I really needed to write such a list despite everything. I’m not always good at being grateful, ecpecially not in times like these. So writing this forced me to focus on the good. The idea is from Austin Kleon, who writes such a list every year.
- Some great TV-shows like Fleabag
- and Wednesday
- Bullet journalling in my Traveler’s notebook.
- My Migant Backpack that I take everywhere and that fits all I need.
- Learning Greek with no actual purpose
- Re-reading books by Austin Kleon.
- Building my analog Zettelkasten (I’ll explain someday).
- Real friends.
- Taylor Swift announcing Midnights album all of a sudden
- Taylor Swift Club Night to celebrate Midnights.
- Ed Sheeran concert.
- Discovering Maisie Peters music and watching her live before Ed Sheeran’s concert.
- Mini trip to Finland.
- Mini trip to Copenhagen.
- My old friend from my Uni days visiting me in Sweden on my Birthday. Having a blast with her.
- Ukraine. The people who continue to fight for our freedom.
- Ukrainian resistance music. (here’s a playlist on Spotify)
- We love the 90s festival.
- Starting to cook breakfast (sounds lame but a big deal for me who never cooks).
- Day job that keeps me sane and lets me forget about it when I’m home.
- Having my family and friends alive and healthy.
- Singing in karaoke. In front of strangers. For the first time. Didn’t even drink anything for bravery.
- Seeing Mamma Mia the Party.
- Ukraine winning Eurovision in 2022.
- Hoping next year I’ll write “Ukraine winning”
- Being in touch with my emotions, not suppressing stuff, having boundaries and knowing what is ok for me and what is not.
- Starting this blog.
- Starting my genealogy blog on my own website.
- Overcoming depression and getting excited about life even in the darkest times.
- Being Ukrainian. I’ve always known that we’re badass but now the whole world knows it too.
- My husband. He thinks it’s cringe to hear nice things about himself so I’ll tell him more in person to make him uncomfortable.
- Steal like an artist journal by Austin Kleon.
- My cat Misou.
- Cats in general.
- Having the guts to finally dye my hair red (it only took one year).
- Having my colors done professionally and loving everything I wear since then.
- Seeing Gabriel Iglesias Standup live.
- Being alive.
- Life before February 24, that now feels like I didn’t have a care in the world.
- Not becoming cynical and not stopping to see the good in people because of bad people.
- Kat Vellos book “We Should get together” on building meaningful friendships.
- Finding great bloggers. I’ll definitely write a post where I’ll name all of them.
- Italian songs by Zero Assoluto, Tiziano Ferro, Nek, Andrea Bocelli. What a language!
- The old Ukrainian woman who offered a Russian soldier sunflower seeds to put in his pockets so flowers would grow when they put him in the ground. (this one is shamelessly stolen from Austin Kleon’s list but that lady made my entire 2022).
- Paper Girls TV-series.
- Rewatching Gilmore Girls for the 100th time and getting “Babette ate oatmeal” T-shirts for me and my friend.
- How to be creative by Hugh MacLeod.
- 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice by Kevin Kelly
- This video on Henry VIII by OverSimplified and getting into British history thanks to another video by UsefulCharts. I’m trying to recreate all British monarchs in Sims 4 and learn about them in the meantime.
- Knowing enough Ukrainian to understand this standup in Belorussian.
- Learning things like How a Man Escaped Prison By Melting Iron Bars With Soup thanks to this video. By the way, his book is on my reading list for 2023.
- Finding the joy in the mundane.
- Journalling regularly.
- Ukrainian armed forces who defend the rest of Europe and let us have a peaceful life.
- Singing in choir.
- Finding a pen I love to write with. (Zebra Sarasa Grand).
- Collecting quotes.
- Realising that goals change and it’s ok.
- Understanding that I can’t save everyone and people need to save themselves.
- Finding out that you can just reach out to people. Shocker!
- Distracting myself with Tiktok. (I don’t believe in guilty pleasures).
- Speaking of guilty pleasuresā¦ Distracting myself with the drama on Ukrainian Bachelor.
- Changing jobs twice this year, both times for the best.
- Nocco for the days when I didn’t have the luxury to sleep well.
- Being able to sleep well again.
- The incredible kindness Swedish people have shown towards Ukrainians. When the nightmare started, I felt seen.
- Singing in the car with my best friend.
- Millions of phone calls with my best friend to distract ourselves from war.
- Foooooood. Too much good food to even name here.
- The brave Ukrainian who said “russian warship, go fuck yourself”.
- “The more I’m learning about Ukrainians the more I’m having a hard time understanding why anyone would ever fuck with them”.
- Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Ukrainian farmers who stole russian tanks with tractors.
- The whole civilised world becoming our brothers and sisters.
- Friday fikas at work.
- James Webb Space Telescope.
- Eating canned bear meat.
- Jax song “Victoria’s secret”, “Thighs of thunder meant normal human thighs”.
- Watching Madagascar in Greek
- Ed Sheeran’s drummer liking my picture on Instagram š.
- Suddenly receiving pictures from a village where my grandfather was born.
- Randomly seeing a deer outside our window.
- Mini-trips to Malmo.
- Therapy.
- Snow.
- Seeing Van Gogh and Monet paintings in person
- Being satisfied withe the amount of my stationery, finally finding the right tools.
- Winning at Bingo at work.
- Reading like an artist.
- Harry Potter fan fiction. That’s all I’ll say.
- Learning about narcissists. Learning not to let them in my life.
- Outlander (season 1)
- The Good Doctor (season 1)
- Rewatching Eat Pray Love (but only the Italy part of the movie)
- Rewatching Downton Abbey
- The Crown
- Taylor Swift Reputation Tour on Netflix
- Dreaming about the time when the war is over.
- Taylor Swift, Midnights album, literally saved the entire year. I’m not joking.
- Just got a package with some great books.