Happy New Year!

Olá & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

I am so glad that we finally got through 2020 and made it to a new year! A New Year it’s like a notebook full of empty pages ready for you to fill up with new ideas, projects, dreams, and great memories!

Before I start with today’s post where I will be reflecting on 2020, I would like to welcome you to the new Porty’s Diary! Yes, as you can see, we had a little makeover. It’s something I have been wanting to do for a while but finally found the time and had the knowledge to do it! I hope you like the new website; it’s a layout that will grow as we go.

Grab a cup of coffee (or tea), and let’s start this post! It’s a personal one,  and I’m glad I “put it all out”. It’s the only way I know to move forward. Let’s go!

 

What wasn’t good in 2020

Pandemic

Let’s start with the most obvious item: the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is no way around the fact that the pandemic shook our lives upside down, some more than others but we all were affected by this pandemic to a certain degree.

 

Travel plans canceled

For me, personally, the pandemic threw most of my plans for 2020 down the drain; in 2020, I was planning to travel more than ever and to some places that had been on my wishlist for many years. Now when I look back, it’s almost funny to think that back in March I was still thinking that my trip to Japan, in May, would totally happen… Little I knew. My travel plans for 2020 included at least 2 weeks in Japan, weekend trips to Budapest and Copenhagen, visiting Lisbon multiple times, and also go to Porto. Of all these ideas the only one that happened as planned was visiting Porto, in Portugal. All the other plans were either canceled or changed completely.

 

Music events canceled

In 2020, I was also planning to attend several concerts, major ones, and like the tourism industry, the music and entertainment industry took a massive blow thanks to the pandemic. And I have a full-time musician here at home, who has been without playing shows for over 9 months now… No concerts, no festivals, nothing… A whole year without live music.

Live music is always a great opportunity for me to meet friends or even go on little travels, it’s the perfect combination of social interaction and travel, and this did not happen at all! It got to me, at certain times…

 

Social Distancing became a thing

I took the concept of “social distancing” to the very last letter and hardly met with friends or family members throughout 2020. Exceptions to be, late February, when I could go to Lisbon and have a couple of hangouts with friends as well as celebrate my mother’s birthday, and then, in August/September, when I met my mother and 2 friends while on summer vacation in Portugal. And that was all!

The people who really mean something to me, either live too far away or in another country… This wasn’t easy to deal with, but after some rational thinking, I started to learn to deal with this, and instead of letting it take me to dark places, I kept thinking that I was doing my best to be part of the solution instead of the problem. Maybe nothing would have happened, we will never know…

 

Blogging plans down the drain

For 2020, I had planned for Porty’s Diary to become even more travel dedicated, but that did not happen for obvious reasons, and at points, I felt lost, without motivation, not knowing what to write about or post, and I truly considered giving it all up! All my plans had gone to the trash just in March, what was I going to do the whole year?!

But I’m not a person to give up… So, I took my time to think things through, met with my dear Coach and friend Barbara Bação (yes, we are both named Barbara! haha), and slowly, I got back on track. A different track than initially planned, but I did not give up! And I won’t give up!

 

But 2020, wasn’t just bad stuff! It is hard to do this exercise, but I’m learning to always find the good/positive things in everything that happens in life.

So, that’s the next chapter!

 

What was good in 2020

As I said, 2020 also had good things and I will treasure some of those for a very long time. So, here are a few I could think of from the top of my head:

Had the chance to enjoy a lovely Spring and Summertime from my backyard, which became known as “Backyard Island”! haha

I was able to reinvent myself at times, in order to avoid the dark moments we all went through!

 

Finally had time to do some studying and following online courses, whether it was for work or for my personal development.

Learned new things, from gardening to computer stuff!

 

Moved my blog from Blogger to WordPress, all by myself, and it was the best thing I could have done! Wish I did sooner, but hey… Better later than never!

In the summer, I went on a road trip through Portugal and it was an amazing experience!! There will be more blog posts about it, so stay tuned!

 

And last but not least, I decided to start my own business! Yeah, that’s right, I started my own Web Design in WordPress business, BarbaraDesigns. The main goal is to help other bloggers and/or entrepreneurs to set up their little home on the internet and launch their online projects!  And even though this was a scary thing to do, I’m super glad I did it and have been enjoying it since the first moment!

 

And most importantly: I remained healthy, and so did my immediate family and close friends! And that is the “cherry on top” I could ask for!

 

Lessons learned

 

So, all in all, 2020 wasn’t terrible!

Yeah, it had some really bad thing going on, but I learned that the key to go through rough moments. Is to try and keep everything in perspective, see the glass half-full instead of half-empty. And when need it, take a break, reconsider, make new plans, and just go for it!

As long as we are healthy, everything is within our reach!

 

For 2021, I already have some plans in mind for the blog but also for my Instagram, which is a platform that I want to grow and reach more people.

People who share the love of traveling, photography, as well as have something in common with me: being an ex-pat!

But all those plans will be revealed in a future post!

 

For now, I would like to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR, and may 2021 bring you many good memories!

Stay safe & stay strong!

The future will be brighter.

 

See you in the next post.