An unforgettable year is ending. In spite of all the terrible events that took place around the world, I found value in highlighting 20 things that made my 2020 interesting in my personal life.

This exercise gives me a sense of accomplishment, and it’s also a great way to practise self-reflection. From now on, I’ll do it every year to see where my focus has been and celebrate my own efforts.

Here’s the 20 things that made my 2020 interesting:

1. Reconnecting with myself through therapy. Yes, this was the year I finally realized I needed help to solve issues from the past. The pandemic moved all my emotions and decided to pay attention to what was happening. Fortunately, I’m in a much better place right now.
2. Knowing that my family has been supporting me throughout this process. I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.
3. Discovering the orange book on Twitter. This account was quite the discovery in the middle of my personal crisis. Whenever I read this person’s tweets, I always get new ideas and feelings about life. It’s simply that powerful.
4. The 99u conference. This year, it adapted a digital format and anyone in the world could access it for free. In spite of the circumstances, it was wonderful to gain knowledge in every conference and meet the brilliant speakers who make things happen. My two main takeaways were: an hour of your time can make a difference to nurture your creative self, and noticing the world around you can fortify your creativity.
5. Writing my first book! I’m taking the self-publishing route and, if everything goes well, I’ll publish it next year. Whoa.
6. Speaking of self-publishing, my personal journey is allowing me to learn other aspects of writing. The editing process is crucial, and it’s important to invest in it and learn what kind of editing you need.
7. Rediscovering bossanova music. Every difficult moment got better as soon as I listened to happier and more energetic tunes, such as Magalenha by Segio Mendes.
8. Music always makes a difference under any circumstance. Here’s a more specific list of songs that defined the sound of 2020 for me.
9. With strange highs and strange lows, these things helped me find light in times of darkness.
10. Learning about compound knowledge. It’s a mindset worth adopting, and something tells me it’ll define how 2021 will unfold for me.
11. Watching Sailor Moon with the same enthusiasm as my six-year-old self.
12. Joining Tim’s listening party on Twitter when A Certain Ratio was featured. I missed the one with Friendly Fires, though.
13. Speaking of Friendly Fires, “Sleeptalking” is one of their most perfect songs.
14. In terms of music albums released in 2020, Petals for Armor by Hayley Williams and Freeze/Melt by Cut Copy were outstanding.
15. Getting to know María Félix through her movies.
16. Blogging in Spanish again.
17. Paying off student loans.
18. Deciding to diversify my personal library. From now on, I’m reading genres I had not read before. Here’s a list of books I’m hoping to get next year.
19. Getting Live Spirits by Depeche Mode delivered to my home after waiting for it for six months.
20. Being able to create my e-newsletter.