The year 2020 may have been one of the most challenging times for us but I'd like to remember the positive and my personal wins instead.
The year 2020 will forever be etched in history as one of the most trying years in modern times. In the Philippines, it was one tragedy after another.
Most notable of which were the Taal volcanic eruption, earthquakes after
earthquakes, typhoons, human violence, and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic
that had completely changed the way we live today.
Thankful for 2020 and Hopeful in 2021
However, despite the catastrophes of 2020, it’s not at all totally bad, well at least on a personal level. I’m sure you’ve also had your individual wins during the year and it’s perfectly fine to celebrate that. I experienced some lows in 2020, that’s a given, but there were also highs. In the end, I still do have a lot to be thankful for in 2020 and I’d like to acknowledge that.
Here are some of the things that made my year 2020 colorful:
Family
Each day, I thank God for keeping my family safe and healthy. We know a lot of people who are close to us that have contracted COVID-19. They all recovered but I wouldn’t risk the health of my loved ones so we all take great precautions whenever we need to go out.
We postponed our planned family trip to Boracay early in 2020 because of the quarantine. We wanted to take our children to the beach but that was close to impossible last year. It’s a pity that our youngest son has not yet seen the beach but we’re hopeful that it would be soon.
Last year, our two boys celebrated their birthdays. Miguel turned two last
January 5 while our youngest son, Rafa, celebrated his birthday last November
11.
We love celebrating our children’s birthdays, no matter how simple, and we are especially hands-on with the preparations. They were welcome distractions from the daily work from home routine and the confinement at home.
If there’s anything good that came with the COVID-19 quarantine, it was being able to spend more time with our children. We saw our youngest son grow and we got to play with them every day before and after work.
I have not seen my parents, both senior citizens, for almost a year because they are based in the province. Nevertheless, I’m still grateful that they are healthy, safe, and strong.
Career
It seems like I’ve been saying yearly that I’m hoping to leave the banking industry and make a fresh start in a new industry. I’ve been interviewed in a non-governmental organization, a group that I really liked.
However, my experience, my skills, and probably my personality were not the ones they were looking for. I stopped sending job applications, again, because of the quarantine plus it was the most practical thing to do. Work-wise, I spent a good chunk of 2020 working from home.
Blogging
I’ve not reached my blogging goals in 2020 but that’s not such a big deal for
me. My blog traffic dropped because of worldwide travel restrictions so I
focused on updating my content instead so that when all border restrictions
are lifted, I would have updated and optimized content waiting for my
readers.
In terms of blog collaborations, again, I’m nowhere near the level that I
wanted to be. That’s when I realized that it’s because I’m not sending pitches to brands. I sign up for blogging gigs posted in Facebook groups but that’s just it.
I found out from fellow bloggers that I have to be proactive in sending collaboration proposals so I have to work on that this year. Even so, I got to
work with some reputable brands that I really liked.
I worked with Colgate Philippines for the launch of their kiddie toothpaste variants. I also worked with Medic Hair for a social media campaign to drive their product awareness.
Late last year, I was able to collaborate with Lola Remedios, a brand that we
use at home.
Before the year closed, I posted an announcement asking small businesses if they wanted to be featured on my website. This is part of my advocacy in promoting local small businesses, especially those that use online platforms.
I received numerous inquiries but I was finally able to do collaborations with Spektra Graphic Marketing Services and TheBasics Peanut Butter. These two turned out to be among the best brand collaborations that I've had in quite a while.
I also received other numerous paid opportunities in 2020, more than what I had
imagined and asked for, which gave me additional income during the lockdown.
I think one of my biggest blogging wins in 2020 was when I placed 7th in the
Write to Ignite Blogging Project by ComCo Southeast Asia. The project aimed to get bloggers’ insights on the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are coping with it. Here is my winning article: Unli Dapa.
It might not be much of a great deal to other people but for me, it was a huge achievement. That’s because I vowed never to join blog writing contests again after failing for several years. This time though, I felt that I had a unique experience during the lockdown and I thought that it was a story worth sharing. I was just glad that I listened to myself and gave it another try.
Finally, in 2020, I published a book. It was my biggest dream, to write my own book and publish it. Even so, I wasn’t too confident with my writing skills
that was why it remained just a dream for a long time.
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| My book |
I was glad that I
answered an invitation from Ukiyoto Publishing, who told me that I can use my
existing blog posts, repurpose the articles, and then turn them into a book.
My first-ever book called “Select Travel Stories from The Different Regions of the Philippines” was finally published on October 31, 2020. It’s available in
Ukiyoto Publishing Online Store, Amazon, and Google Play.
Personal challenges in 2020
One of our biggest challenges last year was that we had to stop our eldest
son’s therapy for his global developmental delay due to the lockdown.
We tried replicating the activities at home but we are not professional therapists so we had no idea if they were effective in doing it or not, or which metrics to use to measure progress.
We were offered an online option but we felt that our son, who is just two years old at that time, was too young for it. We might just be wasting money and not gain the result that we wanted.
While we were working from home, our companies became more demanding but that was understandable because they just wanted to establish control. However,
that meant that we could not also “steal” time to focus on our son’s activities.
Anyway, I’m not going to make excuses. I admit that we probably might not have exerted more effort into it. I don’t want to blame ourselves too much though because that was what the situation called for.
