Long time no post! Since my last entry, I attended a workshop on blogging that got me re-thinking my blog strategy and layout. I had wanted to prioritize making those changes before posting again, and then life got busy as I traveled to SoCal, Montréal, NYC, Buenos Aires, and Patagonia (all in the course of 2 months!) So now here I am, blog unchanged, with a new post for the new year. 🎉
2022 In Review
A friend of mine does an annual “year in review” Q&A-style post that I always enjoy. To commemorate the end of 2022, I decided to adapt a version of this for myself with some short answers. I’m hoping to do these every year.
2022 Personal Faves
A list of things I enjoyed a lot in 2022, in no particular order.
Movie: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Though a lot of solid movies came out this year, this was such a refreshingly original sci-fi/fantasy story that became an instant classic for me.
Honorable mentions: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Turning Red, Glass Onion, The Batman
Show: Rings of Power
As Tolkien superfan in my youth (I read the Silmarillion in 9th grade, and attempted to teach myself Elvish so I could write Tolkien fanfiction) I was so excited, yet nervous, for this series. It lived up to all of my wildest hopes and dreams.
Honorable mentions: House of the Dragon, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Station Eleven, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Game (tabletop or video): n/a
I didn’t play any games released in 2022 this year, though I continued to log a good amount of hours in both Hades and Breath of the Wild in my downtime.
Music: LA MAISON by Dreamcatcher
I went heavy on k-pop this year. Though there were a lot of great releases, DREAMCATCHER instantly caught my attention with their kpop-meets-Evanescence sound and aesthetic. I listened to this song on repeat, then the album it was on, then all of their albums. Now I’m a full-on INSOMNIA (their fandom name) who is looking forward to their next release.
Honorable mentions (all albums): I Never Die by G-IDLE, Between 1 & 2 by TWICE, Born Pink by BLACKPINK, ANTIFRAGILE by Le Sserafim, INVU by Taeyeon
Book: Loveless by Alice Oseman
I came very, very close to writing and publishing a long post on the feelings that this book inspired in me about love, sex, passion, and the True Power of Friendship™️. It gave me a better understanding of an identity I never knew much about (ace-aro) including guidance on how to support the ace-aro folks in my life. It was such a wonderful story that made me cry happy tears on a flight home.
Honorable mentions: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, the Wicked & the Divine graphic novel series, the Avatar: the Last Airbender comics
(Note: None of these books were published in 2022, though I’m very bad about reading books right when they come out, so I’m giving myself a pass on having that limitation for this category.)
Other Thing: & Juliet (Musical)
I saw this show for the first time when it was in Broadway previews while I was in NYC. As a genderqueer, pop-music-loving millennial, it instantly captured my heart in the most magical way. I haven’t felt such unbridled joy, cheering, laughing, and nonstop smiling during a musical in, well, maybe ever. I haven’t stopped listening to the OST since. Consider me an amperstan (their fandom name).
Honorable mentions: KPOP the Musical (musical), Noodle in a Haystack (SF restaurant), Notion (web app)
2022 Personal Reflection
What did you do this year that you’d never done before?
Try digital nomad life for the very first time! 🧳 It’s something I’ve wanted to do forever (as detailed in this post) and it was such an adventure finally jumping into the lifestyle. I’ve learned so much, and yet, I still feel like I have so much left to learn to consider myself anywhere near being “good” at it. I’m grateful for all the excitement, challenge, and growth it’s brought into my life.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Studied a language. I had an 800-something day Duolingo streak that I lost in July when I had COVID-19 😭 I’ve restarted last week, and am already up to day 16 – fingers crossed that I can keep it up this time.
I also wish, as I wish every year, that I’d gotten to spend more time on creative projects. I do find that traveling has unblocked some of the self-doubt and stagnation that I feel was also blocking my creative drive. I’ve got some creative goals this year (more on that below) that will hopefully help me feel like I’m making progress in this area of my life.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Mindlessly scrolled social media, mainly reddit. It’s been bad for my mental health, especially knowing the time could have been spent on more meaningful, personally restorative activities. Embarassingly, it’s gotten to the point where I’ve installed blockers on my browsers to curb my habit. I do feel much better on the days when I scroll less and create content more (like for this blog!)
What notable adventures did you have?
Visiting so many wonderful places! Flagstaff, AZ; Dubuque, IA; Montréal, QC; New York City, NY; Oaxaca, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and of course Patagonia ⛰️
The three standout moments of 2022 for me:
- Finally meeting, and getting to bond with, my older and younger cousins on my dad’s side of the family (shout-out to H&H for being welcoming and wonderful).
