2021: a year in review

Since 2016, I would post about the previous year every new year to keep track of what I’ve done and what I hope to do in the next.

2021 seemed to pass by so fast. 2020 was the year that changed almost every aspect of our lives. This 2021, we are still battling COVID along with the new variations: Delta, and right now, Omicron. But things are looking to be improving. 

Blogging and Malditang Librarian

This year was good for me in terms of blogging even if I wasn’t prolific when it comes to posts. I started a YouTube channel, Malditang Librarian. I slowed down in creating and uploading videos for the past three months, but I am planning new content this 2022. Actually, my first goal in creating a channel is to improve my speaking and presenting! I have been teaching online since last year and I am really bad when it comes to speaking (or interacting with people in general). I can say that it has really helped me.

It can be time-consuming, but I enjoy making and creating videos. It’s something new and I am improving in every video I create.

Aside from that, I also started a new Facebook page dedicated solely for library news, PH Library News. I have been blogging and posting more about the latest news and free resources on this blog, and I felt like there was no blog or page yet that only reports on library news. I was thinking of starting a new, separate website but I don’t really have time to add another thing to maintain so I decided to only create a Facebook page. I only started it last week, and for the first few days it did pretty well with over 300+ followers now.

Library work

The library I work in has somewhat slowed down with events and free seminars because of accreditations (which is so time-consuming in academic libraries). This year, we had some pretty big accomplishments like launching the BAHANDIAN Institutional Repository which is my main work now.

I am teaching again but I don’t plan on adding to my current load of one subject per semester. I’m not as stressed as the first time I taught, but it’s still challenging. Interacting with a large group of people like students (who you really have to keep track of and engage with) is really, really tiring for me. Which is something that some people don’t really understand - higher-ups would like me to teach more but I’m saying no, though it can add a little bit of income.

2021, what I learned

This year, I made a personal decision that I might talk about in length at some other time - I stopped going to church. While I had friends in church, I was being really fake. I realized that Jesus or whatever higher power would be much happier with me if I stayed true to myself and not played this persona. I actually felt that once I stopped going, this burden was lifted off of me. Religion was always something touchy for me, and I really didn't agree when some churches think that their belief is the only true way the world operates. I realized that I was an adult who can make my own decisions, and that also includes not going to church. I know, some of those people might gaslight you that going to church is important and its somewhat wrong to miss church.

 

Why I tolerated and pretended for so long, I don't know, but I'm done pretending and being fake about it. I do believe in God and I think I have some sort of faith, and it would be really hypocritical of me to keep acting.

 

I deactivated my main Facebook account for much of the year and one time that I logged in, I realized that there were so many people on my feed that I couldn't remember! As of now, I only use my deactivated main account for Messenger, but for posting and blogging I just have a dummy account with less than 30 friends. I only ever use it for blogging and posting on the library page for work. I will probably keep this set-up until 2022, it really helped me cut down wasteful social media time.

I had to say no to things because I realized that I should also prioritize myself and what I really want and not just to please others. Saying "no" is something I would like to improve on.

 

2021 was kind of sad for me, because of the pandemic, I seemed to have forgotten how to make friends or interact with people. I didn't really go out of my way to meet people because of the pandemic and don't really have much friends. I hope this improves next year.

 

Goals for 2022

For blogging and YouTube, I would like to post more and produce better content. I do aim to have an income stream through blogging other than just AdSense, and I have a lot of ideas but don't have a lot of time to really do it.

I have a research paper to finish this January, and I have plans for future researches to do. It's something that I'm just starting in, and last year I have learned a lot and was lucky that someone from my University mentored and taught me about research.

As for fitness goals, 2020-2021 was kind of just maintaining my weight. I lost a lot of weight in 2019 (from medically obese to somewhat normal), and the lockdowns was really a challenge. However, unlike before, exercising and being conscious of what I'm consuming has become a secondary habit. I do plan to lean down 10-15 pounds this year, but I'm taking things slower.

I also want to focus on financial goals this year. Since the BDO hack, I started spreading out my current savings to other banks and plan to invest some. I also did a huge declutter, sold some books, and will probably get rid of or sell things that I no longer use.

That's it for 2021.