Happy New Year 2022!

2021 is a strange year to reconcile. The problems concerning the Covid 19 pandemic persisted, and lately it seems to have grown worse somehow. Vaccines are available, but they never promised an end to the pandemic, and the virus remains a prominent danger. It's almost laughable how a year ago I and many others had clung to the hope that this would all end by the spring. Some of the latest material I've heard or read about suggests this will last for a long time yet--maybe until 2025. 

It is frustrating to know that mask-wearing, social distancing, amenity closures, and travel restrictions will continue. These measures have become mundane and expected though. Going through the motions of work and home day-to-day only ingrains these measures as normal. This is all indeed the new normal. But because it's normal, I'm not exactly mad about any of it.

If anything I think I enjoyed a more normal year in '21 than I did in '20. I had the good fortune to leave my house and see more interesting places around the area. My travels this year included Savannah--probably the last biggest city I wanted to see while I'm here, and it was most distinctive for its historic buildings and sheer number of parks. This area also boasted a few historic forts worth visiting (namely Fort Jackson, Fort Pulaski, and Fort McAllister). In the autumn, I took a trip to the Smokey Mountains with my dad and we saw the town of Helen (in time for Oktoberfest). We visited small towns, a lake, the Sasquatch Museum, and a number of orchard and farm stands that provided a wealth of fresh apples. At one point, I went to Callaway Gardens with my mom and dad. It was late in the season to see substantial amounts of flowers, but their butterfly house offered a remarkable abundance of butterflies all together in one spot, which seemed quite magical. I had a chance to hike around the local trails through woods and swamps, where I took quite a few decent photos. Above all, I had quite a few outings with friends and family at tea shops, restaurants, museums, the driving range, and I even braved the cinema once. I've been outside the house quite often, seeing and doing enough to make my time feel worthwhile.

Collage of sights I've seen in 2021.

My writing habits have flip-flopped between periods with zero productivity and periods where I pumped out some nonsense. I attempted to write a humorous superhero spoof at one point, but progress halted after a few chapters. I've attempted to fix issues with previous drafts, but ran into other problems and I had to go back to the drawing board. My biggest effort happened in November for National Novel Writing Month, during which I attempted to rewrite an old novel and make it something better and worthwhile. Those results came out rather mixed, and so very incomplete.

Last year, I had ambitions to make time to do more. One of my resolutions was to listen (and really listen) to more music. I did so in bursts. I spent some time reading books and finished eighteen titles--problem is, I fell out of practice of reading and most of the ones I finished were graphic novels. I found little time to pursue other interests, like exercise, drawing, photo and video editing, and yes, blogging. It's difficult to squeeze in all these interests on a day-to-day basis, and it's easy to forget these pursuits over time. I'm certain there are methods to organize and manage my time and goals better, it just requires conscious effort and changes to my routine--these changes are inherently challenging.

That's not such a dire shortcoming that I plan on making a resolution though (although I might make a stronger effort this year, and it will probably benefit me to plan and set goals more often). All of these things I focus on are self-serving in the end, and I fear lately that I've been too self-centered all this time and haven't focused enough on other people. I believe I have inherently introverted habits, and I don't always have a desire to extend beyond my personal bubble, talk to people, and get to know them. If nothing else, I could stand to be friendlier and stop operating through a narrow, task-driven tunnel view of the world. I believe I can improve my social skills and emotional intelligence through such simple steps as exercising more gratitude and appreciation every day. I can make a conscious effort to greet people and ask more questions about themselves, and talk about myself less. More prayer and meditation will help. If I make some minor changes now to my daily habits, I hope that it'll eventually become second-nature.

I still expect to make a greater effort with the things I want to accomplish. In 2022, there is a strong chance that changes in my workplace will shake up my life again, and it will be exciting and challenging. There will be interesting and enriching experiences coming, and I hope to face it all with greater maturity and openness than before. I hope that everybody reading this will find success and happiness in your own pursuits.