New Year, Same Me.
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Hello, it’s me again! Back in your inboxes to enlighten (or bore) you with my random thoughts and opinions. I must say, it does feel good to be writing this newsletter again after a minor 3 week hiatus.
During the small break this newsletter has had over the festive period, we’ve had Christmas and Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and to top it off my birthday. For me at this time of year there’s always so much going on in such a short space of time. But for obvious reasons the festivities this year felt very, well, underwhelming and non-eventful. The start of a new year coinciding with my birthday always gives me time to reflect and pause, and think about what I’ll be doing differently in the year to come.
The start of 2021 doesn’t feel like the start of a typical new year to me, in fact it doesn’t really feel like a new year at all. The heaviness and weight of 2020 lingers like a bad smell. Mainly because nothing really changed, the pandemics are both still ongoing, and yes I referenced two pandemics - the deadly virus and the racial pandemic.
In London the virus is still raging in all of its different variations, we are in another national lockdown (which coincidentally was announced on my birthday - yay me), and the start of 2021 is looking pretty bleak. Morale is at rock bottom. Who could blame us for feeling crap after the year we’ve had?
One change I’ve noticed over recent months is that many of us are now living lives aligned with goals we’d have once set previously. We’re getting back into old hobbies, we’re cooking more, we’re finishing reading all of those books which have been on our reading lists for years, and we’re taking some well earned rest (I hope). We may have little reason to feel optimistic right now, but this simplified way of living is at last aligning with our long-standing resolutions.
This year I want to do things a little differently. Instead of thinking about all of the goals I want to accomplish and targets I want to reach, I’m setting intentions of how I want to live and what I want to feel like. This way I don’t have to tick off invisible markers of success I know I probably won’t achieve, this way I won’t be left feeling disappointed and unaccomplished once this year comes to an end. This may be a new year, but it’s still the same me. Call me a J’Nae 2.0 if you like!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to see more of what I’m up to, and I’ll see you same time same place next week!
Catch you soon,
J’Nae
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
- Self-care is something we should be practicing year round, I don't know about you but I've been a bit slack with it as of late. This article by The Good Trade explores 99 free (or affordable) self-care ideas for your wellness routine.
WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING:
- Death to 2020 was a hilarious Netflix show which made fun of the disaster that was 2020, and basically said what we were all thinking.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
- I'm giving it a go with mental health and wellness focused podcasts again, and one that's caught my attention is Unf*ck your brain, it's easy to get into and the 20 minute episodes don't take up much of your day.
WHAT’S CAUGHT MY EYE:
- This article by Refinery29 on ways you can give back and volunteer in 2021 is a great read, and definitely something worth looking into if you have spare time on your hands.
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