A Look Back on 2021

[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]

At the end of 2020, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, like “thank God we survived that year,” while ignoring the very obvious fact that New Year’s Day looks and feels a lot like New Year’s Eve if you’re not prone to sentimentality. 2021 was, in many ways, a continuation of 2020 as far as pandemics go. But aren’t we all tired of talking about it? Aren’t we all exhausted of the crazy bitches on planes who refuse to wear masks and the uncle who’s a staunch anti-vaxxer and the many many many people dying and must I go on?

I started 2021 with a strained hamstring, a motorcycle crash, and the dissolution of a relationship. I figured the year couldn’t get much worse, so I agreed to spend a month in Colorado with a friend. But first, I booked a flight home, then another flight to a good friends wedding. I eventually healed my hamstring, and invested in a strength and conditioning coach for the dual purpose of not getting hurt and getting stronger. Now I not only have more visible abs, but my strength has improved so much that things I struggled to do in May are easy for me now. That’s what growth feels like, and that’s probably how we should all feel at the end of the year. If we’re not growing, we’re not living.

2021 was the year I got a new job, ran 100 miles, attended 80 baby showers, moved into my own…