I tend to have a pretty bad memory for events and the timeframes in which they occur. So when I asked myself the other day, “What did I do in 2021?” I couldn’t really come up with much. Taking some time now to reflect on my life this past year.

Significant Roles and Activities

• Caring for our daughter, in partnership with my husband
• Volunteering on a crisis line for women experiencing domestic violence
• Working as a support worker at an inner-city detox centre
• Taking a course on counselling theories
• Taking a course on basic counselling skills
• Applying to a counselling psychology master’s program

Looking at it now, that seems like a lot! But I didn’t do all those things at once. That said, it has been a very significant year for me in terms of living and acting in better alignment with my life goals and passions. For many years before my daughter was born, I went pretty far afield from my long-term interests. Maybe it wasn’t so much “going astray” as it was taking a break after burning out. I’m coming back stronger now with a better knowledge of myself, greater self-compassion, and a child looking up to me.

Areas of Personal Growth

• Developing greater self-awareness (seeing a counsellor, reading, journaling, etc.)
• Learning about parenting - gentle, respectful, loving, consistent, authoritative parenting
• Re-establishing a regular writing practice (still going strong!)
• Re-establishing a regular yoga practice (not so successful!)
• Learning about nutrition and working on better eating habits
• Learning about my apprehensions and fear around writing and creativity

One thing I’d like to work on in 2022 is really watching my energy levels so that I have enough for the people and interests I care about the most. I tend to be tired a lot of the time. I know part of it is related to hypothyroidism. Part is linked to my tendency toward depression. Part of it is my boundaries - I’ve learned in the last two years that my boundaries are pretty weak. I also live in a chaos of clutter, which I believe saps my energy as well. That’s one of the main reasons I’m working on decluttering this year. I’ll be writing about my progress in the coming weeks!