Late as always, here is a little wrap up of the first month of 2022.
In January, I found myself falling into routines that I know will be really well for my mental health. I did a lot of reflection last month and I still have a ton left to do. Unlike my 2021 myself, I’m not stressed about it. Along side incorporating new routines into my life, I’ve done a lot of mindset changes, the main one being to take things one step at a time. I actually put out a blog post on this so feel free to check it out if you want to read something that may speak to your mental health state.
This mindset shift of taking things one step at a time has really forced me into not giving into the anxiety, stress, and general overwhelming feelings that are not only destructive to my mental health but also to my productivity. It’s forced me to give myself grace when I have set backs and I need to start again.
The whole “giving myself grace” mindset came into play the later part of the month. While the first half of the month was full of revelations, self-growth, and better understanding of what I want in life, the second half was a lot more tumultuous. The second half of the month brought on burnout and the feeling of being emotionally drained.
I read a total of three books this month and I’m quite thrilled with them.
All the books I picked up in the month of January are in genres I never really reach for. I read a dystopian type of fiction novel, a science fiction, and a contemporary fiction. There was absolutely no romance yet I found each of these books gripping in their own way. I’m not really planning to rank these books in my wrap up but if I have to talk about a book that stood out the most, it’s “In the Quick” by Kate Hope Day.
This book was so promising in the first half but as the plot carried on, it was quite anticlimactic and disappointing. I kind of feel catfished by the blurb on this book as well. I’ll be posting a review on it soon so feel free to be on the look out for that.
I always love starting off my work days with some music to get me into the a nice, productive mood or happy mindset. This month, the one collection of music that’s gotten my attention from the first week of January till even now is the score for Emma, the 2019 movie.
The music is just so soft, fun, and gives off very major cottage core vibes. I can’t wait till I finish reading “Emma” so I can watch the movie. The score’s got me very excited to get lost on what sounds like is going to be a cozy movie on a cloudy Sunday afternoon.
New year, same old me. I started my true crime docuseries nonsense again. I watch two docuseries. I watched “The Raincoat Killer” which is about a serial killer in South Korea and then watched “The Puppet Master” which is about a conman in Britain who destroyed the lives of so many people.
“The Puppet Master” really got to me. It gave me an insight into how easy it is too brainwash people. There were many situations that were frustrating to watch because of how painfully obvious it was that this man was a fraud and evil and manipulative. Learning more about how he manipulated his previous victims and how he continued to do it shows you just how fragile people are and how it’s hard to judge people in those situations because there’s so much going on mentally that a narration can’t completely capture. We as viewers and outside members of these situations had a better oversight as to what’s happening but as to what the victims are going through… it’s hard, cruel, and so harmful that we need to remind ourselves that we’re not in a place to judge.
How was your January? Did you find any favorite books or shows?