Looking Back on 2023

I was meant to have this written and posted by New Year's Eve, but I've been so drained and sleepy since Christmas, so I'm having to play catch-up. I know, I know; I'm useless. I'd say 'better late than never, right?', but I'm not sure anyone else would agree once they've suffered through my incessant whining. So... yeah... sorry about this...

Goodbye 2023, hello 2024!

Well, that's another year done and dusted, and I feel like I have very little to show for it. 

I didn't do anything noteworthy, I didn't meet anyone new, I didn't really go anywhere, and I didn't feel good about it. Honestly, I'm not sure 2023 is worth remembering at all.

It was another rough year for me, with my health leaving me mostly housebound, and lots of bad chronic pain flares making it difficult to get out and about and live my life. 

By November, I'd only left the house for non-medical reasons six times, which was one of my worst records yet. I only managed two days out the entire year- once to see Ronan Keating and The City Lights Symphony Orchestra live in London in March (they were amazing, but I got pick-pocketed on the way), and the other was a fun day trip to Longleat Safari Park on my birthday in July. (I saw koalas, a wombat, and giant river otters for the first time, and hand-fed deer and a rainbow lorikeet, so at least that ticked some things off my bucket list). That's it. That's all I did. I'm not even kidding. How pathetic is that?! 

I'm not going to lie, I felt pathetic, and really struggled with my life last year. Or the lack of life in my life; the lack of new experiences, adventures, excitement, and social life. I often felt  isolated and alone, and it wasn't good for my mental health. I should be used to it all after twelve years of housebound life, but I do still miss my old life sometimes, and last year seemed to hit me particularly hard- thankfully, not every day, but more often than it had in a while. 

And as for blogging... well, I didn't manage to do much of that, either, so, let's not go there! Haha!

But despite all that, I'm choosing to look back on 2023 as a year of surviving. 

I got myself through another year without giving up, despite wanting to at times, and  that's an achievement of it's own. 

I also tried my hardest to make the best of every day because I prefer that to moping, and found enjoyment in the little things in life since I couldn't do the big ones. We don't give the little things enough love.

I found happiness in reading and collecting beautiful books, and became particularly obsessed with the Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, Fourth Wing and Blood and Ash series. Escaping into fantasy worlds was definitely my favourite coping mechanism. I enjoyed watercolour painting, did a little cross stitching and embroidery (but not nearly enough), watched a bunch of movies, played a lot of Animal Crossing, began a reading journal, blogged a little, tried to improve my photography and flatlays, wrote some book reviews, shared memes with friends, and spent time with my family and my dog. 

It was definitely not an exciting year on paper, but it was the one I got, and that's okay. They don't all have to be spectacular years full of achievements, adventures, and flashy holidays. It's okay if all you did last year was survive, go to work, and / or hermit yourself away with a book day after day. There's no right way to live, and there is (hopefully) plenty of time left to do all the things we want to.

I'm hoping 2024 will be a better year, and that I'm able to get out and about a little more often, and do more than just existing, but I guess we shall see what the year brings. That's the thing about life; you never know what might happen or where it might take you. If you can't follow your dreams, you just have to take it day by day, and see where it leads you.

What was the best (or worst) thing that happened to you in 2023?