What 2022 Taught Me

Hey Lovelies!

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

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I was planning on coming back much earlier, but life got in the way - in the best way possible, I’d say. 2022 was in many ways a rollercoaster, but the latter half made me feel like I’m finally alive after the slump of the pandemic. Since the last updates, a lot has changed. So, let’s list some personal highs and lows of the year to start off this post:

The highs:

  • I got engaged. You may know this if you follow my IG, but it hasn’t been a big focal point even there - even though it’s one of the happiest things in 2022. 
  • I got to visit my bestie abroad, and have some much-needed girl talks with the best person I know. (I love and miss you so much girl!)
  • I got to go to concerts of a few of my favorite bands and some “bucket list” bands I’ve been wanting to see for a long time.
  • I bought an apartment. There’s finally a place to truly call home, and even the cat loves it so much.
  • The MCD is in check, and I’m not having the medication side effects anymore.
  • My BA is finally only missing the thesis, and I’ll be graduating in Spring after all these years.
  • I was MuggleNet’s volunteer of the month in July.
  • I got back into reading and working out.
  • I got to meet people I know through a mutual love for music.

The lows:

  • I’ve been battling with body image issues thanks to the medication's side effects.
  • I had a busy and stressful second half of the year and couldn’t have gotten through it all without music, knitting and my rock of a man.
  • I fell off my workout routine after the start of the Fall, and haven’t gotten back into it yet.

I could probably hit even more points to both brackets, but those are the things I could think of when writing out this post. 

What highs and lows did you have this year? (If you’re willing to share.)


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So, what did 2022 teach me, after all this and more?

I have to stand up for myself (and for others if needed)

Last year, I had several instances where I had to step up and advocate for myself, or for people in my life. I used to be the girl who’s too shy or too insecure to put my foot down and go against things, but at the ripe age of 32, I’m finally reaching the point where I don’t want to just take things as they are - if they go against the values I hold. 

Being out of your comfort zone is not as scary as my anxiety makes me believe

Somehow, even with the body image struggles and all, I feel more confident in myself than in years (or maybe ever). I guess it must have something to do with me getting older (maybe even wiser), and learning to deal with my anxieties. My anxiety is the kind of beast that has a constant risk analysis mode on, so basically, whatever I do, my head goes over all the possible and impossible scenarios, maybe even a few times over, down to what people will say and what I will say back. Which sounds exhausting, because it is. Therefore, every situation out of my comfort zone is mentally rough for my psyche, no matter how trivial it may seem to a “normal” brain. 

But, in 2022, I learned to process this better, somehow. I can laugh and joke about it, and then push through situations - and then see I didn’t die from them. I understand it may sound way easier said than done (I’ve been there), but at least for me, accepting my bit of a different brain function and lovingly joking about it with people has made it easier to live with it. It’s a part of me, but not a personality trait. 

Walks outside keep me sane (but I truly love goal-oriented working out)

I think I’ve praised walking outside many times over in my posts before, but last year I truly noted how much nature, being outside, and simply walking actually does for me. But, as a naturally ambitious person, what does even more for me is having workout goals and working towards them. So this year, I’ll try to find some reasonable yet fun goals for my workouts, and stick to them to make myself feel somewhat accomplished (even more so than what working out, in general, makes a person feel).

Metal music is a home for me (and the metalhead family is the best one out there)

If you are a part of my circles in the metal community, I cherish and appreciate you so much. I may suck at showing it, but this community truly has kept me afloat through thick and thin. It’s not even an exaggeration that without metal, I wouldn’t probably be here writing this. Metal has kept me going even at times when everything feels like it’s falling apart. And I will forever love this genre for it. 

Surely, there have been people from time and time again telling me how I should listen to “something happier” or “something lighter”. And that is simply dumb. Why does my taste in music bother someone else? I’m not force-feeding my playlists to anyone other than my fiance, but he has chosen this life (and luckily listens to the same bands as me) so there’s no need to save him, trust me

I need different creative outlets to feel happy and healthy

Like the name of the blog implies, I really love creating things myself. Last year, I leaned quite heavily into knitting, but with the new place, we have more space - which means more opportunities for creative projects. For this new year, I’ve already sewn pillowcases and a mattress case for our guest bed, and when you’re reading this, maybe even fixed curtains for the guest room. I’m thoroughly looking forward to sharing my projects with you during the year, and I hope you’ll enjoy seeing them.

I need to trust my intuition, as it is almost without a failure right every time

There were many times during the year I had a nagging from my intuition, whether it was about the people in my life or about buying a house. Each time my intuition had something to say, it ended up being correct. Now, I’m not claiming it’s some supernatural, magical psychic power that tells me the future, but probably that my consciousness pieces things together on the back burner even when I’m actively doing something else. Whatever it is, it’s definitely a skill I want to actively and mindfully train to be even better in the future.

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And with that, this post comes to an end. Not sure if this post serves any other purpose than me reflecting on last year, but that’s good enough for me. This year, I have quite many small adventures planned and I hope I can share at least some of them with you. Also, I’m very eager to get back into nail art and hoping to be able to step my toes more into creating some videos here and there. Of course, my offline life comes first so I’m not promising schedules before I see how the year will start to roll out - but let me just say this; I missed writing. A lot. The blog used to kind of be my online journal, and to an extent, I want to get back to that.  

What did you learn in 2022? Share your thoughts in the comments!


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