End of November

Can you believe it’s already the last day of November? There’s only one month left of 2022. I don’t know about you, but I’m actually kinda sad to see it go. After 2020 and 2021, I would say 2022’s been a good year for me. I hope it’s been a good year for you too.

Instead of focusing on whether or not you completed your New Year’s resolution for 2022, why don’t we just focus on the happy moments? I want to do something I did last year. You may remember my post: “Where Has the Year Gone?” I wrote it last year around this time and I dared everyone to write their happy moments for 2021. Well, I want to dare you to do again for 2022. What’s one thing you did each month that made you happy or brightened your spirit in some way? It can be something big or something small. It can be something simple or complex. It could be a bunch of little things added together or a moment where you just felt peaceful. I’m going to share my happy moments below. If you think of some things, feel free to share here on my website, Twitter, or Facebook posts. Let’s remember the good times of 2022 as we head into its final month.

Nikki’s 2022

• January: Started off the year at Grandma’s Christmas. Played a lot of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond throughout the month.
• February: Found a new favorite game in Pokemon Legends; Arceus. Trained my favorite dog at the animal shelter how to do all the fun tricks in our agility park!
• March: Quit a job I was miserable at!!! Huge shoutout to my mom for supporting me through all the insanity. Love you, mom. Also, get back into writing my novel!
• April: Receive two job offers. Found out my dog doesn’t have cancer–Yay!
• May: Start a Seasonal Zookeeper position at my zoo! Interview for a permanent part-time position.
• June: Offered the permanent part-time position! Johnny Depp wins his trial! Feed chimpanzees and hippos for the first time! Diekemper Lake week!
• July: Get checked off on our hippo routine. Feed more chimps. Share a birthday with our hippo. Finish chapter edits on my novel!
• August: My DND group ends our campaign in an epic fashion. We begin a new campaign a week later. I start training our hippos at the zoo.
• September: I get checked off on chimp identifications and beat Pokemon Legends; Arceus! Also, feeling encouraged about my readthrough edits for my novel.
• October: Renaissance festival! Work on a new draft of my novel’s sequel. Halloween!
• November: I start training chimpanzees! Beat Pokemon Legends; Arceus postgame! Start learning an aviary routine at the zoo and got to watch CHEETAH training! New game Pokemon Violet comes out. Thanksgiving! Hire an editor for feedback on the first part of my novel.
• December: CHRISTMAS

Well, those are some of my highlights. When I look back at this year, it started off pretty crummy. I was at a job I hated and that effected a lot of other areas in my life as well: my writing, my relationships. I was quite the depressed person no one wanted to be around. I didn’t think things would get better. But, come May, I got a job at my local zoo, then a month later, I was given a permanent position there. Now, I have the amazing opportunity to live the adventure that is being a zookeeper. I feed hippos and train chimps. I give lemurs belly scratches and get to be around my favorite animal: the cheetah. I’m working a job outside of four, suffocating concrete walls, and I still have time to work on my novel. Things really turned around career wise for me this year and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Maybe your year has ended up like mine? Maybe you’ve had a victory, and if so, please share it! If you haven’t had a victory this year. If you’re still waiting for things to turn around one way or another. I hope you’ll find encouragement in my story and the stories of others. Situations can change in just a few months. Maybe it won’t be this year for you. Maybe it’ll be in 2023? Whenever it happens. I hope you’ll take the time to look back and appreciate all you’ve been given.

Happy end of November everyone. May the end of your 2022 be happy and bright.