New headshots by the very talented Jon Marquez. Thanks Jon!
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful Christmas/holiday season, and if you were alone due to the pandemic or other factors, I'm praying for you.
Like many people, I've got a big ol' list of goals I want to accomplish in 2022 (for the past few years, I've been using Gretchen Rubin's "__ in 20__" lists and Jennifer Fulwiler's Saint's Name generator and Word of the Year generator). My sister got me a new planner for Christmas, and I can't wait to dive in. But first, I want to take a moment to hope.
In my case, 2022 is full of big life changes and hopefully lots of surprises, too. However, if the past two years have taught us anything, it's that nothing is guaranteed. Plans will go awry, people will let us down, and we can lose jobs, homes, or our health unexpectedly. The lyrics of "The New World" from Jason Robert Brown's Songs For A New World have never felt more real.
It seems stupid to talk about what I'm looking forward to in a year with so many question marks. However, I'm subscribing to this old Anne Shirley adage: "Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them. You mayn’t get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them ... I think it would be worse to expect nothing than to be disappointed."
Here are just a few things I'm looking forward to experiencing (and probably writing about) in 2022:
A new job: Next week, I'm joining the copy desk at Morning Brew full time. Without sharing details, last year was very difficult for me career-wise. I'm so ecstatic to be returning to my first professional love — copy editing — with a great team and excellent writers to boot. If you want to get your business news without being stuffy, sign up for Morning Brew here, and tell them I sent you — did I mention it's free? #shamelessplug
Getting married: If you don't follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or IRL (but not in a creepy way), you may not know that I got engaged on April 24, 2021! My fiancé and I are deep into the wedding planning process and we're so excited to enter into the beautiful vocation of marriage. Tune into the blog next time where I'll be sharing our whole engagement story — and maybe a few ring selfies.
A new apartment: My fiancé and I have signed the lease on our first apartment and I'll be moving in with him after our wedding. Not sharing any more details here because, again, creeps.
A radical conversion ... to an iPhone: Yes, you read that right. After many years on #TeamAndroid, I'm joining the dark side. Please pray for my soul.
More writing: One of my many goals for this year is to write at least 100 words a day for one of the many creative projects I have floating around in my head, including this blog. I can't say for certain what this practice will produce, or if any of it will be fit for public consumption, but we shall see.
Thank you to all of you who have followed me on this journey so far. Here's to hope, however little we have left.
"Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1
What are you looking forward to in 2022? Tell me in the comments below.
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