Are you glad it’s over?

Did it go by in a flash for you too?

While 2020 felt like it would never end, 2021 was over in an instant. At least that’s how it feels as I look back on this first day of 2022. I’m sure there were moments when I felt like it was still the continuous nightmare that was 2020, but when I was preparing my Christmas card video, I remembered how many highlights there were. It really wasn’t a bad year for me personally. Of course, it didn’t start out well as we watched democracy unravel on January 6, but politically at least things seem to have settled down. Unfortunately, we’re still battling a pandemic but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that 2022 will be the last year it will monopolize everything.

I started out the year writing a lot on this blog. I was processing a lot of emotions and trying to get my groove back and figure out the dating scene so I wrote about all that. But in the middle of all that I found love. I wasn’t expecting to or necessarily even looking for it, but there it was: right in Falls Park in the middle of Greenville. I’m happy and busy going places and pursuing hobbies like cooking and baking and crocheting, and all that takes time away from writing. I’ll work on finding a balance in 2022 and try to find more time to write because I still enjoy it and want to get better at it. I don’t want to just write when I’m upset or sad.

I was taking a look at my blog stats for the year and thought it might be interesting to share with you what resonated with my readers, or at least see which posts got the most attention. Maybe I can use that to inform my decisions on what to write about.

Top 10 posts of 2021 (not all written in 2021):

1. Music Fridays: We can do hard things. Only one music post made the top ten list and I’m not surprised it was this one. It’s not exactly a mainstream artist but certainly worthy of a listen.
2. He loves me, he loves me not. This was a photography post from 2015 and still one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken (which won second place in a local photo show).
3. Freshly baked. This was also a post from 2015 for the weekly photo challenge.
4. The Sunday Post: Out of Office. This was a very brief post consisting of a picture taken while I was at the beach. I think people just liked seeing me so happy. 🙂
5. Spared. This another photo challenge entry, this time from 2016.
6. The Sunday Post: Farewell to a Friend. In 2021 we lost a someone I hadn’t seen in years but who was an important part of my college life. I wrote this post in his honor as well as my dad’s, while sharing a scene from a show that touched my heart.
7. So Little Time. This mid-2021 post tried to cover a little bit of all the things going on in my life that were taking up my time.
8. Sunday drive. Another photo challenge entry, this one from 2017.
9. Wednesday Worries. This was an early 2021 entry and early into my dating life.
10. My Single Life: Day 49. I wrote this after my fourth date with S, when I referred to him as “the dress guy.”
    Bonus entry because it was very close between #10 and #11:
11. The Sunday Post: Pillow Talk. The only poem to make the list, and it happens to be about S, or “the dress guy.”

I find it interesting that entries going back as far as 2015 made this list. Maybe that shows how popular the WordPress photo challenges were, or maybe that I should do more photo posts. I’m glad at least one poem made the list, even if I had to stretch the list to eleven to make that happen.

I’ll try to write more regularly in 2022. Not sure yet what the topics will be, but I’m counting on them being optimistic, positive, or at least worthy of your time. Thanks for reading and if you have any suggestions or feedback, I’d love to read it. Hope 2022 is off to a good start for you.

Take care and stay safe!