New Year, Same Me
Whoa, it’s been 9 months since my last post, and that was kind of just a random check in post. Truthfully, I have no idea if anyone even reads this blog anymore (not that I ever had a huge following). It’s always been a bit of a fun exercise for me doing it and I like being able to share my thoughts on books, movies, and other things going on in my life. However, it takes a lot of work to keep up a blog and other forms of media (e.g. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram) have all taken over and blogs are more and more scarce. I totally get it, too. I spend way too much time scrolling through IG and TikTok these days. However, there’s still something I really love about a medium that is less ephemeral than most content these days. I like being able to reference a website when looking up a review instead of trying to find a video and then having to watch that video in order to find the information I need.
Truthfully I am not sure what the future of this blog will be in the coming year. It may be time to hang up my blogging boots but I haven’t really decided yet.
Looking back on 2022, I failed pretty miserably at my reading goals. I went through several book slumps where nothing was exciting to me. I am not sure if it was my book choices that led to these feelings or just my general outlook. It was probably a combination of both. I am trying not to beat myself up about it but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed in myself.
One of the things that helped when I was in a reading rut were audiobooks, specifically celebrity memoirs. I listened to 3 notables celebrity narrated memoirs last year.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy was an honest, funny, and at times heartbreaking memoir by former child actor Jennette McCurdy. I too old to be interested in iCarly when it came out, but picked this one up due to all of the buzz it was getting. I knew nothing about McCurdy’s life but was captivated my her story and I would highly recommend this book.
I picked up My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo because I am just a fan of his. I’ve loved him in movies and have visited his donut shop, Trejo’s Donuts. His story has always interested me and it was cool to hear about his life in his own words. I also listened to actor Simu Liu’s book We Were Dreamers, which I also really enjoyed. While his upbringing was very different than mine, there was a lot of overlap in our experiences.
It’s really crazy to think that it’s already 2023. I have no idea where 2022 went. I feel like 2022 was the year that people started coming out of the pandemic but I am not sure if I ever really did. I felt more isolated than I did when we were in actual lockdown. I was pushed to the brink of mental and physical burnout. There were small moments of happiness here and here but not enough.
Moving forward in 2023 I hope to find more balance and to make myself a priority. I’d like to be more present and find more joy in every day life. Last year kind of sucked and I am hoping that a more positive outlook will translate into a happier year. I want to do things that I like and hang out with my friends more. I want to scroll less and do things that engage my mind and senses, whether that be reading, crafting, watching a new show, or exploring a new place.
No promises on when I will be back here but sending anyone reading this hugs and happy wishes for 2023.
