2021 -- A Year in Brief

Another year is behind us, and it is another year for reflection.  At the beginning of the year, I was worried that this year would be a repeat of the previous, but I was feeling optimistic.  Although I didn't meet some of my goals, I did well where it mattered most.  But first, let's take a look at the things I did this year:

• Went backpacking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon for the first time
• Went to Yosemite National Park for the first time
• Went to the Giant Sequoia National Park for the first time, and there I went on another backpacking adventure
• I finally got a new phone
• I bought a new digital camera
• My grandpa died, due to complications from old age
• I got vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2
• Went on a Hike at Antelope Island for my sister's birthday
• Had another Antelope Island adventure for my own birthday
• I went camping at Cub River in Idaho with my family
• I went camping in the Uintas with friends where we did water activities
• Went to Lava Hot Springs
• Went to Snowbasin to watch a meteor shower
• Went on a hike up Causey Reservoir to see the salmon spawning
• Went on a hike up Ensign Peak before conference
• After some water damage in my kitchen floor, I remodeled my kitchen, and I am very happy with how things turned out!
• My roommate bought a condo and moved out
• My sister bought a house, and moved out of the house her roommate was selling
• Visited Paul Bunyan's Woodpile with my sister
• Also visited many other of my ancestor's graves
• Not as much as last year, but I worked quite a bit on compiling together stories of my ancestors, this time for those who lived in the early 1900s.
• I played a ton of Ultimate Frisbee
• I hosted six game nights, and three non-game nights, and I felt that all were successful
• I played 275 times of 103 games with 195 people in 33 different locations, slightly more than in 2020.
• SaltCON: End of Summer was back on after being cancelled for the pandemic, so it was great going back to a board game convention
• Went to two weddings for some of my old friends
• Went to three murder mystery parties
• Mob Psycho season III was announced
• Went to the Pocatello Temple open house
• Temples are opening up after the pandemic, and so I've started attending again, which has been really nice
• We switched from attending Sacrament meeting every other Sunday to the regular 2-hour Sunday schedule
• My Elders Quorum presidency was reorganized, and I continue to serve as the Secretary
• At work, after serving as Scrum Master for three years, I went back to being a developer to allow other software engineers opportunity for career development.
• The retention incentive we received in 2020 was renewed through 2021
• I hit a major financial milestone
• I went on a bunch of fun dates, one of my favorites was with D_____ to Peplin Arch near Kelton, a ghost town
• I went on a few other dates too, which I enjoyed, but after sorting though my emotions I realized that I really liked the emotional connection that I had gained with D_____.  Luckily for me, she also liked the growth she had seen in me, and we started dating seriously
• Went to a corn maze
• Went to a fun dance in Brigham City
• Went to Luminaria for the first time
• I went to D_____'s family for Thanksgiving, and have enjoyed getting to know them a bit better in the weeks since
• In movie theaters, I saw Witnesses, My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission, Encanto, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.  In addition, I also saw a couple new movies pandemic-style by streaming: Luca and Jungle Cruise
• Besides the Doctrine and Covenants, I read Victims: The LDS Church and the Mark Hofmann Case, and Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses
• New games that I got this year: Red Rising, 7 Wonders: Architects, Forbidden Sky, Sleeping Queens, and Broom Service: The Card Game
• New game expansions: Dominion: Seaside, Mysterium: Hidden Signs, Catan: Crop Trust, and Catan: Das Buch

Lots of new things for me, and of course the biggest change for me this year is when I started to date D_____, and even before then, many of my adventures were with her.

In reflecting on this past year, I remember that in 2018, I made a goal to be more honest in my feelings—meaning expressing my feelings instead of keeping silent—and I think I've done better as far as my religious faith is concerned, but I hadn't done well in talking about my feelings for others.

At the beginning of 2020, I had realized that being extremely social was really good for my emotional health.  But Heavenly Father had another lesson to teach me through the pandemic, and I think that's what it was, that while having lots of friends is nice, what I really needed was strong emotional connection, something which comes through opening up and being a little vulnerable.  I still might not open up to everyone, but it's something I can control, rather than relying on my circumstances.  I've also found that I had a much better attitude as focused on others instead of dwelling on my own problems.

Anyway, there's a lot more I could say, but I don't want to open up toooo much.

As far as goals for the new year goes, I want to continue having adventures with D_____ and developing our relationship.  I plan on looking for ways to serve others, to be more observant in that way.

I also want to continue writing my family history, I keep learning new things, and it's really interesting.  Before my grandpa died, I made a few recordings as he talked about his childhood, so I want to transcribe those, and collect other stories from my dad the rest of the family and write his history.

My goal I failed at last year was figuring out how to improve my personal fitness when working from home.  (It was a lot easier when I worked right next to the gym.)  I may need to consider driving out to the gym, or even picking up a few weights, but whatever the case, I'll need to create a dedicated schedule.  Might need to scale back on eating bags of cookies, too.

I have a bunch of video that I've neglected to edit and post, I'm about two years behind, so I think I need to dedicate myself to working on that to get caught up.

I'm feeling good about this new year, and I'm excited for new adventures.  I hope you all take the time to make plans that will bring joy into your lives so that you have a fantastic year!