A Look Back At 2020

2020. It’s been one hell of a year.

Plague. Explosions. A tumultuous presidential election. Isolation. Protests. Violence. Etc, etc. I think everyone is breathing a collective sigh of relief that this year has come to an end.

My blogging suffered a lot in 2020. I don’t think I even need to make excuses about why that was. We all know how rough this year has been.

I’m adamant that 2021 is going to be better, at least in terms of Read Yourself Happy. I’ve got so much fun stuff planned out!

For now, however, let’s look back at 2020.

This was the year that I took the leap and switched from a WordPress.com site to a completely self-hosted one. Talk about a learning curve! I’m not the most tech-savvy person in the world, so even though the transition happened months ago, I’m still getting everything straightened out.

I failed miserably at my Goodreads challenge. My boyfriend and I have a bet every year based on that reading goal. If I win, he buys me a super-fancy book or book collection; if he wins (and I don’t meet the goal), he gets a fancy cologne (something that he collects). I lost by a bit last year, but this year…

Yeah…… Not hitting 250 this year. That screenshot is from December 30th.

I’m still super happy with the amount I read, however. Any amount of reading I consider a victory.

My best and worst books of 2020 lists will be coming early next week, so keep an eye out for that. I read mostly backlist titles this year, although I did make space for a few new releases, like V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Like many companies, my employer switched to work-from-home back in March (March 19th actually – it was a nice birthday surprise for me!), and I’m obsessed. I hope I never have to go back to the office! Working from home has improved my mental health by an incredible amount. Obviously, WFH isn’t for everyone, especially extroverts. However, as an introvert who needs silence to be productive, I’m absolutely thriving.

My overall mental health has held up surprisingly well, all things considered. A few medication changes, but nothing major. I’m still learning to deal with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression, but these are conditions I’ll be living with for the rest of my life.

While I’m wary of what 2021 will bring, I’m confident that at least in the book and blogging portions of my life, things are looking up. I’m so excited to be sharing more regular content with y’all!

Let’s kick 2021 off with a bang! Get your reading lists ready!