Personal & Bookish Reflections on 2023!
Hello, 2024! Goodbye, 2023! As the new year begins, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on 2023 on a personal level, share some highlights, and discuss my bookish habits of last year.
2023 was a challenging year full of ups and downs. While there is some relief with new vaccines, there is still a lot of hesitancy and uncertainty lurking in the air with each new variant and the symptoms. I’ve come to accept this in a way (as I feel most of us have) and I’m working hard on taking each day one at a time as I head into 2024.
Like last year, I’m focusing on the word “energy”. As in matching energy for energy. I’m trying my best to not let outside forces drain me and continually make myself a priority. At times I was stressed, sad, and anxious, and kept trying to adjust to our world the best way that I could. I think I’ve gotten better at managing my mental health too. I think currently we all get swept up in social media/what everyone else is doing instead of focusing on ourselves. I’ve been working on cutting way back on social media and that’s caused me to leave some platforms as well (Twitter, because I refuse to call it X). I feel like since 2020 (and I know I’m not alone in this) I feel my attention has been all over the place, making it hard to read at times. I don’t feel that I’ve gotten in many reading slumps this year, as much as before as I’ve made reading more of a priority.
I’ve gone back to doing more of the things that gave me comfort and making more of an effort to have a healthy work-life balance, so I won’t fall into burnout even though at times it was rough this year. I’m continually have been working to grow my Etsy and elevating my social media and editorial skills as well. I haven’t pursued many writing projects through the latter part of the year (2022) so I’m hoping to get back into that for 2023.
I don’t set New Year’s resolutions anymore, but rather personal goals that I’d like to achieve throughout the year. This year I just plan to work on a better work-life balance just like last year and focus more on being in the moment.
2023 Reading Challenge
2023 Highlights
Meeting Stephan Pastis – Stephan Thomas Pastis is an American cartoonist and former lawyer who is the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. He also writes children’s chapter books (Timmy Failure series). He was at a local library to promote his newest release, Looking Up. He shared some fun stories from his career and had an interesting Q&A. He signed my book with my favorite Pearls Before Swine character.
Glenlore Trails: The Haunted Forest – I’ve always heard that Glenlore Trails is a must-visit for the Halloween season and I’m glad I finally got to go this year. This year the theme was CarnEvil which featured a dark circus feel. I loved how interactive the trail was including all the fun carnival games you could play.
Meeting Huda Fahmy – I went to another author’s talk for one of my other favorite cartoonists, Huda Fahmy. Huda is the illustrator of the internationally successful webcomic, Yes, I’m Hot in This. She was so sweet and engaging during the discussion of her books and the creation process for her comics. I got her to sign my book and chat with her one-on-one. She was so funny and kind.
Alicia Keys Concert – Alicia Keys has been one of my favorite singers for the longest time and I’m so happy I finally got to see her live. What an incredible show and setlist. The crowd was vibing, the atmosphere was fun, and the music was so good! She sang a lot of my favorites and newer songs too.
Washington DC Monument Tour – I visited Washington DC for the first time this summer and everything was so new to me. One of the many highlights of the trip was visiting the monuments. They are especially lit up beautifully at night. I loved walking around (although I kept getting attacked by my mosquitoes left and right). Seeing the architecture and learning about the history of the buildings was so fascinating.
National Museum of African American History – Going to DC also means a trip to the Smithsonian museums. This museum had six floors in total and I felt with so much to look at this museum would take two full days to go through. I was so tired from the day before that I got burned out and only made it through five floors. This museum has so much important history and is a must-see.
Six The Musical – I got to see Six The Musical in June and I love how the show is a pop-style concert infused with a modern take on history. One of my newest favorite musicals ever!
Grand Rapids Lantern Festival – I went to the Grand Rapids Lantern Festival in early June at the John Ball Zoo. What an amazing display of lights! Everything looked so beautiful lit up under the night sky. There was so much to see and the zoo even had specialty-themed foods and items to buy during the event
Youmacon 2023 – Despite some hiccups I had such a blast cosplaying as President Barbie and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle during Youmacon 2023. Met some awesome people, got to dress up, buy some anime loot, and nerd out.
Marvin’s Mechanical Museum – I went to Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum to celebrate my mom’s birthday and we had so much fun! Marvin’s is an arcade/museum devoted to a large collection of coin-operated animatronic dummies, mechanical games, and other oddities.
Van Gogh In America Exhibit – In January I visited my favorite local museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts to see the limited-time exhibit “Van Gogh in America”. As a longtime fan of his artwork, this was such an incredible experience as I got to get up close to some of his most notable pieces as well as his early drawings.
What are your reflections on 2023? Have you set any goals for 2024? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!
What an insightful and inspiring post, Rachel. Happy to hear that you are working so hard to stay tuned to your balance of energy and what keeps you well and content. What a great year you’ve had overall! And so many interesting experiences and travels and events too. I hope 2024 holds many joys and successes (in all the ways that word can be defined) for you!
I totally get feeling overextended. I think that led to my many slumps in 2021 and 2022. Last year was the first I felt like things were back on track. Energy is a good word for the year. Hope this year goes well and you have amazing experiences.
Great to stay tuned in where you can. I deleted some rubbishy games from my phones and will read or catch up with blogs in that time now. I haven’t deleted Twitter but don’t use it much. That’s a lot of books you’ve read, I’m impressed. And did I know you’d met Huda??? Wow! Hope you have / are having a lovely 2024.
Meeting Hud was such a great highlight. Her book talk was phenomenal. 2024 is getting off to a good start. Hope your year is going well so far!