It’s Been a Year! But What Did It Teach Me?

22nd of December 2023, 2:00p.m

As I sit here in my writing room, surrounded by the sounds of Christmas songs on the radio, my son playing on his Nintendo Switch in his room, I can hardly believe Monday it’s Christmas Day. Not that this is a bad thing — not at all. See, I love this time of year. Not for presents or gifts but for the joy I see it bring to children, being with family, my partner, and the food and drink.

Am I prepared? Nope, this afternoon I still need to head to the supermarket for last minute food. The good thing is all the presents are bought, but not wrapped as yet. This does make a change, normally I am so last moment with purchases.

Finally it is Friday! Last day of school, no more early wake-ups, time to check out and chill until January 2024. I live for the end of year two week break I take. Especially while I was a teacher, this break and the summer one were the ones I appreciated.

This year is a year that’s been one of knowledge for me

If I could pick one word to sum it up 2023 has been a year of knowledge. I’ve spent the year seeking knowledge, understanding new systems and processes, and learning as I go along. The year of the student — for real, for real!

• Understanding legal requirements to be a landlady and rent a house
• Understanding the requirements to change schools for my son
• Understanding how, where, and what I wish to focus my writing on
• Reading and understanding a lot of previous writer’s work from earlier centuries
• Understanding exactly what it is I’m passionate about, and going back to things I used love dearly, and discovering new things
• Doing a lot of online courses, and/or reading to refresh my brain from my university days, on how to write and think critically in non-fiction writing
• Observing the world and how society has changed following the pandemic

These are all things I’ve had to acquire some kind of knowledge about this year. Also, I’ve had many hats to wear and it’s been a year of transition also. Moving from homeschooling ( during the pandemic) back to ‘normal’ school routine. Also transitioning from managing grief over the death of my mum, which left me with no living parents at all now, and figuring out exactly where life will take me next.

I’ve had pretty much a year of feeding my mind, I’ve read a lot this year. More than I usually would ( and I read a lot already). This year, I developed a habit of reading more than one book at once. Something I’ve never done, I’ve felt like a total book slut, spreading my time, energy, and focus around multiple author’s work — ha! I’ve read hardly any fiction this year, the few books I did try didn’t hold my attention. What I was after was non-fiction.

I gravitated to the essay, self-help, and spirituality ‘woo-woo’ genre. The most interesting book I’ve read this year was Alice Walker’s Journals. I wrote a review on this. I also dug into a lot of Zora Neale Hurston’s work, and anthologies of black women writers.

What I’ve learned through all of this is

• Change is damn good! Very good for the soul and to help one become more in alignment with their natural callings
• The change in reading habits worked well. I honestly thought in the past being a ‘book slut’ would mean I finished nothing. I’ve found it didn’t really slow me down, as I spent so much time reading this year in general
• Change around my day, the structure of it, no longer homeschooling, also was good. Not that it freed me up much! Parenting, and relationships never stop

I also learned and felt deeply this year that time with children is also very important. As parents we often have full on routines that can leave little time for the little people in our life. This year thanks to the pandemic (I want to say thanks as this is the only good thing that has happened), I’ve become closer to my son than I was before, and we were very close already I never thought this would be possible. The homeschool experience allowed me to understand him, learn him, see how he struggles and excels, and we have spent so much time doing things together to break up the ‘school day.’

That said he is a ten-year-old boy and my company is not always first choice! Over the last year he has loved going back to the classroom and making new friends.

I also learned and felt deeply this year that time with children is also very important.

I’ve also learned that grief and how we manage this can cause so much confusion in life. The loss of a loved one can really throw you off course. For me, it was like everything was fine and I was clear about my hopes, goals, dreams, aspirations. When I experienced a life being cut short so quickly and unexpectedly it made me look at my own life more closely. I learned don’t waste a moment of it, do what you wish to do, and appreciate the small things. The meaning of life changed after this loss. That said, once I started to ‘get it together’ as what they say, right? The clouds cleared and life started to look clearer.

The highlights

This year, I really learned to appreciate nature. Being from London there’s not a lot of it around! Unless you leave the city. Now, living outside of a bustling city like London, in a smaller city with access to lakes and rivers just a short drive away has been bliss!

I’ve always had a thing for water, especially an ocean. Being near water I’ve learned really brings clarity to me. Especially if I sit there with a notepad and pen and just observe, think, and become inspired, or draw.

Discovering Medium as a writer, not just a reader from November has been a wonderful experience! It’s like YouTube for writers — to me at least. Starting this new publication The Diarist has been one of the exciting events too.

I’ve become more organised this year which has been a highlight. I’ve always been a person who makes lists and plans, but what I’ve learned is to scale this down. I was someone who made plans and lists for long term things, this year it’s been much more day-to-day and has served me well.

Anyway, already it’s time to leave and head to the supermarket. I want to miss the rush of people who shop on a Friday for the weekend. It will be even more manic as it’s the last weekend before Christmas.

Thanks for your readership, I hope my writing gave you something to think about. If I’ve caught you in a good mood or you’re feeling kind, you can buy me a coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MeAndMyMuse. Why not follow me for more of my thought-provoking muse?

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