As much as this year has slowed down my blogging and producing content, I was excited to get started on this blog post. After lots of reflecting during the last few days, I realized that 2020 changed me dramatically. The things that used to be important to me, were not anymore. Balance and self-care became much more of a priority than ever before. Thinking about my relationships and my emotional availability was something that I’m glad I had the chance to think about. There was a lot I “wanted and needed” in 2020, and as the year progressed, I came to realize that those wants and needs were superficial. I don’t want to make this a competition, but trust me when I say that this year was a formative year for me.
What I Achieved
Lots of my time was spent working and that’s probably not a surprise to you. As I ended a chapter at the end of 2019, I was coming into a transition period at the start of 2020. I needed to figure out what my life was going to look like now for the long run. Will I get a job? Where should I move to? What should I focus on? What trajectory do I want my career to go now? Right when I could jumpstart my life again, the pandemic hit, and lockdown put the world at a halt. Every avenue I could have taken was blocked, which forced me to re-focus. If you’re interested in reading more about what I accomplished this year then I urge you to read my 2020 reflection.
Reflecting on 2020 Word of the Year: Confidence
My 2020 word of the year now seems a bit empty and loaded all at the same time when I think about what we all went through. In between all the superficiality, there were some notable reasonings for why I chose confidence and I did follow through with them. One of the setbacks I often had in London was not feeling confident in who I was. Living in a country as an immigrant, woman, and person of color was intimidating, and often I was grappling with my identity. Who I was in America was not who I was in the UK. I didn’t accept compliments, celebrate small achievements, or even physically felt like I fit in. Part of that probably had to do with the fact that I didn’t have much of a support system. Coming back to the US, I thought I would bounce right back, and in reality, I was in a completely different place than most of my friends, family, and peers.
Today, I’m better at recognizing where I excel and acknowledging my extraordinary journey and experience. As much as I want to say that my confidence has seen growth in 2020, I believe it’s a journey that will need to continue into 2021. Take a look back at my words of previous years!
2021 Word of the Year: Invest
This year I plan on doing things a little differently. Maybe it’s a sign that I’ve matured and grown out of the phase of superficial values, but my 2021 word of the year is to invest. I must admit that I took living in London for granted and considered it a thing I had to do. During the lockdown, I reflected on my time spent in London and deduced that my reverse culture shock being back in America was a testament to how different, albeit incredible, my life and journey were in my 20s in London. Resilience and growth defined my life chapter until now. I am now in a place where it’s less about drastically evolving and more about setting up foundations for the future. I want to put together a few posts this year to keep up with my 2021 word of the year to share how I’m taking control.
- Get over my imposter syndrome after pivoting in my career and charge what I am worth.
- Revisit my retirement plan and outline actionable steps to ensure I’m conceptualizing a better future for myself.
- Learn the fundamentals of investing, revise my portfolio, and invest to change the world.
- Manage my financial health and be able to talk about money.
- Work towards making independent financial decisions.
2020 taught us to fight for things that matter, change the current system, and work towards a better status quo. 2021 will be to kickstart ventures for a better future. What’s your 2021 word of the year?