2020 was a year to say the very least. January to March was truly the calm before the very unexpected storm. If anyone had told Emily at the end of 2019 what was to come in just a few months time, I’m sure I’d have laughed in your face.
Fast forward to January 2021 and I can say more safely than ever, that you truly never know what is around the corner. Take each day as it comes and live your life to its fullest. Although the current days may be boring and uneventful, we can be grateful for our health and the roofs over our heads.
In March 2020 I travelled to Krakow in Poland for a weekend, yes you read that right, in March 2020 I managed to fly abroad. The same March that saw lockdowns globally as the pandemic truly started to cause havoc. In the airport coming home, everyone was staring at the one man that was masked up with disposable gloves on thinking ‘is he for real? it’s not that serious!’. A couple of weeks later, I was working from home unable to leave the house apart from to go for a walk. Life can do a 360 quicker than I could ever have imagined.
Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash
So what was the good, the bad and the ugly from 2020?
At the end of January I started my new job after moving home before Christmas, I managed to tour Auschwitz in Poland which was a historical sight I’d been meaning to visit for years. Covid entered our lives quite soon into the year and this meant normality as we knew it would stop for a very long time.
Our trip to South Korea had to be cancelled, our friends’ wedding couldn’t go ahead, we couldn’t enjoy summer as we normally would. Birthdays and other celebrations weren’t much different to every other day and life became very mundane and repetitive.
All of this in the grand scheme of things is extremely trivial. Lives have been lost, livelihoods lost, jobs lost. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to still be upset. It’s okay to be upset.
Heartbreakingly, I said goodbye to my dog of nearly 13 years which made the rest of 2020 that bit harder to cope with. I’ve enjoyed working from home, but I haven’t enjoyed my job if that makes sense? The positives are hard to find!
Did 2020 actually bring about any good?
- I’m grateful January to March (ish) was relatively normal and carefree.
- I travelled
- I passed my driving test
- I picked up more hobbies, i.e. reading, crafting
- I’ve still seen family and friends when it’s been allowed
- I’ve had a full time income and lived at home!
- My boyfriend and I have saved a huge chunk of our house deposit
Despite the dark clouds, there has been some rays of light undoubtedly. I do hope 2021 sheds more light and hope for us all.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Where am I headed in 2021?
I wasn’t going to make any resolutions or goals for this year because of the potential for them to be put on hold due to Covid. However, I then thought, why should I put my life on complete hold whilst we wait for this to blow over? So I set some goals I knew I could stick to.
- Start regular exercise 2-3 x a week
- Chill out more and not let stupid things stress me out
- Educate myself so I can have a more stable career
- Learn to cook more meals
- Spend less time on my phone
2021 is automatically off to a good start as we recently secured a little ginger kitten, who will be ready to come home at the end of January and we are SO excited. Stay tuned to see an introductory post to ginger George. We’re going to continue to save as much money as possible whilst living with my parents and take each day as it comes. I’m not going to plan too much because things are still very scary and we’re nowhere near normality yet.
I want to wish you all a healthy and happy new year. I hope 2021 brings good news for you all.
Until next time,
Emily x
emilygabriella.co.uk 
Good luck with achieving your goals this year! I had a similar experience in March 2020, I went to Europe and everything was normal and then came back to a different world.
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It’s scary isn’t how quickly things can change! Thank you!
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It sounds like you had a great 2020 even with all the craziness that happened. I’m glad to see you set some goals for this year, because as you said there’s no reason to put everything on hold even though the pandemic is still going strong, there are still things that can happen even when we are essentially stuck at home. Good luck with all of these goals. Also exciting about the kitten, that should add some fun into your life.
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Thank you so much Sarah! Absolutely, a pandemic shouldn’t hold us back entirely. Little George will sure make a great addition
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Can’t believe it has nearly been a whole year since you went to Poland and then all this started. Crazy! I’m glad you mentioned the positives as it can be so easy to just be negative but I guess that isn’t useful for anyone. You are absolutely SMASHING your first goal rn btw 😉 I’m so excited for the end of January and to see lots of George pics ahhhh! Sending lots of love to you, Lewis and your family (hopefully I can see you all sometime this year lmao) ❤️
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The year has gone by SO fast! Thank you Millie I am trying 😉 we cannot WAIT to show the world Georgie Peorgie. Lots of love and absolutely we will be reunited soon Xx
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Good luck with all of your goals this year! I also love having something to work towards each year. If there’s anything that 2020 taught me, it’s to appreciate the smaller things in life, so I decided to set fewer and less ambitious goals for 2021 than I normally would. I hope that 2021 treats you well, and I can’t wait to read your post about George!
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Hi Dominika, thank you for reading it’s much appreciated! I couldn’t agree more, everything in life seems so much more precious now. George will be here soon!
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It sounds like you achieved a lot of amazing accomplishments in 2020 despite all the chaos. I hope you are able to achieve all your 2021 goals. I really want to learn how to drive so that’s probably a big one for me (regretting not starting earlier) so congrats on passing the driving test haha x
http://thesydneysider.com/
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Thank you Clarissa! It was a long time coming so glad to pass in the end, wishing you all the best!
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It sounds like you had a great 2020 despite everything going on, so good on ya girl! 2021 will be a goodun’. x
Zoey | http://www.zoeyolivia.com
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Thank you Zoey! Happy new year x
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Sounds like you acheived some things in 2020 at least. Hopefully 2021 will be a better year for us all!
Kayleigh x
https://hazelnutmusings.co.uk/
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Fingers crossed! Thank you for reading Kayleigh x
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I’m so glad that you had amazing things come out of 2020. Love your goals for 2021 and I wish you all the best for 2021 xo
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
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Thank you so much!x
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Those are such great goals to have this year and simple enough you won’t overwhelm yourself while chasing after them. Good luck achieving them!
L || https://lauraorvokki.com/en/2021-resolutions-and-vintage-outfits/
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That’s exactly what I was aiming for! Thank you Laura xx
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It’s crazy to think how normal our lives were at the beginning of 2020! Great goals here, I hope you’re able to achieve them all xx
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So much has changed!! Thank you Della xx
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Good luck saving for your own house, Emily! Can’t wait to read about George too, I’m loving his IG!
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Thank you so much Charlotte! Oh little George haha, he’s given us plenty to write about!
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