My Defining Moments of 2021
Man was 2021 a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The year started
out with me being the most depressed I had been in a very long
time. I am surprised I am still here today because, to be honest, that
was not the plan. However, I prayed through it all, gave myself time to
cry (A LOT), removed myself from life and responsibilities for a little
while and FINALLY, by summer, I found myself close to normal and out
of the slump. Summer was great, fall was stressful yet fun, but then by
November things were going in the wrong direction again.
However, by the new year I was back and ready to take on life yet
again! Told you….rollercoaster. Lol Below you will find the moments
in 2021 that left quite an impression on me and are the ones I think
of when I think 2021. I hope you enjoy reading about them!
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Road Trippin'
As I mentioned above, the year did not start out great. I had
already been struggling with terrible depression for months, in
February I broke up with my boyfriend, my friends cancelled our
girls trip, and then to top it all off I had to deal with some very bad
sexual harrassment issues from guys at my workplace. It was all
just too much and so I decided I needed to get away and went on a
road trip by myself to the southwest US, one of my favorite places
in the country. I remember the second I left my town I instantly began
to feel better and by this point in the trip, while walking through
Saguaro National Park in Arizona, I could just feel the weight of all
the negative energy that had been weighing on me for MONTHS
finally start to lift. For the first time in so long I couldn’t stop smiling
and that trip proved to not only be much needed, but was my favorite
trip I have taken to date. I had never felt so free and I cannot wait to
return to that part of the country again.
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Fr. Kapaun Homecoming
Growing up and going to church in Pilsen made Fr. Kapaun a HUGE
deal and long before he began his journey to sainthood my family
was praying to him. He kept my cousin safe while he was out
defending our country and he was a rock for my mom when she
was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2021 they identified his
remains, which were thought to have been lost in a POW camp, and
they brought him back home to Pilsen with almost every bone
accounted for. Being able to be there once again a part of the
community I grew up in, the community that will forever be my
home, on the day they brought Fr. Kapaun home was a surreal and
once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. (You can
read more about Fr. Kapaun’s homecoming and what it meant
to me in this article here.)
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Adulting Things
In 2021 I came to an adult crossroads; buy a new vehicle or buy
a house. After some debate I ended up going with the more
responsible decision and decided to buy a house! I talked to
my landlord and asked if he would be willing to sell me the house
I had been renting and got a yes! I sent in my application to the bank
in March and after a long, long, LONG and frustrating process
I finally, officially, became a homeowner in August. Woooo! I didn’t
have to move since it was the same house I had already been living
in for the past couple of years which was nice and I immediately
started making the house a home. Stay tuned for all the house renos
and room transformations that are coming!
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Becoming a Mom
The same day I signed the papers on my house I did something
I have been wanting to do ever since I moved to town, I got cats.
Plural. Not one, not two, but three adorable little fluff turds. Lol
They drive me crazy some days that’s for sure, but I love them so
much and I couldn’t imagine life without them. I am one
proud cat mom. (You can read more about how my life has
changed thanks to these furballs here.)
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Scaring Myself Silly
I had to include this one. I mean come on. How many people can
say that they spent the night in the house that inspired the best
horror franchise (in my opinion) of all time?! I definitely learned
a lot about myself in those 11 hours while I was there…mainly just
the fact that while I love ghost stories I am not particularly a fan of
being a part of one. #scaredycat Lol (You can read more about my
time spent in this house here.)
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Silver Fox
My final defining moment is one I was suuuuper nervous about, but
am so happy I went through with, dying my hair! I have never not
been blonde, however, I personally think the new hair fits me better
than my blonde ever did and it has definitely changed how I feel
about myself in a good way. (Hair transformation article can be found here.)
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