There are years in our lives that we fondly look back on. Some years are seemingly perfect, an endless streak of happy memories and joy. And then there’s 2023. All I had done this year was scramble to get the pieces of my life back together. I had done nothing but run around in circles, trying to figure out how to get a grip and find a way out of the fog created by circumstances out of my control.
In the midst of absolute internal and external chaos, I began finding little pieces of myself I had completely forgotten about. As I began gluing it all back together, I realised I had been going about reestablishing my life all wrong. I kept trying to look for pieces swept away by the wind. I kept trying to go “back to normal” when normal was no longer the norm.
I was the only solid foundation of my life. Everything else was ever-changing, unpredictable, and out of my control. So I packed my bags and did the scariest thing imaginable. I took a solo trip to Prague. And when I came back, refreshed, and rebooted, it became clear that what I’ve been labeling as “self-care” has not been particularly efficient.