End of Year Reflections | Looking Back at 2021

   This year felt like a whirlwind. It really doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I wrote up my summary of 2020. Yet, here I am. Another year older, new skills in my repertoire, and not at all taller. This year I found myself doing all sorts of things creatively. From writing a dozen blog posts in a matter of forty-eight hours, to folding maybe a hundred paper stars. From sewing for days at a time, to sitting in my room with a guitar for hours. There have been paintings, drawings, and chalk art, as well as cakes, blankets, and drawing fake tattoos all over my arms. I am hoping that the creative motivation carries over into the new year. 

    2021 feels so strangely short until I think about everything that I did in a year's time. I look back and think about how much happened in my life. In comparison to 2020, I believe it was better. Though I still had some intense stress at times, it was a lot less than the '19-'20 stress I endured. Instead of having nearly everything cancelled like the year before, I actually got to carry out a bunch of my plans. The word that ended up being my "word of the year" ended up fitting perfectly too. 

January

    The first month of the year didn't hold an awful lot for me. Storms encased my windows in ice and I stayed home for the most part. I picked up the guitar and ended up learning a song without any previous knowledge of how to play. My family had been living in rural Indiana for a few months at this point and I had to take care of some business back in Chicago. It was then that I realized how little I missed the big city. 😂  

    The last week of January, I got hit with a huge burst of motivation to be creative. I had pulled out the sewing machine and made plush animals and even dabbled a little bit in acrylic paint after a few years. 

February

     Long trudges through  feet of snow on the edges of the property, long hours spent sewing, and another Valentine's round of cards to give (there was way too much glitter). I was still trying to play guitar and was actually beginning to sound better with the singing at the same time as playing. Preparation for the garden began and my hands were covered in dirt while music blasted in the living room. 

    My Valentine's was treasured by spending time with a couple girls (I call them my little sisters) I love dearly at my home. We played games, ate food, and laughed probably a little too hard. I played the guitar and sang for them, we made memories, and had a ton of fun. 

March

    I'm going to be completely transparent with you. March is one of my two least favorite months ever. In March of 2020, I lost someone very important in my life. It had only been a year since his passing and March felt cold even though the weather was warming. It was a really bittersweet month for me. 

    Of course, there were of course some happy moments too. I played guitar, played video games with my youngest brother, and even had a movie night with friends which ended with me having a strong urge to dye my hair. 

    I was pretty creative too. My family and I wanted to have a sort of guest book for our house, so I made a sort of interactive art display that changes each month. People sign their names on the giant chalkboard, and then at the end of the month we wipe the slate clean to start over. 

April

    April is what I called "prep month one." I was writing a ton of blog posts to have ready for posting, fundraising for four weeks of Joni & Friends Retreats, and getting the garden all set for planting. My German Shepherd turned one and I can still hardly believe how big she is now. I was helping my younger brother apply to go to JAF and I am pretty sure that my family thought that all I ever talked about was camp. It is probably an accurate thought. 

    This was also our first spring in our new home. We were able to see the new growth and blooming flowers for the first time. It was so special. 

May

    And so began "prep month two." It was the last month before the insane schedule of my busy season started. There were thrifting trips to try and finish my costume, lots of writing, and intense cleaning before I was going to be gone for a few weeks. Another way I was prepping for summer was chopping my hair. I had my hair on the longer side for a bit and thought it was time to cut it. That way I would have an easier time with hair when the schedule got crazy. It was a pretty big change. 

    I was so very thankful for a little "break day" on the 21st. I had been grinding out post after post before I would be spending all my time packing and preparing for a party. My brothers and I went kayaking with a friend in Monticello and laughed pretty much the entire time. I think at one point, I summed it up in three words. "Chaos, panic, and hilarity."

    My family and I ended the month with a celebration. It was the fiftieth anniversary of my grandfather, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and father immigrating to the United States. While we ate and laughed, many memories and moments were discussed. It was a perfect way to finish off the month and really kick off my busy schedule. 

