Hello and thank you so much for taking the time to visit my page, I truly appreciate it! Welcome to my Bordeaux Blonde site, a place where I share my love of wine, travel, and fashion. Today, I want to share something a little more personal as I reflect on this crazy and this unpredictable year 2020.
I began the exciting year of 2020 like most, in a very different place than I am ending it, not so much physically, but definitely mentally. I remember how exciting the start of 2020 was, the positive outlook I had for what I thought was about to be an iconic year. On New Years Eve I dressed up to head out on the town to celebrate at one of my good friend’s sister’s birthday dinner. The excitement of 2020 noisemakers, hats, glasses, flutes of champagne and all, these festivities will of course look much different as we are ending 2020. I made a list of resolutions filled with goals I wanted to accomplish in this thrilling year; career goals, places I wanted to go, things I wanted to do, and how I envisioned the year playing out. Shortly after the new year began things slowly changed for myself and for everyone. It just goes to show how unpredictable life can be and I have definitely learned to be ready for the unexpected.
Shortly after the near year, my grandfather who I cherished and looked up to so much lost his battle to cancer in February. He was truly an incredible person and always put his family first above anything. This was completely devastating as I was just flying home in a few days to see him as I had received word he was not doing well. Since this was still towards the beginning of the pandemic really getting into full swing, I am so blessed our family was able to come together to celebrate his life before the strict guidelines went into effect and gatherings were prohibited only a few weeks later. My heart goes out to everyone who have not been able to be with their family this year in times like this.
I had just moved to Huntington Beach back in October 2019 to begin an exciting new chapter in my life with a new job furthering my career in Hospitality Sales Management. As I seemed to be really getting in the groove at my new job and settled in my new city, I was furloughed in March of 2020 as the pandemic really started to unfold and the hospitality industry plummeted. I remember receiving email after email and call after call, of programs I worked so hard to secure for my job at the hotel, cancelling one after the other. It definitely felt like a downward spiral that was out of my control and pretty unsettling.
From there I spent the next couple of months in a limbo state of not sure what was going to happen and if I would ever be called back to my job. Day after day it was a struggle to keep a daily schedule with things to do, as I was suddenly unemployed and everything was beginning to close down. I was not to see anyone and stay socially distant. I was also in a relationship that had abruptly ended, which now I see to have been a huge blessing and God guiding my path. To respect my privacy and the situation, this is not something I have openly discussed, but it was definitely a part of the first half of this year and I know many of you have asked about. During this time, I am so thankful for my close friends who I was still able to spend time with and safely social distance with. I was now living away from my family, and my close friends truly became my second family.
In May of 2020, I was officially laid off from my previous position as there was no sign of a quick comeback for “in person” meetings for corporations of 10 to 100 attendees. While I half expected this to happen, it was still sad to know I would not go back and see my old team and work at such an amazing place.
During these months of uncertainty work wise and being a way from my family, it was great to have these close friendships to rely on. One of the biggest blessings from 2020 is just how thankful I am for my core close friends and cherishing the time I have with them. I was still working on my blog and my friends were all working from home as well, so we would meet at someone’s house to all work together. This is something I hope we still continue once I am back in SoCal. I love these days where we can work together from home since we don’t have our usual office culture and camaraderie any long; what a better way to work than with your best friends.
I feel like I am writing so much about how 2020 was the worst as we all have experienced the same and I know other people have been through unbelievable hardships this year also. There have been some key moments that I still cherish and that I hope to take into 2021 for a positive light.
The number one thing has been family time. Since beginning my career right out of college, it was always a strategic breakdown of how I would utilize my vacation days throughout the entire year to be with my family for important holidays or events. I am blessed that this year I have been able to work on my blog from home and stay with my family for extended periods of time and be home for holidays that I haven’t been home for in years. If you have seen my IG stories you may have seen all of the quality time I have had with my brother, aka him forcing me to take him to the golf driving range and Starbucks for hot chocolate everyday! I have loved getting to spend so much time with him this year.
Productivity and organization. At the beginning of quarantine and stay at home orders it was definitely uncharted territory to be at home everyday, all day with no schedule or place to be. I have always thrived off planning and having a schedule with places to be and things to do. My motto has always been, “I would rather be too busy than bored.” After a few months of not knowing what my purpose was day to day, I have since had the time to reflect on what truly makes me happy and what I want to do. This has since inspired me to wake up each morning ready to tackle the day and go after my goals and what makes me happy. While not all days are perfect by any means and I can deviate from my “to-do” list, I want to bring this passion into 2021 and create my own “mini goals” to accomplish each day.
Fitness. While I think the majority of us struggled with staying on our normal workout routine once the stay at home orders took place in some capacity, I feel like I am finally in a place of consistency. I found a community in Huntington Beach where the workout classes take place outside and we are socially distanced. Here I discovered just how much I still love my first passion, volleyball, and it pushed me to achieve some great fitness goals. While I have been home with family for almost two months and haven’t been in the Huntington area, I have still pushed myself to stay consistent to my own workouts because I know just how beneficial they are and how significantly they change my outlook and perspective for the day.
Safe travel. While travel has been a very controversial topic this year and there have been many restrictions put in place to limit travel, I have been fortunate to safely travel to a few places this year. In the Summer I was able to go to Seattle to visit my dear friend and her husband for a few days and I also spent time with my cousin and her husband. It had been a number of years since I was able to visit Seattle since I had lived there so it was great to be back if only for a short period of time. I went to a few other places as well and making sure I traveled as safely as possible. I hope to visit more family and friends in 2021 and pray things get better out there.
All in all, while it is so easy to focus on only the negative parts of 2020, I have learned so much this year and have truly been pushed outside of my comfort zone which I have grown from. There have been a number of challenges we have all faced this year and I hope we can start the New Year with a new perspective that we have never had before and find what is truly important to each and every one of us. Cheers to new beginnings in 2021 friends!