Hello there my Fellow Adventurer
(or should I perhaps say quarantine home vacationer)!
Happy New Years Eve 2020!
Who's ready for 2021...
I know I am, so lets catch up on what this year's brought us, shall we?!
DEFINITION:
20/20; Twenty-Twenty
- Denoting vision of normal sharpness. Adj.
(source: Oxford Dictionary)
Please don't let my beautiful collage of photo's fool you, while I did have a healthy & safe 2020, not to denote it's pleasurable moments, but this year, as the same could be said for so many, was filled with lots of surprises, discouragement & struggles...
Yet, through it all, I can confidently say that if it wasn't for all the trials I endured, I wouldn't be who I am today - for better or for worse, I know that stepping into 2021 God has big plans for me - AND YOU - this year, I know good things are coming... so let me share a little bit about my 2020 with you...
I would like to propose that the definition of 20/20 IS correct... "denoting vision of normal sharpness", aka. perfect vision... a vision that entails one to see clearly... without extra enhancement.
Now I know 20/20 vision is not the same as 2020 (the year), but for so many, I know myself included, I started off New Years Eve 2019 with the hope (& many goals) that 2020 was going to be my best year yet... the roaring 20s of much change & success...
Yet even though (like so many) I lost my job, had to move back home, faced many struggles in between & of course could not travel... looking back on it all now, I truly believe 2020s events (speaking only to my own personal life) have helped me to see clearly!
YEP - I know what you're thinking now... "But Meghan, how does any of that relate to the definition of 2020... I feel like if anything I've lost my vision/ability to see hope"... have no fear my fellow adventurer because just like you, I felt that pain all to real this year too... but I'm hear to tell you that you DO know & see more about your next direction then you think you know... perhaps even better & clearer than ever... so let me explain...
At the beginning of 2020, I was living in New York City, had a full-time job (a rather sweet one at that), had travel plans to visit Norway & Denmark (June of 2020)... attend Broadway shows with friends, go to the movies when Marvel's Black Widow feature came out & celebrate my 23rd birthday with lunch at this funny place called Oatmeals in NYC (for those who know me, I LOVE oatmeal, so it makes sense)!
It's crazy when I think back on it all now, but during the beginning of 2020, I actually did NORMAL things! I went to the New York Toy Fair (for work, I promise), saw How To Kill A Mockingbird & Mean Girls on Broadway (I even got actor Ed Harris' signature after Mockingbird)... saw a production of the New York City Ballet's "The Nutcracker with my friends... visited NYC's first & only Cat Café (similar to the place I visited when I studied abroad in Scotland)... went to Philadelphia (again for work) & got to see the Liberty Bell during our free time... I even went to the movie theater, several museums, a department store (where I tried on cloths, gasp) & went out for dinner in public, in a fully packed restaurant on Valentines Day (at an amazing place called Burger & Lobster)!
Of course above all things, I was perhaps most excited at the prospect of entering my first year as a full-time employee, building into my young-adult life in 2020... as I had only just moved to the city & begun the job in November 2019, after graduating undergrad that May (don't forget to checkout my trips to China & Australia to see where 2019 took me)... but to say I wasn't prepared for the pandemic was an understatement...
It felt like all at once, the day I got the phone call saying "due to covid, your position is being eliminated", my immediate world just stopped. Thankfully, I had my parents to help me as I moved out of NYC at the beginning of May (technically I left in April but I didn't pack up my things officially until May)... I moved home & immediately enrolled in a program to get my MBA in marketing!
See my fellow adventurer, this is where the story starts to turn around - HOPE & GOODNESS did indeed come from the trials of 2020... at least for me, speaking only personally...
As someone who always likes to stay in a state of positive & personal growth, I always knew I wanted to get my MBA, I just didn't think it would happen so soon. So as a result of losing my job, I decided to enter a part-time, virtual program (meant for the working professional) so that I could continue not only enhancing my personal skillset, but allow myself the time to job hunt (a hunt I had no idea would be so painstakingly difficult) - to note: at the time of writing this post, I am still "open to work"... so I'll keep you posted!
While I had gotten to a couple "finish lines" throughout the year, only to never finish the "race" & be awarded the medal/job, I can confidently say that 600+ rejections later, as 2020 comes to a close, I have great hope that 2021 will bring about my new role.
"Meghan I hear you, job hunting is tough... so why do you sound so positive when it looks like all the cards are against you on the market"... great question my fellow adventurer, I can sum that up in one statement...
I have harnessed the power of persistence within my soul.
I am determined to not only find work again, but the right work that God has intended for me to take on. What does that mean? It means that while I've gotten close to so many jobs before & while I do feel like I am in this endless cycle of rejections, I know that God can break my chains... I only have to do the "natural" by applying & let Him take on the "super" part of making the way - one way - right.
No matter your views on the matter, for me that's what I believe - I believe that "often great disappointments are often appointments leading us towards our purpose" with God. And while it has taken me a long time to come to that realization, it is a statement I stand firmly behind today... so for what it's worth my fellow adventurer, I hope you know that
GOOD THINGS ARE COMING, I believe in that for you & me <3
Amidst all my job hunting, which is what ultimately led me to take a step back from "travel blog posting" (along with the fact that I thought blogging about travel during such a time as this would be insensitive)... I did go on two trips; one on a plane & one in a car - having been in good health all year, I've always been sure to wear my mask, wash my hands & social distance in accordance with the state protocols pertaining to wherever I've been, so truly, have no fear; only proceed with caution & do what's best for your circumstance :)
"So Meghan, where did you go"?!?! Without further adieu, I give to you some photos from my travels... as I plan to write a post in the New Year all about the trips... for now, please enjoy the scenery of Vail, Colorado & The Hamptons, NY!
At this point in my post, as I could write for hours (pages & pages) about my year... for the sanity of time & my typing fingers, I would like to sum up for you, my fellow adventurer, some of the things I feel I've gained vs. lost, to help you clearly see why I believe 2020 was/is my year of perfect vision...
To visit my NEW sister blog (to The Platinum Passport) -
Check out The Posh Pear
(click here, I promise it's a great site, I'm pretty proud of it)!
I will be posting more consistent content starting back up again in 2021, also follow me on insta @the.posh.pear & @the_platinum_passport
All that said, thank you my fellow adventure for coming along with me on this journey of reflecting upon my 2020... I hope should you read this post on NYE that perhaps you too might write yourself a list of all the things you gained vs. lost so that in a years time from now you'll be able to see your progress (or perhaps even see 2020 a little bit more clearly)!
Likewise, should you be reading this any day after NYE & it's already 2021, well then, first & foremost, Happy New Year! But also, my greatest wish is that you've been able to take some hope away from this post... while I'm certainly not in the place I thought I would be in at the end of 2020, I also know that much good (in a painful way) but much good has come out of all this year, that has fostered the hope I feel & carry with me into 2021!
So cheers to the New Years my fellow adventurer - as I bring this post to a close, let me share with you a quote from one of my favorite songs released this past 2020...
"Together we are dangerous. Together with our differences.
Together we are bolder, braver, stronger" - For King & Country.
As we going into the New Year, have no fear because I KNOW we will travel again... while we wait for the world to re-open, stay tuned as I have some new content, travel posts (pre, post & current pandemic related) as well as a whole new section dedicated to 'travel resources' here on my blog... so who's ready to e-travel with me in 2021... see you in the New Year my fellow adventurer!
Cheers,
The Platinum Passport
Meghan Chayka
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