away from home. I had all new classes and was also trying to get more involved at school, joining a new bible study and getting closer with friends from my classes. I also went to Nashville with my parents and sister for a concert, which was so fun!
Then there was “quarantine”, the March-July portion that was filled with online classes, moving back home, indoor workouts, summer trips to the pool and beach, and time with family. This was probably my favorite time of the year. School had gotten pretty hard for me and it was so good for me to go back home in March and destress a little bit. I loved being back home and spending time with family, and I tried to savor every minute of it. It was filled with simple things: baking banana bread, reading outside on the porch, trips to the lake with my dad and brothers, running at the trails with my sister, and movie nights with the fam. The summer was definitely different, with all the restrictions, but it was still so fun. I tried to be outside as much as possible and soak up every second. Went on three beach trips, my favorite being Hilton Head Island, spent lots of time at the pool, and celebrated my 19th birthday! I vlogged a lot of random days of the summer over on my Youtube channel, and I was watching a few of the videos the other day. It makes me miss being warm and tan, I love summer 🙂
I was definitely sad to go back to school, which leads me into the August-December part of the year- my fall semester of sophomore year. I moved into my first apartment and lived with 3 other roommates in a place right off of campus. This was definitely a hard semester for me, for multiple reasons. A lot of my classes were online, most of the clubs and groups on campus were canceled because of corona, and my schoolwork was very overwhelming. I struggled with loneliness and homesickness, but also tried to find bright spots in the semester: my best friend coming to visit for a weekend, trips to see my grandmother, training for my half marathon, and making new meals in my apartment kitchen. Not to sound negative, but it was just a hard time for me and I was happy to go home for Christmas break! We had a long break this year, I got home I think November 15 and finished my exams from my room. I go back January 11, so I was so so glad to have a long time at home. It was filled with lots of Christmas festivities, working at my local boutique job, movie nights with the family, cooking new recipes, and lots of card games! I’m definitely sad to go back to school in a few days and get back into the homework/test mindset, haha.
I know that was a super long ramble about everything I did, and if I actually went into detail about everything I did, this post would take an hour to read, haha. I mentioned it earlier, but I did vlog a lot of this year and they are on my youtube channel if you want to see more of what I did! I got a new camera back in April and I’m so happy I did, because I love looking back on my year. I also just uploaded my One Second A Day video from 2020, which was so fun to look back on.
In all honesty, I didn’t reflect on my goals near as much as I should have, which meant I didn’t think about them enough and wasn’t as consistent with achieving them. However, I did make progress on a lot of my goals, so I thought I’d share!
Start a podcast– technically I did accomplish this, but I sadly was not consistent with it. I posted my first episode in mid January, and posted four episodes, then got busy and let it slip to the side and stopped uploading. It’s definitely a goal for 2021 tho. Here’s my previous episodes if you wanna listen 😉 // Seasons Podcast
Grow blog and instagram // I posted a good bit on my instagram this year, especially over the summer, but sadly I didn’t really grow it very much. I’m struggling to find my personal brand and stay consistent with posting, but it’s a fun little side project!
Read 2+ books a month // I achieved (and overachieved!) this one! I read so much this year- 61 total books! I got super into reading thrillers and mystery books this year, and I’m excited to read more in 2021!
Read the entire bible // Yes! This was a goal I started with my mom and I’m happy to say that I read the bible every single day of 2020. It was definitely hard to focus sometimes, especially with some books of the Old Testament, but this helped me start the habit of daily devotions and prioritizing my time with God.
Start liking coffee/tea: // I still don’t fully like coffee, but I’ve definitely gotten more accustomed to it. I was on an iced vanilla latte kick over winter break where I would make it with vanilla creamer and syrup, but I want to start liking it plain.
Start a bullet journal // I did this, and it has been such a fun hobby and creative outlet! I’m not the most artistic, but it’s been fun to do little monthly recaps and doodles. I get a lot of my journal ideas from Pinterest!
Focus on true community and relationships // This is one I would say I accomplished, but in a different way than I had originally intended. I went through some big periods of loneliness and struggled with finding good friends at school, but I also realized how thankful I am for the relationships I do have. I’ve grown so much closer with my family, my grandmother, and my friends from work, and I’m so thankful for them!
I could go on forever, but it’s just so fun to reflect back on the year and remember everything I did in 2020. It only makes me more excited for 2021! In my next post, I’m going to be sharing some of my 2021 goals and intentions, so be on the lookout for that.
What was your favorite part of the year?
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