Love Yourself Wildly
Okay, so 2020 was a pretty shitty year for everyone. But for the end of 2020, I wanted to reflect on all the goodness and joy that this year has brought to my life. I’m not trying to diminish the fact that yes it’s been rough, I just wanted the opportunity to point out some incredibly cool things that happened to me this year. Maybe just to lighten the mood for a few minutes.
For starters, I am still able to pay my bills and rent, thanks to my design business, my sewing side hustle and Canada Benefits. I love my apartment. I get to work from home, which is where I love to be. I get to make my own schedule and be my own boss. And my life has become so cozy and quiet. I’m kind of in love with this new version of myself.
I’ve broken it down to my top 6 highlights of 2020. Here for your reading pleasure! 🙂
#1: Sewing Side-Hustle!
At the beginning of Covid, I was scrolling Facebook and I saw a tutorial from a hospital on how to sew your own masks. I followed the tutorial and made one mask, and posted it on Facebook and Instagram. What happened next was unbelievable. I literally got 100 orders(!!!) from that one initial photo. The orders were from friends as well as people I didn’t even know, it just spread like wildfire through word of mouth that I was making masks.
The income that I made from masks over the next few months really, really helped me out, and I was doing something that felt like was making a difference. So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who graciously purchased masks from me this year. You guys are the best!! That inspired me to finally set up a brand and website for my sewing stuff. It’s very much a work in progress still but glad it’s up and ready, if I decide to continue hustling my sewing goods in 2021 (www.totesmcgoats.ca).
#2: Design Work (my main hustle)
I took on several new design contracts this year. Some worked out and some didn’t, but looking back I can say holy crap, did I ever learn a lot. I beefed up my skill set in book design and WordPress, plus I learned a lot about knowing my worth and setting (and practicing) good boundaries.
I think I learned more about running a business this year than any other year. I’ve been working as a contractor at Kun Studios since November, and have learned so much from Krisztina in such a short period of time. Since working with Krisztina, I have learned how to say “no” to a client request (which is a real challenge for me), and have learned SO much about creative business processes. She has been an invaluable resource to me this year.
#3: Buy Nothing Project (my volunteer hustle)
I became an admin for the Buy Nothing Project in my area, which is an online gifting community. This project aims to give, receive, lend, share, and show gratitude in hyper-local gift economies, where the true wealth is the connections between real neighbours. This helps foster connections between neighbours in an increasingly isolated world.
This group has been an absolute passion project for me, and I was able to help divert a ton of stuff from landfill, which makes me so happy. It meant having a living room full of fabric at one point (literally a whole Toyota Carolla FULL of fabric showed up on my doorstep one day – it took me months to re-home it all, but I finally did it!! Mostly.). But it is really a passion of mine to be able to gift things that are no longer useful to one person, to someone who will appreciate it.
#4: Learning From My Female Friends
For me, it’s important to hold onto and cherish my female friendships. They are so valuable and I love the fact that I have so many strong, talented and amazing women in my life.
All this year, I’ve been quietly observing and learning from a friend of mine, Lori. She’s a great personal coach, perhaps without even knowing it. She helped me through several roadblocks this year and has taught me the value of reaching out to the right person for help. She is the loving, rational, non-judgemental person I strive to be. She has also taught me a lot about not giving unsolicited advice when someone expresses concern about their life experiences (particularly on Facebook, a veritable breeding ground for unsolicited advice). She has advocated for and supported me in numerous ways this year (and in years passed). She has taught me to live with so much more grace, humility and kindness. I am a much better person because of her. Thanks Lori for all your love and guidance! Here’s to another year of friendship.
#5: Accountability Sessions
This started a few months ago. Twice a week, a friend and I schedule an hour to do something we’ve been procrastinating on, and after the hour is up, we have a quick 5 minute phone call to talk about what we have accomplished.
It can be something as simple as doing the dishes or some creative writing, or something as scary as cleaning out a closet or working on your taxes. I am absolutely shocked at how much my life has improved, 2 hours a week at a time!!! This has completely changed the way I think about smashing my to-do lists, and has helped me greatly with my procrastination issue, which had been really stressing me out.
#6: Home Organization
Those of you who know me well, know that I struggle with keeping things neat and tidy. Well, thanks to these accountability sessions, my apartment looks cleaner and tidier than ever. Also, thanks to Kathleen Perez over at Heal My House, I have learned about not beating myself up or calling myself a slob, like I have been for my whole life. This quiz at Clutterbug is cutesy and calls you a bug, but I’m telling you, it helped me a lot!!! I found out that I’m a butterfly, which means I crave visual abundance and have difficulty remembering something if it’s “out of sight, out of mind”. Just knowing this has helped me rethink my organizational style big time!
That’s a Wrap!
Well that’s a wrap for my 2020 highlights. I guess this is a reminder to you and me to enjoy the little things, and the bigger things, and the medium-sized things, and try not to beat yourself up so much.
You’re doing great, and I love you.
To those of you who are struggling with mental health and addiction over this holiday season, please know that I am there with you. It’s a very tough time. If you’re in British Columbia and looking for detox and addiction housing services, please call access central at 1 (866) 658-1221 (toll-free).
Looking forward to a very joyful 2021 with all of you!
