A Letter to 2022 Joe

Dear future me!

So the year 2020 was full of drama and confusion; with COVID 19 throwing the country into chaos. There were lockdowns thrown around in various forms throughout the year, cutting off access to family and friends who you were so used to seeing. You had to deal with working from home, being away from people turning out to be harder than you initially expected.

Yet it wasn't all bad. You started a new job at the start of the first lockdown (yes, there was more than one), you found it was something you were good and passionate about, receiving praise from multiple people. You were able to enjoy beautiful weather outside the confines of a stuffy office. More importantly, you got engaged to the man you love!

Now it is time to look to the year ahead, and see what you can do to bring yet another positive twist to an already strange year...

1. Write with conviction...

2020 was a good starter year to kick your writing into gear, yet with the constant stress of lockdown and uncertainty on your job, it was safe to say you were uninspired a lot of the year. You managed to finish some small projects that you were able to submit this year, but now it is time to stop slacking.

This will be the year that you really make an effort with getting your writing noticed a lot more. Rather than just bashing a piece together you will take the time to create something with quality. Maybe you'll be able to get something published!

You'll use VOCAL a lot more to inspire new blog posts and talk about topics you might previously have avoided. Who knows, maybe this will be the year that you start to see some real investment from this.

2. Actually plan the wedding...

As I mentioned before, you got engaged! It was a wonderfully romantic moment during a bizarre year. However, since then, neither of you have really given much thought as to how the wedding will go ahead. Not that its an easy feat, but at least use this year to get something planned.

It is clear you don't have the funds yet to do anything, plus with everything throwing other couples' plans into the air last year, you'll be waiting a couple of years before something is available.

So, instead, use this year to get a general idea of what you both want from the wedding. Do you want it to be big and extravagant? Will there be a big turnout? Who knows, maybe you'll go abroad and get married away from everyone (once it is safe to do so of course).

3. Finally, you'll focus more on your mental health...

Having dealt with an awful lot of confusion in 2020, your mental health took a bit of a beating. Being confined to the house for most of the year really took it out of you, with many restless nights from lack of exercise. Seeing the same four walls turns out not to be the best for a person's health.

Therefore, this is the year you'll go outside more. You don't have to be seeing people to actually go outside. Instead, go for more walks, get your step count up much more than you did last year. You might not live in the most picturesque area, but who knows, you may find somewhere to bask during the summer.

Here is to a positive 2021...

So, hopefully this will be a better year for not just myself, but for everyone else. Lets fill this year with more hope and positivity. Maybe we'll see a productive use of the multiple vaccines that are being created. There may even come a time when the phrase lockdown becomes a thing of the past.

All I know is that we can simply learn from what 2020 threw at us. Take the chaos and use it to our advantage to give ourselves a much better year than the one that has just passed.

Good luck all!