Blogging Insights – New Year, New Story

Happy new year everyone!

I’ve been pondering on Tanya’s selected quote for her prompt, Blogging Insights – New Format #24.

I think of the proverbial phrase “starting the next chapter of your life” and the metaphor that we are the authors of our lives and every decision we make determines the life story we live into. Rather than be fixated on the past, we can focus on what we can experience and do now which impacts the potential possibilities of our lives. Our past reveals a slice of who we are and can indicate why we may have certain predilections.

Coincidentally, as I’m typing this, I’m also watching an episode of Supergirl where Lena encourages Andrea to redeem herself after she made a selfish mistake that costed her employee his life. Lena Luthor has endured societal disdain due to her family bloodline. Although she has made an effort to not be like her sociopathic, ruthless brother, Lex Luthor, and create a positive reputation for herself, there were definitely moments in the depth of her valleys where she was quite vengeful. Her story arc had many twists and turns. Supergirl firmly believes we are defined by our choices.

“Embrace the person you want to be and the choices you want to make.”

Lena Luthor gives Andrea Rojas her own hope speech

Supergirl Season 6, Episode 16

I think of several musical artists that cite new musical influences that can shift the entire tone of their own future albums. If you experiment with a new style of writing and find that you want to incorporate that into your default style, it can take roughly a few months or more to establish something new as part of your routine. It takes work to let go of old mindsets and stretch your mental muscle to intentionally incorporate a new way of thinking or create a whole new paradigm. Other times, events can immediately change and establish new behaviors in individuals. Adaptive intelligence requires understanding your issue so that you can utilize and integrate all your experiences and skills to respond to challenges successfully.

Moving to New Home Invites Changes

The only valid notion of intelligence is our ability to change.

– Albert Einstein

After a long, complicated moving process, I finally moved into my new home, and I need a break from unpacking boxes and moving furniture to take care of myself and blog. I’ve been waffling back and forth as to what I was going to write until I saw the “JUST JOT IT” January prompt. Spontaneous it is! 😉

Day 4 – Generosity with Sadje and Linda

I’m quite sentimental, and I’ve been unearthing years of memories attached to my belongings that I’ve lugged with me this whole time. Clothing, photographs, paperwork, books, arts and crafts. For a group of inanimate objects, they sure have been generous in providing me some memories of life’s grand and mundane experiences. I’ve released some things to the Goodwill after I thanked them for giving me such great memories. Perhaps its story will get to live on in someone else that decides to buy them.

70 New Year Quotes That Will Inspire a Fresh Start to the Year

I think back to all I did last year, and I still feel in shock as to how much I did. I laugh at the theme of my blog posts last year and the free-spirited trend that seems to follow. I realized I have difficulty sticking to the plan. Life rarely seems to be linear in my case. Here are some 2021 highlights:

• January: I unleashed this ambitious plan to organize my blogging schedule and have themed posts each day. (Monday Merchandise, Tasty Tuesdays, 1Liner Wednesdays, Thursday Trivia and Taboo, Friday Flowers, Saturday Shocks, Sunday Spa)f Powerful affirmation to set the year.
• February: We had a crazy ice storm that messed up our energy grid, but these funny shaped veggies made me laugh. I created some homemade Valentine cards for a nursing home and made some delicious Ukranian Piroshki.
• March: My friend and I decided to virtually teach a crochet class to 70 interested alumni students. That endeavor evolved from a one-day class where I thought maybe 6 people would show up to a two-month class to accommodate 70 students!
• April: I was delighted by my A2Z Blogging Challenge where I focused on birds.
• May: I attempted to finish the A2Z bird challenge, but stopped at the Magpie. My friend who taught the crochet class with me was going through her own stress of being unemployed, so I painted some kindness rocks with her. We were both happy when she eventually found work as a teacher. She is a natural educator, and she may have found her calling. However, I strongly feel teachers don’t get enough appreciation in this country for all they do.
• June: Read a lot of books over the summer. I took a blogging course with Udemy that a friend gifted me for being his Patreon subscriber while concurrently working on my master’s program. I earned an advanced beauty certification for fun and learned so much about skincare and cosmetics.
• July: The last of my grandparents passed away, and I was deeply saddened by this loss despite not knowing her so well. My friend, boyfriend, and I had a road trip to a Lego convention which I enjoyed all the authors’ imaginative works.
• August: I attempted to continue the bird challenge once again and stopped at the Plover. I was excited about the Blogger’s Bake-off but I was also recovering from Covid. I took an extended break from school. So, I just watched the Festival of Love from the sidelines. as bloggers shared treats baked from a full heart. ❤
• September: I had a nasty strain of Covid which almost killed me, so I focused on all the things I was grateful for… namely being alive! I lost a close friend to Covid, so I felt distraught.
• October: I enjoyed plenty of spooky endeavors and wrote a story on how to survive a zombie apocalypse and my own strange encounter with the otherworldly.
• November: I published my first book, Breakthrough Leadership with Sa Huynh! My school recognized me for my earlier efforts for the crochet class amongst other things. Honestly, the black hole in the ocean mystifies me! I also designed a calendar for which I was a model.
• December: After a bizarre argument that my roommate had with the complex manager, I found out we were moving. I took a leadership course with Rotary and had a wonderful nomadic Christmas taking pictures of all the Christmas trees I saw on my adventure as I face timed with family.

I learned a few lessons:

1. When recovering from all sorts of ailments and loss, “less” can be just as meaningful as “more”.
2. In my case, plan as best I can and reevaluate and pivot as I go.
3. I took all the time I needed to mourn and heal.
4. Opportunity sometimes strikes during inopportune moments.

This year, I think I’ll just blog freely and follow what inspires me. I would like to spend more time with family back home and more time with loved ones. This year my supervisor gave me the opportunity to blog on technical cyber subjects for our company blog. I’m very excited by that. I may experiment with the podcast feature on WordPress.

In the meantime, I’ll rest on Johann’s quote which may inspire my next post. 🙂

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writer