    Soon, I had packed four whole bags and was ready to get going. After a nap. And packing a few things we needed to help the ICHE conference along. 😂

June

    After weeks of work and preparation, the real work began. Four days of conference, customer service, and lots of lost and found, the conference wrapped. Did that mean that it was time to go home? Absolutely not. I would not be going home until nearly a month later. After watching some of my friends play volleyball, I went back to the room I was staying in and packed up my stuff to leave before the sun rose.

    Then, three of my favorite weeks of the whole year happened. There was glitter in my hair, sparkles on my face, and joy in my heart. I served three weeks back to back at the Maranatha Joni & Friends Family Retreat. I was nearly thrown from a golf cart, went on many tubing adventures, sang karaoke, danced in a talent show, and laughed so much. I won't go into much detail since I have posted about each of these individual weeks before. You can read those by going here. Though I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it all, I would have done three more weeks in a heartbeat. I was able to experience a "little slice of heaven", many artful sunsets, and more smiles than I could ever count. There was lots of singing, running all over campus, and of course dance parties. 

July

    While July wasn't as busy as the month before, it was still full of lots of adventures. July holds some special memories. Concerts, camps, parties, and always lots of laughter. 

    My family, friends, and I drive up to Osh Kosh every year for three days of non-stop concerts. From Skillet and for King & country, to JJ Heller and Jason Gray. There is always an amazing lineup and show to see. Singing and dancing in the pit for the first time in two years was so surreal. You can read all the details and hilarity of this adventure here. 

    July also held the celebration of my twentieth birthday. That's right, I have left my teen years behind me. I have entered what I have dubbed my "roaring '20s" and will carry my fierceness into this new decade. I was surrounded by people I love for a party, eating great food, and only one of us got injured. He's ok and I am sticking to my fact that it was not my fault (yeah not on me, sir 😂). My cousin and best friend slept over and we got some late night froyo too!

    The month ended with campfire chats, swimming, screaming down a really steep slide, and DQ. Card games were played, a trip to the movie theater to watch Black Widow happened, and it was a great trip. 

August

    Oh look! Another trip! I swear it feels like I was just never at home during the summer. 😂 I was off to another JAF retreat and this time my brother was going with me. My eighth retreat. His first retreat. I did enough tubing to tide me over until next summer, laughed a ton, sang in the talent show, a marshmallow throwing war (it was leader permitted don't worry 😂). I was hoping to hear my brother say two words. After a couple days, he said them. "Next year." It may just be my absolute favorite moment of the whole year, and I am so excited that he wants to do it all again in 2022. 

I also wore jeans for the first time since my freshman year in high school. So that's pretty crazy. 

September

    Most of my trips usually involve me working or doing all kinds of activities. In September, I went on a trip where absolutely nothing was required of me. 😂 I was able to just sit by the water listening to music, go on hikes, and just wander around. All my favorite moments involve sitting next to a campfire. I actually rested while on a trip for pretty much the first time all summer. It was pretty wonderful. I had my camera on me pretty much the entire time. 

    Once I returned from the camping trip, I decided to have a little bit of an impulse decision. Cutting my hair again. I got it chopped to a chin length. The last time it had been that short was when I was six years old. 

October

    October meant that it was time for the last Joni & Friends event of the year. My brother and I headed over to Highland, IN and attended Walk'N'Roll. It's technically a fundraising event but most of us call it a family reunion. We played a giant board game, I got to laugh with my friend Bella, and then there was some singing. I stayed as long as I could and helped with clean up since I didn't want it to be over. Eventually, we wrapped up and said bye. 

    On my youngest brother's birthday, we went driving around and had a mini adventure. We had funnel cake, found some pretty sweet locations, and had a great time looking around some antique shops. 

November

    So November was pretty interesting. It started out with puzzles, coffee, decorating, and games, but took a sad turn kind of quickly. In August of 2014, we got our dog Lucy. She passed away after some health issues. We miss her so much and sometimes we'll catch ourselves calling out for her. She was such a good girl even though she enjoyed stealing our food sometimes. 

