The more I write, and the longer I blog, the more I am aware that time flies by far too quickly for my liking. If anything, my writing and this space make me all the more grateful for tricky, relative, invented time, and I am thankful for this hyperawareness that nudges me into appreciating every single day. ‘tis truly unbelievable that we now sit on the brink of another year—a year which stretches awfully long before us, but a year that we will meet and become acquainted with far quicker than we can even fathom. And so, friends, here’s to 2022, and let us say farewell to the past year with this 2021 breviary…
As opposed to last year, where I could say that I had nicely kept up with my monthly edits of Things I Love, this past year was just a wee bit too busy for me to say the same now. However, having documented a fair enough over on my instagram, and having experienced this past year firsthand, I shall not bore us all with the details here, but link to posts from this past year as I once more attempt brevity, beginning again with the year in numbers. 2021 breviary
2021 in numbers
80 // the books I read, 2021 reading digest coming next!
41 // books i purchased/were gifted to me 2021 breviary
56, 837 // the words I wrote for both camp + regular nanowrimo
9 // the number of new writing pieces/projects I started/completed
577 // hours of music (only slightly lower than last year since I switched over to spotify in June, hence this is from my first ever spotify wrapped)
40 // hours of that was just switchfoot total HEHEH (apple + spotify eras combined)
225k // current number of pinterest monthly viewers, i was able to grow so much on this platform!! i honestly have fallen in love w it this year, and i hope to keep improving in that area. i went from under 80k to this! 2021 breviary
Entertainment favs/discoveries
Podcasts: even MORE theology ones, hehe + some church history ones, the following two are my favs // The Bible Study with Steven Lawson // Luther: In Real Time
Films: The Book Thief (hadn’t watched this since it came out, this was so lovely to revisit esp on the heels of it as my final read of 2020) // Howards End (though i haven’t yet read the novel, this was a fantastic adaptation from what i could tell!) // Letters to Juliet (when i did have time to delve into films this year, i was on a real romcom kick, this was a new fav!) // Wild Child (such a CLASSIC! hadn’t watched in a few years & i elected to watch this one spring day & thoroughly enjoyed it) // Inception (i’m sooo late to this one, but i have cillian murphy to thank for motivating me to finally watch this iconic and incredible chris nolan film)
TV Shows: Peaky Blinders (i luv this sm i don’t even wanna talk ab it if that makes sense lol) // Shadow & Bone (Y’ALL. IT FINALLY DROPPED. i’m sharing my thoughts on each episode heheh. overall, thoroughly enjoyed, ESP all the helnik moments) // Derry Girls (such!! fun!! started watching it my last week of undergrad, and I’ve already rewatched thrice :’) super excited for the final season) // Seinfeld (another absolute bANGER AND CLASSIC. ate this up during my last semester of undergrad. so. good.) // B99 (i love it sm <3 one of those ones that has me LAUGHING out loud. so glad i got to catch the finale when it aired on telly!)
Music favs/discoveries
Genres: I kept improving in the same ones as last year, namely: theologically sound worship, and indie folk/folk + acoustic/singer-songwriter
New Artists: TAYLOR SWIFT. yes I started listening to folklore + evermore last year (& her country before then) & mentioned her, but this is the real deal now y’all. now i’m all in. i love her entire discography. wowwieee. // Billie Marten <333 // LAURA MARLING (played Song For Our Daughter an unhealthy amount of times) // Bon Iver // Cage The Elephant // Dayglow // Gregory Alan Isakov (where has he been my whole life?!) // Hozier // John Mark McMillan // Phoebe Bridgers // LÉON // Lord Huron // The Lumineers // Mumford & Sons // The National // Orla Gartland // public library (a friend of mine’s band!!! check them out!!!) // Sitting on Stacy // Sun Room // Tyler Childers (I LUV HIS STUFF SM)
My fav worship discoveries deserve their own special space:
The Eagle & Child // Coram Deo Church // The Modern Post // Norton Hall Band // Psallos // Seeker & Servant
*honourable mentions*
Maisie Peters, because, although I’ve been listening her to since her very first release, I became a more ardent consumer of her wonderful music this year. The highly anticipated release of MP1, You Signed Up For This, was so worth the long wait. If you haven’t yet, please please listen to her omg!!! I am FERAL for YSUFT.
