It feels odd to be writing this blog months after my previous one. I can’t quite believe we’re in a new year, and I’d only written 2 blog posts in 2023. I’m not too sure what happened, but I hope that my appearance on social media has been enough to excuse the slack here.

If you’re not aware of my social media presence, you can find me on Facebook and Instagram. And, whilst I’m on X (previously known as Twitter), I’m no longer as active, and this also counts for Threads and TikTok, too! However, I do hope that 2024 sees some change in this, and I begin to venture onto these sites to share what it’s like to live a life of seemingly organised chaos!

So, readers, what’s new?

As I read back on my post @2023 – Year of the Rabbit: Prosperity, Hope and Calm, I find myself filling up with a sense of pride and joy. I started the year with some anxiety about change, but by the end of 2023, I was embracing my own change. At the beginning of 2023, my manager left the service, and a few months later, my colleague left. I was applying for jobs, and getting through to the interview stage, and it ended there. I paused applying for other roles, due to having major surgery, and returned to work with a new member of staff. Whilst it was all going well, and I had nothing but praise and admiration for my colleague, I had gone back to applying for other jobs due to another anxiety of the service I was working for possibly not being recommissioned for the new year and living in a cost-of-living crisis, the last thing I wanted was to lose my job. I was fortunate enough to be offered a new role elsewhere. Choosing to accept the position, I left my role as a Crisis Peer Support Worker, and, to get you up to date, I’m now working in social services as an Enablement worker.

I’ve been in this role since the end of November, and if I’m honest, it’s still very early days. There is so much e-learning to complete, and even more in-person training to attend. Not only this, I am plodding my way through my MSc part-time, where I’ve extended it by another year, just to alleviate some of the academic pressure. That being said, I’d also started another course, funded by my previous employer, which would provide me with so many skills in my biggest area of interest – Art and Wellbeing. So, I’m working full-time, studying my master’s part-time (2 of 3 years now!), studying a year-long HICAT, and when I pass my probation at work (at the 6-month mark), I am likely to begin an NVQ in Health and Social Care. Needless to say, I have stepped into 2024 with a weight on my shoulders, and I am feeling it!

I have no regrets about the work I have taken on, but I have come to the realisation that, I am truly looking forward to taking a well-earned break from academia. I am also aware that I have 7 incomplete courses in my ‘Learning Centre’ on the Centre of Excellence, and I’m studying an ‘Introduction in Spiritual Coaching’ with the Soul Awakening Academy for my own interests and personal growth. Alongside all of these studies, I plan to work on my artistic hobbies. This means getting back into my pyrography and embroidery. I’m keen to try resin art, and a few other mixed media practices. To do this, I know that I am going to have to be organised. But, keeping to a schedule can be challenging.

Often, I have found myself sticking to a routine for comfort, but in recent years there has been so much disruption to order, that I don’t know whether I am coming or going.

As we enter a new year, it may be seen as a new beginning. However, for me, I’m looking at making small changes to the things I already have going on. By being able to embrace change, I am beginning to grow, and I acknowledge that some change can be good. On social media, I shared a post to honour the end of 2023 and welcome in 2024 with a reflection on resolutions, goals, and expectations, and this is how I plan to end the first blog post of 2024:

As we near the end of 2023, here are a couple of images I’ve shared across social media, thanks to Happy Strokes and Everyday Spirit.

It’s been a very long year with a lot of change. I’ve blogged a LOT less than I had anticipated, but I’ve shared some stories here throughout the year, which I hope will suffice! Perhaps a new year blog post is needed to find my focus and clarity where life has been a bit chaotic

That’s why these three images have meant so much to me. I feel as though it’s easy to compare our year against others and then try and set ourselves goals, which are often unachievable, lasting a week into a new years “resolution.”

We are all so unique and work in very different ways. Life is no competition, nor should we compare one another.

Live life with good intentions. Live life with kindness, hope, and love.

Talk to each other and never be afraid to ask for help when you need it. You do not need to suffer alone.

Celebrate every small victory you make, and don’t be too hard on yourself. You are doing your best!

A new year does not have to be momentous. You are where you need to be. Take the next year one step at a time. Day by day, with strength, courage, and admiration. Give yourself a pat on the back and say, “This is me. This is my life. I am embracing my soul, my heart, my whole being. I am conquering a whole new mindset. I have absolutely, 100% got this, and whatever happens, it’s okay because I am powerful.

Live your life to your expectations and not that of others.

2024 will be the change we have all been waiting for. Feel it, be it.

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Whatever 2024 brings, do it your way.