By I really had no intention of writing a post today, much less one wrapping up the year. I was planning on waiting until the new year to start writing posts again all while pretending I didn’t spend all of 2021 sinking to a new low of being a terrible blogger.
Then about two hours ago, I heard the news of Betty White’s passing.
There I was, playing my Nintendo Switch, lost in the bliss of shooting zombies when my phone made a happy little noise telling me I had a notification. It was from Buzzfeed and normally I would ignore it (because I have zero idea how to turn them off) but I saw her name and my stomach sank. Her birthday wasn’t until next month so there was no reason for an article to be posted about her… unless…
My heart broke right then and there.
I turned to Twitter and saw everyone’s hurt and upset, naturally cursing all that has been 2021. The year just couldn’t end quietly- it had to go out kicking and screaming and it was taking someone we all loved with it.
I didn’t want to write about 2021 because, if I’m being honest, I feel like I’m still sitting here trying to process 2020. When I try to look back on this past year, it’s hard to feel like it hasn’t done much of anything for me as a person. 2021 feels like it merged with 2020 to create a never-ending hellscape.
It also feels really easy to hate on 2021 because when you look at the opening and closing chapters of the year- we started with an insurrection on our nation’s capital and we’re ending it with the death of a beloved actress who we were all willing to take a bullet for. We dealt with roughly a billion variants of the same virus we were told would be gone in a matter of weeks (almost two years ago).
Basically I found myself sitting here ready to be pissed off at another year that decided to spend it’s existence kicking us all squarely in the tender bits. I spent most of this year having to cut people out of my life, being told that I would fail, and having a plethora of people I don’t even know talking an egregious amount of shit behind my back.
Before I could fire up the laptop to do any more ranting, I stopped myself for a minute and reflected on all of the good things that came from this year.
Here’s what I’ve realized, no matter how I feel- who I am today is not the same person I was when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2021. I’m not going to go into EVERYTHING but I am going to highlight some of the top things from this year.
VAXXED AND (PARTIALLY) RELAXED
I was fortunate enough to get the Pfizer Vaccine in March and my second dose in April. I’d share a fun photo but the guy who wrote my vaccination card had horrible handwriting, I received the world’s most boring bandaid and didn’t get a sticker.
In November I got my booster (and my first ever flu shot) and even though the Optimus Prime Variant is running rampant, I feel a lot more hopeful than I did at the beginning of the year.
UNCLE STATUS: LEVEL TWO
On March 8th, my niece Jackie entered the world ready to take on the world. A big part of the reason why I was so excited to get my vaccination was I wanted nothing more than to go visit her. I never got to see my nephew when he was a baby so I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.
Once I was fully shot up with that sweet, sweet government tracking serum, I hopped on a plane to visit my niece and nephew. Even better was being able to be around for my nephew’s 5th birthday.
Also I held a child which is a feat for me because children scare me.
MY THIRD BOOK
In August I released my third book “Your Digital Life: A Teen’s Guide to the Online World.” It’s my third book and I was really excited to finish it and get it out for the world. Have I been doing a good job promoting it? Absolutely not. Because of who I am as a person. You can grab a copy on Amazon.
BACK TO WORK
In June I went back to work after over a year of pandemic unemployment. I’ve been causing an insane amount of trouble as the Director of Marketing & Events for the Oviedo Mall.
I event managed to go viral and turn us into the most popular mall on Twitter*
*A title I gave us but it honestly feels like it’s true.
It’s been fun and I’m excited to create more madness in the new year.
SCREAM N’ STREAM 2021; or, SEVEN WEEKS IN A PARKING LOT
One of my proudest accomplishments for this year was helping to create and execute a halloween event known as Scream n’ Stream. One top of that I served as the General Manager for the event and spent more time in a parking lot in Florida than I ever thought I would.
We had an amazing year and I could not have been more proud of my team for pulling it off, especially when so many people (including an ex friend of mine) thought we would fail.
AND JUST LIKE THAT…
There is so much more from this year that is worth being happy about (I know for a fact that I missed stuff and there are some things that aren’t ready for public consumption yet). Sure, for the second year in a row I will be ringing in the new year by myself, likely playing Animal Crossing. Actually, there’s a better than average chance that I’ll be asleep at the stroke of midnight.
Nope, that’s a lie. I’m so close to the theme parks and my neighbors are assholes, so I’ll be hearing all the BOOMS and BANGS of 2022.
Sure it won’t be annoying at all.
Moral of the story is that, yes, December 31, 2021 decided to choose violence but there are 365 days in a year. Sure, some other days this year weren’t as great as others but I’d rather find the good.
Good luck, all.
And I swear you’ll hear from me more in the new year.
Avoiding Neverland 