I’m feeling 2022

I may be guilty of chronic optimism, but I am once again looking forward to a new year, despite still missing my right leg and being in the middle of a pandemic that has lasted since 2019. Every year that passes, I learn more and more about myself and how to live a great life as an amputee, and I also make an effort to learn more about other people's worlds so that I can be a more compassionate, considerate human. We are all flawed, and sometimes it takes getting it wrong a few times to learn. Learning is a never-ending Peloton ride that strengthens our minds.

2021 personally gave me both beauty and sadness. As you yell "good riddance" at midnight to a year that brought both division and death across the globe, I hope you will also think of the good times you had. Did you make a new friend or discover your self-worth? Did you help someone in need? I'm willing to bet there was something you don't want to forget as you wipe your slate clean for the new opportunities that a brand new year brings. Don't give up on the things that didn't happen for you. If you feel it in your bones that it's for you, then consider this a redo.

Like a mystery-flavored ice cream cone, 2022 is just waiting for us to either dive in and hope it's sweeter or crinkle our noses in fear of more soft serve poop emoji on a cone. It feels like we're waiting for our cards to be dealt and in a way, we are, but we still hold some power in terms of how it all plays out for us. Instead of sitting around and waiting for lady luck, get up and make the best of it. You can't expect to have a good year with a negative mindset from the start. That's easier said than done after all we've been through recently, but it's the only way we can help ourselves.

As for me, I plan to shake my butt as I dance across the living room in the new house that lots of hard work got us this year. While the house will probably be a mess, and my mild OCD triggered as the boxes will likely be piled high, I can't picture a better start to the new year.

As the wise Taylor Swift (maybe) once said, " I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 2022"