And Calahan Skogman, you absolute angel, thanks for sharing your playlists and music taste w/us—I discovered absolute FAVOURITES as a result <3 (also thanks for doing justice to matthias so well U KING)
playlist making — it’s become an art, a hobby, & a regular old pastime of extreme enjoyment. i didn’t expect that at all, but it’s very welcome, & i’m glad of it
Writing, writing, writing…
Doing Camp transformed my writing muscles, and I am so so glad I decided to do it—and of course, I am even prouder that I did write every single day, and met my goal of 25k words. Despite the fact that this year, I wasn’t writing in this space as much as I would have liked (something I talked through in July), my writing improved in so many different ways in 2021, and for that I am eternally grateful.
I worked on a lot of non-fiction and fiction this year. Funnily enough, the story I did for NaNo began as a very short story that randomly came to me on the 21st of May. I ended up feeling drawn to that during Camp, which I had originally intended for non-fic thinkpieces and essays alone, but that was totally fine with me. I’m still so obsessed with that story, and I was able to get 33k words of it total—from before and during Camp, and later in November.
Journalling became dearer than ever before, and I filled up my journal in a year and a half—a record for me! Had to start a new one in December as a result.
moments i will treasure forever
the fact that i actually really enjoyed january in 2021 (a wholly new experience) — the ab exercises at night, the blog writing in the evenings // a delicious valentine’s w/PB, rosé, and dark choc // the walks that waned from winter to springtime, the ones that were so beautiful i just had to document them in real time // the arrival of spring, something i have never anticipated or desired as i did last year — sunbathing out on the balcony, reading on the back patio in the warmth of the sun, running and getting tan at the same time //
april and may days that were full of the last session of undergrad courses, going to julie’s and the gym, running in her neighbourhood, and watching josh’s basketball games in the afternoon // all the times julie & i talked ab theology for hours, instead of working through our senioritis :’)) // the finality of finals week, the last two days spent writing my final undergrad paper, and commencement itself //
the breathless arrival of summer on the heels of finishing that paper — laying on my bed when it was all over, texting Dad that i DID IT, the run i took after and the hilarious moment where we realised it was julie’s senior night game and i had to run back and get ready to go as quickly as possible // julie’s graduation <333 // both of our grad parties // the return of summer’s glorious, familiar routine // weddings, salt air, and the writing of many words //
being joshua’s ride to school as he starts junior year :,( and picking ethan up too // finally falling in love w/taylor’s entire discography // screaming MP1 during morning, noon, and nighttime drives // football games w/julie & melos // the giants game w/Daddy, and the fun we had over that incredible win // the coming of autumn — our autumnal picnic, days w/keely at the coffeeshop or target or sprout’s for SUSHI // sinking into the warmth of the season’s hues — decorating, college football, cosy reads, and all the warm bevvies // november — the commencement of my t-swift year, & words, words, words //
pismo in december, a first <3 // the night circus and the comfort of avonlea // flailing but finishing my 1st term of grad school // the busyness of Christmas — though i did not feel as traditionally festive this year, my heart was truly able to daily meditate on the wonders of Christ and His arrival, and that is far more important to me
the providence of God
without a doubt, the prevailing theme of 2021 was God’s sovereignty—and what it means to truly rest in it. though this is something i have always learned about growing up, and something i have embraced even deeper in the last couple of years, 2021 cemented it in for me.
my family had a health scare in november that was initially so shocking, so extraordinary, so…misplaced. but, all glory to Christ, even in the reeling moments after i heard the news, i was immediately reminded of the sovereignty of God in all things—and that was so, so comforting.
as i looked back through the year up until that point, i saw the smaller ways that He was preparing me for this moment, and i marvelled at His grace.
thankfully, that health scare has been taken care of, and all is well! but i thank God for allowing us to go through it.
as is always the intention of a difficult moment or phase of life, our faith deepened, and our hearts were strengthened in our Saviour’s beautiful total supremacy—from the changing of the traffic lights, to the cancer diagnoses, it is a wonder and a sweet serenity to know that God’s perfect will always come to pass for His ultimate glory and our refinement.
2021 breviary 2021 breviary
Thank you so much for reading and walking back down the happy paths of this 2021 breviary with me! I hope you all had a lovely year, and many happy returns for 2022!! Let’s make this a good one, and here’s to reading and discovering and honing and growing in the months that lie ahead <3