2020: Highlights & Challenges
Updated: Dec 27, 2020
At the end of every year, I browse through all the images I took and share my favorite highlights of the year. However, it’s important to not focus exclusively on “highlights” due to the a) the highlight reel effect and b) the global/national hell that was 2020. It was actually pretty helpful for me to look through everything and understand that, despite 2020 feeling like a dystopian Groundhogs Day, there was a lot of beauty and growth. I don't want to forget that because this is the only 2020 I had and ever will have.
January
got our first renter to help us survive my adventure in entrepreneurship; we've enjoyed having Matt live with us
had the honor of meeting Dr. Marlene Winell and presenting a workshop on autonomy & boundaries at her annual retreat in San Francisco
February
spent two months caring for my friend Caleb who broke his ankle
a beautiful moment on the Florida coast where I was so satisfied that I didn't care if I lived another moment again.
spent the first two months of the year supporting Dave Warnock of Dying Out Loud, traveling with him to California and Florida; the travel had been a continued growth opportunity for my travel anxiety
March
the COVID-19 pandemic was given birth on this planet; everything I had planned for 2020 was canceled including more travel with Dave Warnock, the CORT conference in Vancouver, and building up my photo/video company
began playing with my lens ball in my photographic work as a means to express how the world was feeling upside down
April
began the FrontStep project in my city; got to meet a lot of my amazing neighbors and help our community connect
did a photo scavenger hunt via biking for Recovery Bike Shop
installed a bidet accessory on our toilets; best thing ever.
May
explored the Cities, documenting all the beautiful things humanity was doing to show their love and solidarity from a distance
June
experienced another layer of awakening to racial/social injustices in the light of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis; attended dozens of protests, gifting the images I took to the organizers for their use; learned a lot, humbled even more, got to meet amazing social justice organizers and activists; as the pandemic got worse, weather got colder, and I got a job, I wasn't able to spend as much time on this in the same way
July
began to experiment with slow-motion videography; turns out I LOVE it.
Met Ethan Michael and Brady Hardin
August
began weekly recipe selection and grocery shopping on a weekly basis for the household (the other 3 were the cooks); also facilitated a shift into more of a vegetarian diet
got to spend a lot more time with my dear friend Joel when he moved in with us after losing his job as a result of the pandemic
got to meet Ilhan Omar as well as a number of other local politicians
September
spent the first ten months of 2020 hustling my entrepreneurial efforts HARD (with little success), seven of those months being during a pandemic
partook of plant medicine for the first time which has woken me up to so much, even now, three months later; helping me find parts of my humanity that I had severed
October
got a new, part-time, forever-remote job with a fantastic culture & highly flexible schedule which pays enough to help our family meet our financial needs
started a (mostly) daily practice of meditation, yoga, breathwork, journaling, & exercise
began backing up the cooks in the house, allowing me to practice cooking without any ongoing obligation
all the plants I planted in the spring, I never harvested & they all died
November
said goodbye to my dear friend Caleb who moved from Minneapolis to Seattle
my friend Amada was elected mayor of our city!
bought an Oculus! SO FUN.
got to vote Trump out of the office
December
recorded & published 30 podcast interviews on my show
dramatically reduced my obsession/compulsion with social media & screens
my life/relationship coaching business was successful despite the pandemic
began cooking for the household once a week
spent all year trying to figure out my passions and my income and my day-to-day balance, all while financially unsure and living in a global pandemic; in the end, I've found a lot of clarity after wading around in chaos
rediscovering a type of "spirituality" that is more art than dogma or the metaphysical; presently compiling my dream team of personal educators on spirituality, including, Alan Watts, Britt Frank, Brene Brown, and Dr. LePera; this discovery has also facilitated an experiential knowledge of humanity as a whole being messy, hurt, raw, gritty, and beautiful; I've begun to explore ritual, internal family systems, and shadow work
my 99 year old grandma survived COVID (asymptomatic)
sprinkled consistently across all these highlights and high quality images were ever-present depression, fear, anxiety, catastrophizing, imposter syndrome, confidence, peace, self-hatred, and chaos; oh and eating a lot of junk food. oh and I look older in my eyes and have a handful of gray hairs.
10 months into the pandemic, I never really felt lonely since we already had a little bubble at our house and with our partners
no Zumba after the pandemic started; never really got into the Zoom thing
2021 is around the corner and I have plans:
Become a part-time digital nomad once the pandemic is more contained and travel is safe. I have so much I want to see & explore around this planet.
More exploration of Jungian psychology and internal family systems
More exploration of meditation/zen/tao/non-metaphysical artful ways of understanding the universe and myself and expressing that un/knowing
