Well, we did it. We made it to 2023. I don’t know why, but I’m so glad to see the back of 2022. Here’s the thing, looking back, 2022 wasn’t even a bad year for me – I’ve had much worse – so why am I so relieved it’s finally January? Maybe it’s because I’m already over winter with the dark, the cost of living crisis, covid, and everything else. Or maybe it’s because I’m simply looking forward to seeing what the new year will bring. Who knows?

I do know that I genuinely am looking forward to this year and seeing what I can achieve, and what surprises it’ll bring. It’s kinda nice to have this woken up with this mindset today, as for the past week or so I’ve been feeling really off and not known exactly why. I think it’s something to do with my birthday, and having a busy Christmas and then the new year rolling around in a blink of an eye. I haven’t done resolutions for a few years now, but last year I decided to make a word my resolution instead. My word was ‘courage’ – having a word instead of a resolution really helped me out. Whenever I thought ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I’m not good enough’, instead I’d remember my word, take a deep breath, and carry on. Was it a magic solution to everything? No, and of course there were still situations where it wouldn’t work, but it did help me mentally change my thought patterns to get through some anxious times.

I’ve decided to keep the word thing again for this year – I think as someone who lives and breathes words, it’s more fitting than an actual resolution. I’m still unsure what my new word will be – originally, I thought it could be ‘brave‘, as I wanted to keep a similar theme going to 2022; but actually, I’m quite taken by the word ‘kindness‘ as well. Not just as a reminder to keep being kind to others, but to be kinder to myself as well.We’ll see – maybe by the end of the holidays I’ll have some more clarity on what exactly I’d like this year to look like and which word would fit best.

With that in mind, I’m off to ‘brave’ the weather and walk both the terrors. I wish everyone all the best for the new year, and may it bring peace, happiness and love for you all.

Z xx