Perks of Being a Tyneesha: Over & Done with 2021

This post is part 5 of 23 in the series:
Perks of Being a Tyneesha
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Perks of Being a Tyneesha: Over & Done with 2021
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Hello everyone! This will be my last post of the year, so Merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy new year in advance.

If you’ve been keeping up, you know, I just write a minor life update every so often. The last one I wrote was about spending spring in lockdown. As I’m writing this, It is the first day of summer and the last month of this rollercoaster year. So this catch-up will just be a little look back at the year that was and thoughts about the year coming.

I started this year with SO much optimism

I love making playlists and Pinterest boards ready for the new year to kind of define my intentions for the year. I never end the year in the same spirit as I started it. Still, it’s interesting to look back on it, so here are my 2021 inspo materials from January.

If you check out the Pinterest board, there are basically three main elements – the colour green, conch piercings and tattoos. I did, in fact, achieve that energy this year, so that’s awesome.

Pinterest: ’21
Spotify: Dinosaur

The highlights

My last post summarised many of my favourite achievements in terms of University and blog stuff, so I won’t rehash that here. I’ve reflected on personal journeys throughout the year through the topics I’ve chosen to write about. I might not always speak from first-hand experience, but I wouldn’t write about something that doesn’t mean anything to me.

It’s interesting writing this post right now because I feel like I’ve already said everything I can about this year. I’ve made a conscious effort to live and learn and then replicate that knowledge and share it. I’ve written about ADHD and neurodivergence quite a bit because it was at the forefront of my mind for most of this year. I find it really rewarding to have gathered perspectives and information from other neurodivergent people, too.

I’ve written a lot this year about the importance of spending time by yourself. I need to experience new things to feel happy, and at peace, so I spent a lot of my spare time this year just going on little adventures with myself. Living close to nature means that there are so many walking tracks and random little pockets of forest-like environments to explore.

A big part of what makes adventuring valuable is the element of it that encourages you to trust your intuition and see what you find. I have an adventure challenge book that my parents got me for my birthday this year. That might seem like a funny gift, given we were put into lockdown a few weeks afterwards. It’s definitely helpful to have guidance, but as with anything, the best experiences come on a whim.

Lockdown definitely reinforced how honouring your own decisions and impulses is the best thing you can do for yourself. This is a pretty universal experience, but lockdown also made me realise how many opportunities I take for granted.

Now that we’ve been allowed out a bit more, It’s become quite unlikely that I’ll say no to an experience. I figure if I say yes and it’s a good time, excellent. If I say yes and it’s a bad experience, I’ll definitely learn something from it; at the least, it’s a good story. There’s nothing to be had but regret if you say no.

There were, perhaps, some setbacks…

While I think that overall, I had a very positive year. Of course, there was that car accident and the whole lockdown thing, but the worst parts of this year brought the greatest blessings. If there’s a lesson I’m taking out of 2021, it’s that mindset is everything. Prioritising yourself and your health and happiness really does take the negative weight off of less fortunate events.

Do what makes you happy and healthy. Don’t apologise for putting yourself first; it’s your life. You should be living it for yourself, especially when you’re young and not responsible for anyone else. There are always going to be challenging moments in life, but there’s always something to gain.

When you’re okay internally, things don’t feel like they happen TO you; they’re just happening around you. You’re your own doomsday bunker. Make sure you’re comfortable and prepared when worst comes to worst.

So what’s been going on lately?

Since my last update, I’ve gotten my second vaccination. I’ve sadly witnessed the death of my lavender plant and finished the semester (finally). I got a new Pixel 6. I even went home to Dubbo about a month ago. It’s been a good few months, for sure. I love being allowed to go out again, talk to strangers, hug friends, and generally enjoy my freedoms.

Being home was lovely, and it allowed me to gain some more confidence in terms of driving. I’m so much more confident driving than I thought I ever would be. I also got to see my family and some friends. I’ve been playing around with video content and reels, actually, so here’s the one I made about going home.

There’s always next year…

Next year I turn 21. I am sure it’ll be a great year. I’m trying not to be cheesy, but I’m in a very formative part of my life, and I’ve been laying the foundations for some great things to come. I don’t remember the last time I ended a year, hoping that the next year would be better. That sounds really sad, but it’s true. This year, I’m just glad that I’m making it to 2022. I’ll be happy if it’s even almost as positive as this year has been for me, and I know it’s likely to be even better.

I get to go home for Christmas in a few weeks, which is awesome because I wasn’t sure if the pandemic would subside enough to allow it. It is worth mentioning that there is a third variant that’s running loose in the community now, and Wollongong specifically has had a few positive cases this week. I’m not going to jinx myself by saying that it’ll be fine, but I hope everyone makes that extra effort to be safe and avoid a third lockdown. If it happens, though, at least I know I’ll be fine.

ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!

Okay! If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this post, you deserve a reward. So, I’m going to share some secrets. For a few months, my Dad and I have been working on setting up a website and business structure to start offering photography services like a proper pro! I’m really excited. There’s nothing that makes me feel quite as good as photography does. It’d be an absolute blessing to grow a career from doing something that I love. I did a photoshoot yesterday; I haven’t done one for quite a while and fell in love all over again. It’s not ready yet, but it’s coming together, and I can’t wait to show you soon.

I’m also working on re-vamping the store. I’ve taken so many beautiful images this year, and none of them are available as prints just yet – but hold in there. If you’re reading this and there are any photos in particular that you’d like a print of – let me know. The best way of doing this would definitely be via Instagram. Just have a scroll back, send me my own post, and I’ll make it happen. I also want to thank everyone who bought prints this year – it truly means the world to me.

Well, that’s all for this year! I’ll be back with more updates in January unless I make something I want to post during the break. Enjoy the holidays, spread love not covid, and once again, thank you for all the support. Congrats on making it through 2021.