Pandemic aside 2021 turned out to be a very difficult year for me for a variety of reasons. Midway through the year I had a unexpected lengthy period of downtime where I was unable to work and for quite a while it looked like at the very least the remainder of the year was going to be a total write-off. Fortunately with the support of lots of different people I was able to recover and I got back to things sooner than expected.
One noticeable thing is that my community involvement over the last year was severely lacking. I can count on two hands the number of virtual events that I attended in 2021 and one of those I was fortunate to be speaking at. I also blogged very little but I did manage to put together a two part post titled the 150ft String which is something that I have wanted to write about for a long time. I received some lovely feedback and I just wanted to say a big thank you to those who took the time to have a read - massively appreciated!
I'm seeing the new year as an opportunity to restart, or perhaps reconnect is a better way of putting it. In many ways I feel like I've completely detached myself from many activities that I used to really enjoy and have certainly missed (though perhaps I didn't realise how much). Whilst I haven't set any specific goals I am looking forward to writing about "technical stuff" again but more importantly simply interacting within the community as much as I can is what I am looking forward to the most.
Public speaking is something that I hope to get back to at some point in the future but right now isn't something I am actively planning on. I've only done one session at a handful of events since I started back in 2019 and I am beginning to work on some new ideas. I try to put as much humour into sessions as I can possibly get away with which I fully understand isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I love the idea of getting a bit of a laugh along with the brain draining stuff and I expect that trend will be continuing! Admittedly there's a couple of obstacles I need to tackle first to have a serious go at it again, but fingers crossed.
Work wise I am not going to dwell on too much in this post. Last year though did mark the five year anniversary of my decision to work for myself. I intend to write a bit more about my experiences in some forthcoming posts so there's that to look forward to!
The final word though goes to the community. The past year has been challenging, not least because of pandemic but it's fair to say there's been some other things going on too. Despite everything the community remains vibrant; I've seen new bloggers, vloggers, speakers and events too go from strength to strength and continue to be supported by truly amazing people.
So whatever you're doing I wish you (however you wish to define it) all the success in the world for 2022! Stay safe, stay well and all the best :-)
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