    I attended a young adult conference in the Chicagoland area and enjoyed the speaking. Of course at these sorts of events, there is always a mingle portion. If you know me well, you know that I really don't enjoy ice breakers or forced mingling. So I kind of hid. 😂 I just disappear and not even my friends can find me. On my lunch break, I ended up in Wheaton. I was able to meet my cousin's new baby girl as well as hang out with the rest of the family. It was so nice to see them. After lunch, I headed back and was deeply encouraged by the rest of the sessions. I kinda feel bad for pulling the Irish Goodbye at the end of the event though. 😂

    Of course, how could I talk about November without mentioning the release of Red (Taylor's Version)? Well it's impossible. My little sisters drove out and we listened to the album all afternoon, singing at the top of our lungs, all the way to get froyo and back. 

    My cousin came over for Thanksgiving, we sang a bunch, I pulled more than enough pranks (it would be weird if I didn't), and we had a little bit of a girls day the next day. There was lots of laughter, games, and of course amazing food. 

December

    Christmas lights, music, and the smell of baking cookies wafting through the house. There was a decent amount of time where I drove at night (finally got my drivers ed and learner's permit) this month. A little bit into the new year, I should have my driver's license. 

    The motivation to create was super high and I used decorating as a way to vent it. I cut out, folded, and glued star after star. After hot glue burns, complications, and reworking the plan a few times, I eventually got it to where I wanted it. Now, paper stars hang around my room and in the kitchen of my family's house. 

    My family and I started a little tradition a few years ago. We have enjoyed serving in an Operation Christmas Child Warehouse for a shift or two every year. Helping inspect Shoebox gifts, sealing them, and placing them in shipping boxes. This year, we brought a group. It was so much fun. There was Christmas music playing, some friendly competition (I totally won 😜), and thousands of boxes were processed. In all, we worked about ten hours. If you haven't done this yet, I absolutely recommend finding a processing center near you and volunteering a few hours for this great cause. 

    The week leading up to Christmas is normally a pretty insane week. This year was absolutely no different. In addition to what I call "Cookie Armageddon," we had some pretty awesome things planned. It was an absolutely packed week. Sunday kicked us off with church, a birthday lunch with my brother, a photo shoot, watching the new Spider-Man movie, and then a living Nativity. The next morning, we kicked off our week of baking. Then went to go and see Spider-Man again. 😂 We got a little behind with our baking schedule due to going to the movies twice, so we ended up grinding out more than normal in the last two days. 

    Christmas Eve was something so special and fun. I drove us to pick up my brother from work and to the Christmas Eve service. After the service was over, we rushed home for our annual special Christmas Eve spaghetti. It is an old family recipe and it is just spectacular. After we ate our fill of those delicious carbs, it was time to give gifts. I had struggled so much to wait and give my family their gifts. There was so much laughter, joy, and straight up screaming. 

    Christmas Day. A day spent with my dad's extended family. The cookies I had baked came a little late to the gathering and when I walked in, I was not greeted. Shouts of "THE COOKIES" was heard. 🤣 Lots of food and laughter, scaring the heck out of my cousin, and joking about anything was had. That night, I drove almost three hours back home in the dark. A smile on my face nearly the whole ride. 

-fin

    Now in between Christmas and New Years, I am attempting to write blog posts and clean the house. I am so thankful for the year that I had. I had some highs and lows. There were some hard moments and if I'm honest, I'm having a bit of a hard time right now. But remembering that all of this will help me grow as a person helps. I may not have the big picture right now, but one day I will be able to look back and see how it strengthened me in the long run.

    2022 is quickly approaching and I am so excited to see what it will hold. Both good or bad. I already know some of my plans and can't wait to get to them. In the new year, I intend to continue being fierce and try my best. I don't have any resolutions but I do have goals and a "word for the year." Here's to getting stronger and being creative.

     Thank you SO much for reading. It means so much to me that you do! Keep an eye out for a post on this site eight days from now (a super easy way to be notified is to follow or subscribe 😉), or for a post four days from now on She Be Fierce 2! You can also follow SBF on Pinterest for some inspo, see what I'm interested in, and repin blog posts! If you want to see what I'm up to, you can follow me on  Instagram. I am trying to post more consistently on my Instagram, and am actually ok with posting to my stories. So go check it out!

Until Next Time,

KS

    

-do you have goal for the new year?

-do you have a favorite moment of 2021?