- Seeing a glacier in person for the first time (which made me feel completely awed and insignificant to the universe, in a good way).
- Being in Buenos Aires for the World Cup final, getting to party in the streets after Argentina won!
What’s your favorite thing that you bought or made?
I made a lot of travel purchases that have helped me level up my packing and organization. My current favorite is my State bag toiletry kit, a practical and colorful organizer for toiletries on the go, because I am a huge nerd for organization.
What did you get really, really excited about?
Getting to finally dive into nomad life completely resparked my zest for life and personal growth in so many ways. It is not an exaggeration to say it was completely life-changing. So I definitely got excited about that.
The & Juliet musical also really deeply moved me in some big ways, and brought that unbridled, youthful delight for a new THING back into my heart that I hadn’t felt in years.
I also jumped for joy when I watched the announcement trailers for Breath of the Wild: Tears of the Kingdom, Hades II, and all the new Silent Hill projects.
What were your goals for 2022? How’d you do on them?
I didn’t quite achieve them, because the focus of my attention rapidly shifted when I finally got the opportunity to live out my nomad dream. My goals were:
- Do more hiking (which I did, though it was mostly done abroad)
- Visit more museums (same as above)
- Read several professional books (I only read one, though it was a good one: Docs for Developers)
- Do several creative photoshoots (I only did one, though it was a darn good one!)
- Launch a personal blog – I DID succeed on this 🙂
Share a valuable life lesson you learned this year.
I had two big learnings this year that are worth sharing.
#1: I got better at initiating, having, and following up on difficult, uncomfortable conversations. This has always been tough for me due to social anxiety and trauma. The conversations I had this year revealed many ways in which I can grow as a person, and helped me dismantle some of my fear and shame tendencies. I’m grateful to have had them, and for the folks involved who showed me grace as I work on being better.
#2: Something else that was big for me this year was starting anti-anxiety medication. Though I’ve had anxiety for a long as I can remember, I resisted the idea of medication in favor of making it a facet of my personality. After giving it a test run, I realized how much ableism I was carrying within myself towards medication, and how much better off my life is when I don’t have an ongoing, intense inner monologue screaming at me, magnifying all my worst fears.
It was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself; I wish I’d tried it sooner. Shout-out to wonderful people around me who were real about their positive experiences with medication helping to de-stigmatize and normalize this as an option for me.
2023 Q&A
What’s your focus for 2023?
For context, every year I pick a “focus” in addition to my goals. It’s what I’m dedicating the year to, in a certain sense – something I want to focus on that isn’t tangible enough to be a goal or practice.
My focus for 2023 is to be more vulnerable and intentional about using words to express to people what they mean to me. I’ve noticed this is something I’ve started habitually avoiding out of anxiety about rejection, to a point where I feel it negatively impacts my relationships. So I’d like to focus on learning how to tell people these things. Life is too short, and too precious, not to do this.
Do you have any 2023 goals? If so, what are they?
- Continue nomading as much as I can (I’m currently in Oman, with plans to go to many more places)
- Try to cultivate a meditation practice (at least 1x per day, minimum 5 minutes each)
- Consistently study language (Spanish and/or Arabic)
- Grow out my side shave and change up my hair
- Take and post more videos instead of photos, as I like the way videos capture and express more
Are you planning to try something that’s brand-new for you?
Lots of things in lots of new places! One thing I would like to try is “DIY nomading” aka doing nomad life without the built-in infrastructure of a program like WiFi Tribe and Hacker Paradise. There are extra challenges to doing it on your own, like having to troubleshoot wifi or housing issues on your own without support, and make the effort to meet new people when you’re feeling lonely. I do think I am ready to step it up and try that out at this point.
What’s something that’s due to be released next year that you will definitely be tuning in for?
A list of confirmed releases:
- BREATH OF THE WILD: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM (I’m gonna make sure to be home in May for that release, I’m SO excited about it)
- HADES II (I don’t know when it comes out, though I’ll try to be home for it as well!)
- The debut of BAEMON (a new k-pop group from the same label as BLACKPINK)
- TWICE’s new album in March + their next world tour (maybe I’ll see them live in an international destination!)
- Lots of new seasons of shows I enjoy, including Bridgerton, Star Trek: Discovery, The Dragon Prince, and more!
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Getting to continue to travel and experience new things. Turning 35, which my dad hyped up as his favorite year of his life. 2022 was an especially good, turning-point year for me after a string of progressively worse years (in 2019, 2020, and 2021, bad things happened). With 2023 shaping up to be my big travel year, it’s bound to be interesting!
Well that was a fun little set of questions – I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed sharing. I would love to hear your answers to these questions as well. Here’s to the new year! 🥳