What Lessons You Learn From The Year 2021 Would You Like To Share?? (Closed)

That you can enjoy a coworker’s personality but hate working with them.

I have learned that I do not fit into the societal mold. I already knew this was true in lots of ways (I'm a nerd, I'm gender fluid, I have dyscalculia, I enjoy doing things the old way (like making soap, knitting, sewing, etc.), I couldn't care less about what's trendy/hot, etc.) but one thing I thought I absolutely had to fit into was being an employee. I had to be someone who could be hired, someone who could work at the same pace as everyone else, someone who could handle being micromanaged, someone who was fine being overworked, someone who lived to work and not vice versa, someone who didn't mind that their job was something they weren't passionate about, someone who could just keep their head down and make money and not mind all the little bad things that happen because "that's just how things are".

I am not that person. Furthermore, I cannot force myself to be that person. I tried, I really did, and it was absolute torture. I have always wanted to tell stories, to write books, but that always seemed far-fetched, kind of like becoming a famous actor or singer. It seemed like a difficult path to walk, and it didn't come with any promises of success.

But this past year I realized something. Both the path of the employee and the path of the potential novelist are difficult. The difference is that one is endlessly excruciating and torturous (employee) and the other is uncertain but enjoyable (potential novelist). Why was I choosing the torturous path? Because society says that it's unlikely to be successful at your creative passion and that you should just do what most people do.

Well, what most people do has never worked for me. What I perceive as being easier on others (and maybe it isn't, I'm not the rest of society so I can't say for certain) is impossible for me. So this past November, I took the plunge. I quit my awful job, spent some time healing, and started work on a book. I'm loving every second. I'm already 20,000 words in and the story is practically writing itself. I couldn't be happier. Yes, things are going to be more difficult for me (taxes, health insurance, what if I can't find an agent or publisher, etc.), but quite frankly this struggle is much more tolerable than the alternative for me.

TL;DR I learned that I cannot be the employee that society wants me to be, but that there's a possibility that I can be the novelist I've always dreamed of being.

That you can’t assume that people are basically decent and will act like decent people to each other. While there are many good and decent people in the world I have hit my limit with giving people the benefit of the doubt and am. Ow learning towards assuming that people are self serving assholes who will screw you over to get what they want .

Don’t ever forget to spend time with those you love!
Always pay it forward!!
Last Easter we (my kids and I)made cards and sent them to a local nursing home.

Home is where the couch is, and it is the best place that can be, especially where there are no other people here to annoy you. Social distancing is a blessing.

Don't bother trying. I have tried hard my entire life. To be a good student, a good daughter, a good friend, a good worker. I have studied crazy hard for years to get my masters, worked unpaid or underpaid for years. Tried to be healthy, never smoked or drank, never did drugs, exercise...

All to end up disabled, constantly in pain, alone and caged at home with nothing to do except housechores. I acomplished nothing this year and my life has gotten even worse than it was.

I started 2022 without any motivation or energy to hope for a better future.

Always take a minute to reflect, be grateful for what you have and what you had because you never know how hard tomorrow might be. And trust me tomorrow can turn into a terrible place in the blink of an eye. Then there’s Covid, don’t be friends with people that lick their fingers in public lol