...now we are twenty-seven

A belated merry Christmas, and an unapologetic happy birthday to me! Today I am twenty-seven, and this year feeling every second of my age. There's no denying that this year has been a strange one. And at times, a tough one. I don't know if I speak for my fellow humans, but I feel it's oldened and wizened me more than any other year in my life. Today I find myself feeling reflective the way most feel on New Years Day, looking back on the year that's now over, and ahead to the year to come.

2020 has been biblical. And I don't mean that's it's felt holy or succinct. Simply that the events have been so weighty that they cannot be ignored. The year began with floods and fires that progressed into plague. We may have been battered by it, but we are still standing. We are here. And for that in itself there's much to be grateful for.

There's a song from the musical Rent that's called Seasons of Love. 

The lyrics say: "525,600 minutes. How do we measure, measure a year. In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee? In inches? In miles? In laughter? In strife? In 525,600 minutes. How do you measure a year in a life?" ~ lyrics by the late great Jonathan Larson.

Here's my measurements, and my yearly summary:

525,600 minutes
356 days
365 1seconds a day snippets tucked away on my phone so I can reflect back on this year one day - hopefully in better humour.
280 days since the first lockdown began in the UK

82 days of blissful freedom at the beginning of the year
52 blogs
50 books

10 new ideas for books to write that I haven't begun ha!

4 new social media pages I'm miraculously managing to fill with content (links below)
1 blog page!

1 completed novel seeking representation, THE BLOOD DRAGON
1/3 of a sequel (still affectionately known as THE SEQUEL) 

...and a partridge in a pear tree

I put a lot of pressure on myself to document this year after realising that on my last birthday I didn't take a single photo! The result of this realisation was this led to a lot of bravery and putting myself out there with photos and information about my book and the books I love to read.

Some of you may have already spotted that I dropped a small spoiler up above, revealing that I have in fact succeeded in my Self Inflicted 50 Book Challenge for 2020, the details of which I will save for a separate blog on the first Monday of the new year - otherwise this blog with be overwhelmingly long. 

Thank you to everyone who's supported and read this blog in its first year of creation! It means the world to me and I've asking the universe to help me reach more people in 2021. Spread the word and the love of books and writing! 

Happy Holidays everyone. Stay safe as we head towards the new year.  I'll be back with a new blog on January 4th!

Love, Zuzu 🖋