2021 Recap & 2022 Goals

Well friends, here we are again, January 1. The beginning of another year, and the closing of another chapter. It seems like just yesterday we were going into 2020 – the last 2 years have been a blur, to say the least.

This post is long, and very vulnerable. So, bare with me and let’s get into it!

2021 was a hard year for many people, I won’t mention it, because we all know why. I had many great moments in 2021, as well as some not great moments, which i’ll go more into depth later in this post.

SO – let’s recap the amazing things that happened this year:

I went back to full time at my job (after working less than 40 hours a week for over a year)
We had a tree fall on the front of our house (THIS WAS NOT GREAT), however, it turned out to be a major blessing in disguise and we were able to get a new roof, re-do all our flowerbeds (with rock), upgrade all of our outdoor lighting, and completely re-design our front porch. All things we were hoping to accomplish over the new few years, but we got to it a littler sooner than expected and it turned out amazing
We celebrated Riley turning 28, and me turning 27
I got ENGAGED 🙂 on June 7th at the end of The Island in the Sky trail at Canyonlands National Park, and it was everything I could have dreamed of and more
Riley and I picked a wedding date and have been planning the wedding/Honeymoon of our dreams, May 27th you can get here as soon as you would like!
We spent ALOT of time with family and friends this year, and it was all very intentional and living in the moment times
We both stayed healthy (& sick free), as well as all our family
We were thankfully able to spend the Holidays with all our loved ones

At this point you’re probably wondering why I haven’t been sharing those big things (very much) on social media, well that’s what the rest of this post is about. I want to preface this by saying I am NOT looking for pity, or attention, etc. I’m sharing this solely to talk about how I felt this past year, and hope that if anyone else has felt, or is feeling this way, they know that they are not alone. Anything you accomplished this year, no matter how big or how small it was, know that you should be proud of yourself, and YOU ARE ENOUGH.

2021 – the year that I hated who Social Media made me. Yes, you read that correctly. For multiple reasons, this past year Social Media has really driven me over the edge, and i’m here to explain why I backed off for a year, and what I came to realize throughout the year that I plan on taking with me into this New Year.

So.. let’s dive into it. I hated who Social Media made me for 2 specific reasons:

Reason #1 – was trying SO hard to keep up with the Joneses. Between my wardrobe, my home, my personal life, my work life, I was always striving for better. I was spending money I shouldn’t have been spending to try to make sure I had the newest clothes, the newest items for my house, the “newest” new. I was spending time worrying, stressing, making myself sick over things that were beyond my control. Which in return? Left me feeling simply put, like I still wasn’t good enough. While this isn’t all about the money, it was more about the fact that I was constantly comparing my life and what I had to people who clearly were in different places in their lives. I saw all these people on social media spending crazy money at Target to redo their houses, and spending $5k+ on bedroom furniture, and building dreamy $1M homes, and I thought, I simply wasn’t good enough because I didn’t have those things, and boy, was I WRONG. I have said it before, I will say it again, money and material things DO. NOT. EQUAL. HAPPINESS. Worrying and stressing myself out over those things did absolutely nothing other than ruin my “free time” because I was in constant comparison mode, and really, it wore me down pretty quickly.
Reason # 2 – This goes along with #1, but I was constantly putting my successes, my achievements on the back burner because every time I opened up social media I saw someone “doing better”. But what does that phrase even mean? Doing better than who? How are they doing better than someone living a TOTALLY different life than them? How do you compare yourself to someone whose on a different chapter of live, and a different page of their story? That’s right, YOU DON’T. It took me a long time to figure this out. I would downright get myself upset scrolling through Instagram always saying “wow I wish I had that house”, “wow I wish I could have a Range Rover”, “wow I wish that I could travel the world”, “wow I wish I had that big of a closet and all those designer items”. BUT WHY DO I WISH THAT???? Social Media makes it seem as if, if you don’t have the nicest things, or own the biggest house, or drive a luxury car, that you aren’t doing as well as someone else. I HATED IT. I hated that feeling every single time I looked on my instagram, Then, one day I read something on a meme on Facebook that said “Someone is dreaming of living the life you have” and it hit me, I have been SO inconsiderate of the beautiful life I have been given, and was just wanting more. More money, more clothes, more material items, more, more more. When in reality? I have everything I could ever need and more. I have a beautiful home I share with my soul mate, I have an amazing job that I love and feel tremendously appreciated at, I have the best family and friends a girl could possibly as for. In my eyes? I have it all.

I think it’s important to remember that Influencers, or strangers you see on the internet don’t come on stories when they’re fighting with their spouses, they don’t come on stories to share when they receive bad news, they don’t come on stories and share all the bad, because who wants to constantly see the negative of someone else’s life? Now don’t get me wrong, a lot of influencers over the last few years have started sharing the good, bad, and the ugly, and it’s important to remember that everyones good, bad, and ugly look VERY different from one another, but that does not discredit it. Every single “win” in life is worth celebrating.

Every time I would compare my life to someone else, I always had to remind myself where I was years ago, and where I am today. To remember to be thankful for what I have, because what I currently have, could be someone else’s dream.

If you made it this far, thank you! Thank you to everyone who supports me daily, who pushes me to be a better person, and to anyone who uses my links, asks for advice, or even gives the friendly “hi”, I see you, and I appreciate you.

I’ll go more into details of these goals on a separate post (to give you all a break about hearing me talk)…. but here are some goals i’m setting for myself going into this New Year.

Be the best version of myself, everyday.
Show up for myself everyday, even when I don’t feel “good enough”
Drink more water (every years goal lol), fuel my body with healthier choices
Keep a positive attitude
Grow my internet space to be a safe haven and share my daily life

So, here it is, cheers to 2022, the year I am apologetically, ME.

Xo, Alison