Per our last checkup, our son has little improvement and we were told that he
had a lot of catching up to do. Our goal for this year is to prioritize his
activities at home (reading, coloring, numbers, practical skills) and enroll
him again in playschool, whether it’s in a traditional classroom or
online.
Hopes for 2021
Like everybody else, I’m looking forward to the day when the COVID-19 pandemic will end. While we appreciate the time at home, we do want to spend time again outside without having to fear for our health. We want to travel again, to see
our friends and loved ones, to eat out, and to be able to do the things that
we took for granted before.
And just like you, I’d also want to be able to fulfill my dreams for myself and my family. I hope 2021 will be much kinder to all of us.
Happy New Year!
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Always be thankful because we are still alive and we have a complete family.
ReplyDeleteyes we still thankful pa din tayo sa kanya π kahit ano mang dumadating sa ating buhayπ₯° ang dami mang pag subok na binigay niya nuong 2020 at talagang sobrang ang daming nangyari mag pasalamat pa rin po tayo sa kanya especialy di nya po bipabayaan ang ating familyπ₯°π kahit maraming balak na di nagawa but still we thankful pa rin for everything... and im happy daddy ivan na ok po qng mga parents nyo at malalakas pa rin po silaπ₯° isa po talaga binago ng covid 19 ang ating mga pamumuhay especialy ang career nakakalungkot talaga po ito... pero talagang marunong po si lord dahil gumawa po siya ng paraan para tayo ay mag survive... daddy ivan nakakatuwa naman po dahil talagang pinagtutuunan nyo ng pansin yung theraphy ng anak nyo po nakaka proud po kayo talaga at ang saya po dahil nag improve po siyaπ₯°π thank you for sharing your experience
ReplyDeleteYess i agree mo.. still thankful parin po talaga sa kanya π Dahil kahit gaano man kahirap ang mga nararanasan natin simula ng nagkapandemic hindi parin nya Tayo pinapabayaan, nandito parin sya sa tabi natin at higit sa lahat hndi nag kakasakit ang mga taong mahal natin. Kaya always po Talaga akong nag papasalamat sa kanya.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot reason to be thankful to God even though we have experience something hard in life. We always have to look at the brighter side of life. I really to all the things that you've said.
ReplyDeleteWe are absolutely hopeful,we can actually to every story,last year was a tough one ,and this year ,we are praying for the best !
ReplyDeleteDefenitly Agree π―π―π just keep Thankful to the Lord, kasi sa kabila ng mga Nagyari sa buhay natin mula noom hanggang ngayon patuloy Niya tayong Ginagabayan at hindi iniiwan, although may mga sakunang dumarating but God Still Remain patuloy Niya tayong Binibgyan ng lakas sa araw araw at higit sa lahat hindi Niya tayo Iniiwan, Salamat sa pagShare ng Kwento at Experience Daddy Ivan Jose absolutely Amazing at Inspiring... God is good all the Time, and Patuloy Siyang Kumikilos sa Buhay Mo at sa Pamilya Mo Po... JUST KEEP ON PRAYING FOR THE BETTER AND BACK THE NORMAL LIFE...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that despite the challenges you have been through, you still have a lot of things to be thankful for.
ReplyDeleteI'm also hoping for better days, stay safe po always.
Thanks for sharing your personal goals as well as giving great tips for 2021.
ReplyDeleteYay ! True po daddy . Dapat tlgamaging thankful po tayu sa lahat lalo na po kung anong meron tayo π ako po family and hopes for 2021 .. since nawalan ako ng work dahil sa pandemic π pero okay lang po laban lang para sa family ❤️π
ReplyDeleteWow congrats for all your achievements last year π I'm glad that you are still positive despite the tough challenges of 2020. Hoping for a better year ahead of us and wishing you more accomplishments po. God bless always.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. I hope you're also having a great start for 2021.
ReplyDeleteYup, I agree with you because I chose to do the same for the year 2020.
ReplyDeleteThat's true. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I wish you the same.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope so. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty to be thankful for. I too have things to be thankful for in the year 2020.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on all your achievements last year!Though it was a challenging year,it is nice that you are happy with the things you achieved.In my case,as a mom I had to spend most of the time with the kid's home based learning.So,for me too blogging was not very succesful.. :) I wish 2021 to be a fruitful year!
ReplyDeleteIn spite of everything, finding the strength and reasons to be grateful for a bad year is already a great strength in itself!
ReplyDeleteI think that most of us in the travel industry have had an awful year in 2020. We can only hope that the vaccine will bring things back to normal in 2021.
ReplyDeleteWell done on everything that you manage to accomplish in 2020, hopefully you can have a career related to your blog that will allow you to work from home indefinitely.
ReplyDelete2020 has been a year that none of us will forget. wishing you a prosperous 2021.
ReplyDeletehttps://t.co/5RB4CLB4OP?AbfsR2dR4o
ReplyDelete2020 had been worse for everyone. Wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year...
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Sometimes we take for granted the good things we have in our lives by focusing on the things that didn't go our way during the year. Specially during 2020. It was a tough year for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to remember the positive things happened in 2020. It's a great learning experience for me. Hope to have a new and exciting new year to all 2021
ReplyDeleteI'd like to remember the positive things that happened to me in 2020. Hope this 2021 would be the perfect time to hear more positive news.
ReplyDelete