I wrote this near the beginning of 2022 but never posted it. These updates are so interesting for me to read back and to hear my younger voice – each time I’m a slightly different person experiencing different things and I’m glad to have this record.

Once again, a lot has changed since I last wrote one of these (Dec 2019!). Over the last two years the pandemic may have completely disrupted life as we’d known it, but I’ve somehow managed to complete a graduate scheme, move house, and visit two new countries.

After a successful weekend in Lisbon in January 2020 and then a less successful skiing trip in March 2020, when the first lockdown struck I moved back home with my parents and sister. It was a real blessing to be able to work remotely in the safety of my childhood home, enjoy the garden and spend more time with my family. Plenty of baking featured too! I returned to Bristol in July and started a new graduate placement with a small aeroponics company which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Lockdown 2020

Lockdown 2020

In October 2020 I was fortunate to visit Greece with my sister for a lovely few days of sun and sea. It’s crazy to think that we did no covid tests before the flight nor had we been vaccinated yet. For the November lockdown I temporarily moved into my boyfriend’s house – I don’t think many people can say they spent the three lockdowns in three different places!

In January 2021 I moved from Filton to Cotham, and I got through the third lockdown by doing 30 days of yoga with my housemate, local walks in my new neighbourhood, sampling the expansive Deliveroo offerings, and setting up an Etsy business selling handmade linocut prints. I’d discovered lino printing in the summer and loved having a creative project to get stuck into during the quiet winter evenings.

Kefalonia, Greece

Redland, Bristol

I’d completed my graduate scheme at the start of 2021 and as the year progressed my time in my new team caused me a lot of unhappiness due to multiple factors. Fortunately I was able to transfer to a new team in the autumn which I’ve enjoyed so far. In December I also performed in a dance show, the first big one since before the pandemic and it was so much fun.

This brings me up to January 2022 and I’ve started the year how I mean to go on – with travel! My boyfriend and I flew to Thailand for a friend’s wedding (rescheduled from May 2021) and had an amazing couple of weeks exploring Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and the Phi Phi Islands. I’m currently slowly readjusting to the cold and rather grey weather of the UK!

Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand

So what’s next? I’m looking forward to hopefully having a more ‘normal’ year with a smaller impact from covid. I’m keen to enjoy where I am, something I was dreaming of a few years ago – living in a cute flat in a lovely part of Bristol, building my engineering career and plenty of dancing. Not to mention spending lots of time with loved ones, undertaking new creative projects, and continuing to travel and see more of the world. It’s safe to say that you never know what’s round the corner, but what’s in front of me right now looks pretty good.

Alexa