2021 in review

Hi Everyone,

2021 has been a heck of a year and, honestly, not really in a good way. This was a year I saw my discipline and motivation for anything and everything deteriorate in a way I never thought I could recover from quickly. I didn’t think it was irreparable, but I did acknowledge that it would be a monumentous task that I would have to pursue in 2022. With everything that had happened in 2021 and the lack of accomplishments this year, I was feeling bad going into the new year. Originally I had an article written and ready to go which I was planning to review before posting yesterday morning. However something unexpected happened on Saturday that I never quite anticipated, something I didn’t think would be possible for me again until sometime in 2022.

All day Saturday, all I did was write and draw.

Now that doesn’t sound like a lot on the surface. Spending a day writing and drawing is something most creatives would be expected to do and love. But for me, it’s been a struggle to just spend a day writing and drawing. It required an active participation from me that I just didn’t know was possible from me anymore. I had lost a lot of faith in myself to be productive and actually accomplish any progress towards my goals and dreams. But Saturday changed that. That day was something I never expected and it felt like such a strong and positive force for me going into 2022. I want to keep that momentum up, to keep working towards what is really important to me.

But one really good day is not enough to completely restore what was lost. The momentum I had before is something I don’t know if I’ll ever reach again. I like to think optimistically though. I think, with enough effort and careful thought, I can maybe get back to that point in my creative life. However I also acknowledge that I’m not the same person I was before everything happened. I’m a rather different person than who I was before and I need to learn to both accommodate that and, most importantly, not hate what I’ve become. There is always hope to become what you want to be and achieve your goals. Saturday showed me that and gave me hope that I could get there again.

I can’t promise 2022 is going to be a great year. It’s hard to really predict any of this anymore. But I think embracing the new year with an open and positive mindset is key to achieving our goals and dreams .

Here’s to what will hopefully be a great new year!
See you all there!

– Raphael