Of shifts, self, and starting again

At the start of the year, I set a personal goal to post one blog entry every month. I was on track for a few months, but then life happened, and I skipped a month… or two. Suddenly, it’s October, and we’re just about 80 days away from January 1st, 2025. I obviously didn’t see that goal through, but I want to end the year properly. I only have three more posts to go; it shouldn't be too hard, right?

How has 2024 been for you? I don’t want to sound like a broken record because every year I find myself saying, “This year has been so good to me,” but this year has changed me in ways I hadn’t anticipated. I remember a conversation with a friend, where she said she doesn't have a favorite year; she just lives every year to the fullest, knowing the next one will top the current one. I didn’t understand her at the time, but now I do. I wish I had recorded those defining moments as they happened, but I’ve found it safer to keep my real-time brain dumps personal. Don’t worry though, I’ll share the refined and filtered version with you, as always.

Something shifted in me lately, and I can’t quite explain it. I was filled with a new sense of motivation… in October, mind you. When everyone else is giving up on their goals and resolutions, I thought, I could start at any time, not just at the new year. There’s no definite starting line or finish line; you just start. So I asked myself, if not now, then when? I started three separate things, all within the same week.

One night, I found myself journaling, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I wanted to write about myself. This admission might reveal how much time I’ve spent focusing on others—writing about how people and events have affected me—but I’m not ashamed of it. That night, however, was different. I was writing about me: what I’m working on and how it sparked something within me—a feeling that had been lost for so long.

I know there’s still time before the year ends, and as they say, the end of the year is when the plot twists usually happen. If you ask me, I’m always excited for what’s to come—even though it means I’m getting closer to 28—especially with a very special day I’ve been looking forward to: my best friend’s wedding. Whatever twists and turns the rest of the year have in store, I hope it’s all good tidings.