2020 Recap

 Well, 2020 has certainly been an.....interesting year, hasn't it? It wasn't all bad, though. I mean, the pandemic was bad, obviously, but there were definitely good parts of the year, too. I've been extremely lucky throughout COVID. I haven't gotten sick, no one I know has gotten sick, and I have a safe house to live in. The worst thing I've come down with is Cabin Fever. I know this year has been so hard for so many of us, so, to all of you who've lost jobs or loved ones because of COVID, I'm praying for ya. Anyway, let's see how my 2020 was.

Books/Music/Movie/TV statistics of 2020

So, in 2020 I read 77 books, watched 68 movies, listened to 17, 262 minutes of Spotify, and watched a lot of TV shows that I'm too lazy to list. So, in short, I did a lot with various media forms. Oh, and, by the way, the ten favorites things aren't in the order that I like them in...just the order that I thought of them is.

My Ten Favorite New-To-Me Books of 2020

Little Women

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls

The Reader

Of Thorn and Thread

Lovely War

Stalking Jack the Ripper

The Book Thief

To All the Boys I've Loved Before series

The Missing series

My Ten Favorite New-to-Me Movies of 2020

Jumanji: The Next Level

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Captain America and the Winter Soldier

Mean Girls

Beetlejuice

Heathers

The Breakfast Club

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The Matrix

Knives Out 

Edward Scissorhands (yes, I know this makes eleven, but I only had nine TV shows, so it all balances out).

My Ten Favorite New-to-me Music Artists of 2020

Mean Girls: The Musical

Heathers: The Musical

Hamilton

Beetlejuice: The Musical

Six

Bring It On: The Musical

The Runaways

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Dear Evan Hansen

Newsies

My Ten Favorite New-to-Me Shows of 2020

Have I even watched ten new shows this year? We'll see.

Firefly

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Lost

Community

Parks and Recreation

Anne With An E

Riverdale

Warehouse 13

Glee

Yes, I know, that's only nine, but I don't remember seeing any other new shows, so, if I did, they clearly didn't make a big impression on me. 

Life Stuff

A lot of bad stuff happened in 2020, but there was lots of good stuff, too. Here were some of the highlights of my year:

-Going bowling. I've only gone bowling once before, but we got to go twice, despite the pandemic. And I won once.

-Hiking. 

So, this one day my dad and I went on this really long hike. It was exhausting, but fun. Actually, when I think of fun, that day is one of the first things that come to mind. 

-Fandoms

Would this even be a McKayla post if I didn't mention fandoms? Definitely one of the highlights of every year, but especially this one. 

-Journaling

I don't really like calling it journaling because that makes it sound more fancy and aesthetic than mine is. Basically, I started a diary in July, and that's actually been a pretty big comfort this year. It's very strange and rant-y. If you like to write, I'd definitely recommend starting one. You can pretty much say whatever you want about anything because it's not like anyone is going to read it.

-Blogging

I honestly don't think I could say that 2020 was a decent year without you guys. I've been actually commenting on blogs, and I feel like I've met so many new people and made so many new friends! You all are the sweetest, and reading all of your lovely comments on my posts has been a highlight of this whole year. 

-Writing

I'm really proud of my current WIP. It's a lot of work to write, but it's fun, and I love all of my characters so, so much! I was having a lot of trouble with it earlier this month, so I decided to take a break from it for the rest of the month, and I've been working on this very strange fanfiction that I'm also proud of. Like, it's an odd crossover, but I also kind of love it. 

-Martial arts. So, classes stopped early this year, but I kept on practicing all year. Hopefully I'll get to go back to it soon, but at least I haven't forgotten what I learned. 

How I've Changed In 2020

I think I've changed a lot this year, actually. Most of it was good, though, so don't worry. 

-I stopped doing some things. Do you guys remember how at the beginning of this year I had about a billion hobbies? I mean, I still have plenty of hobbies, but it's not nearly as many. Most people think of stopping hobbies as a bad thing, but for me, it was a really good thing. It gave me more time, for one thing, and now I can focus more on my passions. 

-I'm no longer in that super-annoying ''not like other girls'' phase. 

See, less year [and for a good portion of this year], I thought that being less girly was good. I mean, being a tomboy or just not a girly girl is perfectly fine, but it's not me. I've been thinking of making a post about this, actually. Would you guys like to see that?

-I'm less stressed out. 

At the beginning of this year, I was having a lot of worries about the future. Sometime during December that just stopped. I'm not sure why, but it did. I say it's a Christmas miracle. I'm less nervous about the future, and time moving forward. Less stress and anxiety is always good.

-I think I'm a better writer

Okay, honestly, have my blog posts gotten better since the start of this year? I feel like maybe they have. For one thing, I've actually started editing my posts. For another, I take more time to write them, so they're longer. Lastly, I post more often. 

I feel like my stories are better quality, too. I've gotten more patient, and I can actually wait and make my characters fall in love slowly, instead of just shoving them together. And, yes, it's hard (especially this one fanfiction ship. It is so hard to wait to make them a couple. Like, c'mon guys, Tara and Willow already ship you, so get together. And, in case you're confused, yes, one of the fandoms in the crossover fanfic is Buffy the Vampire Slayer]. 

-I've put a lot less pressure on myself.

Kind of related to my other points, but I think I'm a little bit more relaxed.

So, those are the main ways I've changed in 2020. I think I always change quite a bit each year.

How I Did on my 2020 Goals

Not gonna lie, I kind of forgot about these, so I doubt I accomplished very many of these, but let's take a look anyway. 

Eat Healthier-ish

The 'ish' part is because I wasn't planning on not having sugar or bread or having a strict diet or anything. Anyway, this is one that I did not accomplish, but that's alright. 

Watch More Movies and Read More Books in Different Genres

This one I actually did! I feel like I've been trying a lot of new things media-wise, and I've really enjoyed most of them. 

Watch the Rest of the Marvel movies

I'm pretty sure I did this one. So many good movies! 

Try New Things and Have Lots of Adventures

*shakes head* Oh, you poor, naive child. You had no idea about COVID then. I mean, COVID definitely didn't help with this, but I did try as many new things as I could during a pandemic so I'm counting this as half-completed. 

Go Outside For A Little Bit Each Day

I don't know if it was everyday, but it was a lot. Yay, nature. 

Join New Fandoms

I mean, duh. I don't know why this was even a goal. I always do this. Yearly, monthly, weekly, etc. 

I'm surprised how well I did on these since I, y'know, forgot about them partway through January. 

I don't really want to have a lot of goals this next year, so I only have a few goals. 

-Eat healthier-ish and stick with it this time

-Spend more time with God

-Be a nicer person

-Stop procrastinating

So, yeah, that was my 2020. How did your year go? What are your goals for 2021?