Personal Recap on 2020 and my 2021 Word of the Year

If I am honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to picking a word of the year this year. 2020 was filled with a lot of canceled plans, trips, and contracts…so when I sat down to reflect on the year with my word of the year in mind, I realized that what I wanted to accomplish for the year I’ve done tenfold, and that really inspired me to pick a word for the year. BUT before we get there, a little recap on 2020.

My word for the year was PLAY, in my previous blog for my word of the year, I mentioned that I wanted to create photos for fun and play more music, and I can honestly say that this year I have done so much of those things.

Created JUST to Create

Making time every month to just be creative was more challenging than I thought. But it was super rewarding. I got to play with different concepts, lighting, and edits, which I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do with my client work, and that really inspired me to approach my sessions differently and even kept me motivated during canceled contracts because of the pandemic.

MUSIC

My first love is music, I love going to see live shows, but because we couldn’t I was able to fall back in love with listening and playing music. It has been a while since I’ve just sat and listened to music without driving or multi-tasking, and it was so nice to play music with some old friends. Some of my highlights for my day would even be just playing the piano while I wait for my coffee to be ready.

PLANTS

Okay so we’ve all had our quarantine hobbies, and my love for plants really escalated during this time. Walking around the local nurseries was one of my favorite ways to detox from the day, and tending to my plants was my favorite way of meditating. I even took an online Houseplant Masterclass, and I’ve learned how to propagate, grow, and even the scientific names of a lot of plants.

Some more highlights:

  • I photographed in my in home studio

  • I started taking Spanish Lessons

  • I got to camp (LIKE IN A TENT!) and climb outdoors

  • I roller skated a lot

  • I rode my bike a lot

  • I spent time with some really old friends

  • I had people over even if my house wasn’t “PERFECT” for company

  • I took online dance and improv workshops

  • I cooked + baked SO MUCH

  • I made some G O O D coffee

I am just so thankful I took the time to enjoy the little things. I refound the love I have for life and as a photographer by just approaching situations with wonderment in play.

And now for my word of the year for 2021!

release (/rəˈlēs/)

qw-2021-word-of-the-year-release.jpg

  1. allow (something) to move, act, or flow freely. SET FREE

  2. to make available to the public

These last few months have been so heavy, and even when it came to picking a word for the year I had this stress and pressure about it. And that is when I knew I wanted my word for the year to just be RELEASE. The idea of releasing the weight from the past year, and even the expectations I have on myself sounded like the deep tissue massage I needed.

The other part of RELEASE to me means being held accountable for sharing and making more content. I want to release more video content, blog posts, and restarting The Creative Health Podcast. I would even love to host an art show of my work sometime this year. 

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