Happy New Year, friends! We are in the second year of the new decade! I’d love to share with you my year-in-review of 2020, as well as how I am feeling about this new year.

I know that 2020, like for most folks, was a difficult year in so many ways. I want to express gratitude for being alive and healthy because many folks cannot attest to the same state of being. My physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being vividly shifted each month. In a nutshell, my 2020 panned out to manifest in the following:

January, 2020: I was sitting on the sand at one of the beaches in Cabo, Mexico completely relaxed and in great serenity. I claimed this year to be ‘my year’ – a year of self-love, self-care, and self-awareness. I felt inspired, confident, and ready to take on this year that I manifested to be my glow-up year. Making my thoughts, feelings, and actions were going to always be my priority.

February, 2020: I underwent a great deal of lingering, unresolved hurt that forced me to make a difficult decision in order to healthily put myself first. Though removing toxicity in my life was difficult, it was very necessary for my own mental and emotional well-being. I learned how to establish boundaries for myself that helped me shed the ‘people-pleaser’ demeanor that I’ve traditionally presented in my social circles. Saying ‘no’ became an empowering word that I could now vocalize confidently.

March, 2020: The beginning of the month was a period of rebuilding myself emotionally and mentally. However, I was put into a sudden unrecognizable state of fear and uncertainty when life became everything other than ‘normal’ with the reality and frightening impacts of COVID-19 to my surrounding community and to the overall American population. The week before everything shut down, I was in Napa, California, uttering the at-the-time common belief that I was ‘invincible to the virus’ and that it was just like the flu (which a lot of people don’t realize can be deadly as well). Ooo, was I ignorant!

April, 2020: This continued fear, uncertainty, and paranoia plagued my mind, my social circles, and my overall community. However, I began to find some comfort in knowing that I was not isolated in my fears and sadness regarding the pandemic.

May, 2020: I slowly adapted to redefining ‘normalcy’ in my life given the circumstances that the pandemic allowed me to. I also began to see people on my social media expose themselves left and right in regards to if they truly thought that All Black Lives truly do matter. I saw a LOT of performative allyship, which felt like a mockery of my Blackness.

June, 2020: I felt more immense hurt, anger, brokenness, hopelessness, and a lack of safety and security as a Black person in this country. I also learned the vitality of conserving and protecting my energy during this month.

July, 2020: I had a deep talk with God and looked within myself to realign my priorities and redefine my goals and ambitions. Eliminating distractions was necessary, especially since I was shifting into a new chapter of my life that would require focus, dedication, and faith to succeed. I worked on becoming remotivated to rechannel my January state of mind.

August, 2020: Nervousness and self-doubt crept in as pivotal life realizations became more apparent each day.

September, 2020: I rebuked the spirit of self-doubt and exchanged it with increased self-confidence and optimism.

October, 2020: A disciplined mindset shift for myself resulted in finally seeing some personal accomplishments come into fruition.

November, 2020: Feelings of burnout and stagnancy began to manifest. I began yearning for the next big move in my life.

December, 2020: Though still dealing with some burnout, I became reinspired, reawakened, and most importantly grateful that I made it to the end of the year.

Overall, I have grown and developed in so many ways that I did not anticipate in 2020. I feel that I have redefined purpose and have tapped into other callings shown to me. At the beginning of the year, I scribed in my passion planner some of my most important personal goals that I had for my immediate future. I didn’t know at the time whether or not I would achieve them in 6 months, 1 year, or 3 years (as it is laid out in the planner). However, I want to highlight a few of the most important goals that I’m happy I was able to achieve:

1. Traveling abroad again 
2. Getting into occupational therapy school 
3. Paying off the entirety of my college student loans 
4. Exploring photography more 
5. Connecting with folks and building relationships beyond my spheres of influence 

Now, for the year 2021, I don’t necessarily feel as if I have any concrete “New Year’s Resolutions.” Sure, I aim to survive and hopefully thrive in OT school, continue to save money, and exercise more. However, I am actually focused on claiming words and attitudes that I hope to embody and exemplify in all that I do. I project that for 2021, my words will be the following: intentionality, purpose, and self-elevation.

I aim to be intentional in my relationships and my actions, purposeful in the way that I use my energy and how I navigate my surrounding community, and elevate myself by continuing to discover and utilize my multiple passions, talents, and gifts.

I anticipate 2021 being a year of change specifically for me, for I will be going through a LOT of new life changes. However, I believe that being intentional, purposeful, and elevating myself consistently will keep me grounded during these changes.

With all being said, I hope that y’all claim, manifest, and speak into existence blessings for your new year as well. ✨ 

Peace and love,

Irene