2010 - 2020
So I thought I'd make a post at the end of this decade because so much in my life has changed since 2010.
If I had to do a hit list of big things that characterized this decade, it would be the heartbreak I went through in 2012 with the end of my first relationship, graduating with a diploma in Graphic Design and going on to be self-employed as of 2013 (and still going strong). My acne has mostly gone away and with the 5 years or so of braces, my teeth are almost normal and with both of those things, I have a lot more confidence in myself and better self-esteem, I actually like how I look now, which is a new thing for me.
My breakup taught me a lot about questioning my perspective, about trying to understand other people and having better communication. I have come to understand my values better, to understand how to live those values and be more aware of the people around me and my environment.
Along the way, I have come to be a staunch feminist, environmentalist, and pretty much a liberal in all political arenas, and care fiercely about politics and the world around me. I don't think I was "not a feminist" as such before, in that I didn't think men were better than women, but I definitely would have been on the spectrum of "treating people equally is the solution" which ignores historical and systemic injustices and is a pretty immature and simplistic way of viewing things.
I was raised with some racist, sexist and homophobic beliefs and it's taken me a while to understand my conscious and unconscious biases and cast them aside.
Some of you know that I was homeschooled, and it's really only since I was 21 that I would say I started practicing my social skills, and that lack of experience and ignorance of social norms and other perspectives resulted in a well-meaning but somewhat obnoxious me in 2010.
I like to think I'm a much better person now, and the prompt that lead me on that voyage of self-discovery was very much me trying to understand my heartbreak and how that first attempt at love had gone awry. I'm now in a relationship with someone with whom I have excellent communication with, and I love the way that we challenge each other to be all that we can be, to think outside of our own biases and be brutally honest, both emotionally and mentally. It's a pretty cool thing.
Thank you to those of my friends who have stuck with me through the past decade, there aren't many of you and you are dear to my heart.
To those of you that I lost along the way - I'm sorry that we grew apart, that we went in different directions or that we couldn't find common ground - and I'm always open to trying again.
To my new friends, hey, you got me at my best, so stuck around cos we're just getting started!
If I had to do a hit list of big things that characterized this decade, it would be the heartbreak I went through in 2012 with the end of my first relationship, graduating with a diploma in Graphic Design and going on to be self-employed as of 2013 (and still going strong). My acne has mostly gone away and with the 5 years or so of braces, my teeth are almost normal and with both of those things, I have a lot more confidence in myself and better self-esteem, I actually like how I look now, which is a new thing for me.
My breakup taught me a lot about questioning my perspective, about trying to understand other people and having better communication. I have come to understand my values better, to understand how to live those values and be more aware of the people around me and my environment.
Along the way, I have come to be a staunch feminist, environmentalist, and pretty much a liberal in all political arenas, and care fiercely about politics and the world around me. I don't think I was "not a feminist" as such before, in that I didn't think men were better than women, but I definitely would have been on the spectrum of "treating people equally is the solution" which ignores historical and systemic injustices and is a pretty immature and simplistic way of viewing things.
I was raised with some racist, sexist and homophobic beliefs and it's taken me a while to understand my conscious and unconscious biases and cast them aside.
Some of you know that I was homeschooled, and it's really only since I was 21 that I would say I started practicing my social skills, and that lack of experience and ignorance of social norms and other perspectives resulted in a well-meaning but somewhat obnoxious me in 2010.
I like to think I'm a much better person now, and the prompt that lead me on that voyage of self-discovery was very much me trying to understand my heartbreak and how that first attempt at love had gone awry. I'm now in a relationship with someone with whom I have excellent communication with, and I love the way that we challenge each other to be all that we can be, to think outside of our own biases and be brutally honest, both emotionally and mentally. It's a pretty cool thing.
Thank you to those of my friends who have stuck with me through the past decade, there aren't many of you and you are dear to my heart.
To those of you that I lost along the way - I'm sorry that we grew apart, that we went in different directions or that we couldn't find common ground - and I'm always open to trying again.
To my new friends, hey, you got me at my best, so stuck around cos we're just getting started!