by Molly Jo Realy (@MollyJoRealy)

[Originally posted at MollyJoRealy.com on January 18, 2021]

Well, now, bless my heart.

Isn’t that the strangest thing y’all have ever heard? How can a person expect to remember something that’s new? But there it is, anyway. In a big, bold headline.

~This New Year, I’m just going to adjust last year’s resolution and call out, “Plot Twist!”~

Let’s be a real a minute, for just a millisecond. (Hamilton fans everywhere are smiling, aintcha?) Last year was hard. Like, really hard. Like, people living through an upside-down world hard. But we did it.

Somehow, we made it through.

As the New Year began, there was an energy, a hope. But also, a caution. The world (or at least most of it) doesn’t want a repeat of the last 366 days. We just want to forget it even happened and move on …

But isn’t that counterproductive? If we don’t face what went wrong, if we don’t find a way out of it, aren’t we destined to repeat it? We’re more than two weeks in to 2021, and have you forgotten why you were looking forward to the end of 2020?

Molly Jo’s Journals: Henry Ford Quote

Not everything is solvable, but if you’re reading this, the hardships of your world are overcome-able. 

Here’s the thing I’ve been thinking: There isn’t an easy way to let go of a year that was so hard for so many, it left rude, punishing scars in our lives: Physical. Financial. Emotional. Social. Many of us are left with some form of PTSD because of 2020. When is the last time a year was responsible for that? Not an incident. Not a moment. An entire year.

And we’re still reconciling those scars. Why?

Because there was no magic reset at midnight on December 31st. 

And so we wake up, catch our breath, and hope we can get through the next day. And that means different things to different people. But it doesn’t mean amnesia. It means facing the darkness. The shadows. The traumas and the hurts and unfairnesses and the bleakness we call last year.

This year, remember why the newness of it excites you. Remember what you hoped this year would bring you. Remember the resolutions you made, thought about making, or never made.

Remember why this year is supposed to be better than the last.

Earlier today, a post in an online writing community caught my attention. Felicity (who has a zebra for her profile pic ~ tell me that’s just notsoperfect!) asked “What are your thoughts on editing old things? I found a few short stories I wrote a while ago. I’m trying to decide if editing them will help me learn? Or do I just start over writing new stuff?” And I thought, again, “Perfect. It’s perfect!” Did you catch what she was throwing? She’s taking what she first penned, and re-evaluating based on current knowledge. She’s wanting to learn what her prior writings and her ongoing skills have taught her.

We can do the same. Let’s take the pages of 2020, keep what was good, accept the challenges, and do what we can to change what needs to be changed. Of course, not everything can be changed. There are some wounds too deep to heal nicely. Some moments we want to forget and can’t. Sometimes, not enough editing in the world can make a bad story good.

But sometimes, we can grow stronger through the process. Smarter. Determined.

This is our opportunity to stand against 2020, and move forward.

Let’s embrace 2020 with all it’s faults, turn it on its head (which was upside down to begin with, so I guess that means we’re just straightening it out, amiright?), and push forward into the glorious New.

I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment and share what memories you’ll bring into 2021 to make it a better year.

And in case I forgot to ask earlier, it’d be awful nice if y’all could comment and share this post with your family and friends!

Molly Jo’s Journals: Remembering What’s New

Come alive and stay wild,

Author of the romantic location mystery novel, NOLA, Molly Jo Realy is an award-winning writer and author coach. Known as the Bohemian Hurricane, she encourages people to embrace their unique talents to come alive and stay wild every day. Addicted to cats, coffee, and pens in no particular order.

Annnnnd … in case you missed my recent successes:
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NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT: The Author’s NOLA is the behind-the-scenes look at the inspirations and perspirations for NOLA.