It’s the first day of 2023 and I wouldn’t want to take the liberty to wish you the generic ‘Happy New Year’… because a lot of us have had it rough and there might have been very little or nothing to celebrate. Some of us have lost loved ones, nursed a broken heart, struggled to make ends meet, grappled with identity crises, anxiety attacks, crippling depression and a loss of a life that was perhaps far easier. So here’s wishing and hoping that your new year is a little better than the last one, that you can take small steps if not giant leaps, towards your goals and dreams.

I hope you find more time to do the things you enjoy most, maybe read all those books on your ‘to be read list’, find more time to do ‘movie nights’ with friends or family, enroll into classes for a skill you’ve always wanted to acquire, take walks in your neighborhood or simply take some guilt-free naps you’ve been denying yourself. We all tend to be too hard on ourselves, so take a breath and appreciate the little things you do. I am not aiming for an ‘inspirational talk’, it’s just that I’ve had my fair share of self-doubt; moments of wondering if I’ve been wasting away all my days. If it weren’t for all these modern apps keeping track of all that we do, perhaps I’d genuinely believe my past year was in vain. In a variation of the famous Charles Dickens quote – each year is going to be the best of times for some, and the worst of times for others.

You’ve probably been doing your best, and a lot of times it feels like it isn’t enough but remember to be kind to yourself when nobody else is. At the end of a hard day, treat yourself to a nice meal, watch a nice movie or read a good book. And I am always here to recommend or warn you against what to watch or read 🙂

Thank you for reading and subscribing to ‘Abstract AF’.

Lots of Love,

Sneha Jaiswal.