2020 has been an unusual 6 months full of an unfortunate series of events. It seems as if we’ve been playing in a cruel game of Jumanji with the coronavirus first and second wave (incoming), murderous police continuing to take black lives with zero accountability and a severely incompetent and racist president. It’s only been 6 months and it feels like 2020 has been 5 years long (oh em gee! I can’t take the stress ya’ll). I started the year with some resolutions and was actually excited to cross them off my list as the year progressed, however life took a detour and had other plans. If you need a recap of that list you can find it in 2020: The Year of Discipline.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. In other words, you adjust, make it work, play the cards you were dealt and you try to flourish. What I’ve decided to do with my lemons is focus more on my creative hobbies. Luckily I was also able to try “something new,” though the list of those new activities to choose from were drastically limited, due to outside being closed. Skating was something I used to do as a child. I was that kid that was always outside playing whether it was riding a bike or rollerblading, but since I live in a smaller apartment with limited storage, I opted for skates. The experience has been so liberating. My favorite thing to do now is skate around my neighborhood and vibe out to a dope playlist. 

I’m also a lover of dance and although this isn’t a new concept I’m particularly learning, I am definitely incorporating dance into my daily life. Over the past few months I have attended many online dance classes and learned some tough choreography. Dancing is a great alternative to traditional cardio exercise and let’s be honest dancing is so fun! These were resources I chose to dive into while my usual hiking practices was halted, after the county mandated hiking trail closures. Before they opened back up I improvised by going to a nearby park with a makeshift dirt path to mix up my fitness activity a bit.

My outings these days are far and in between but I have decided to incorporate some picnics into the fun-day activities to responsibly socialize with friends. I even went so far to get my own picnic backpack set to continue having these picnics throughout the summer. I don’t know why it took a pandemic for me to realize the greatness that are picnics, but we are here now and that is what’s most important. Who is down for a picnic?

Another milestone I reached was paying off my car back in April. That has helped me with my journey to save 5k by the end of the year. Without that added expense, I can now save more aggressively. My credit card debt is still a work in progress but it’s moving in the right direction so I’m hopeful to be closer to debt free at the end of the year than at the start of it.

Last but not least, one other “new thing” I ventured out to do was start a podcast with my really good friend Pilar! It’s called “Coco and Peezy Shoot the Shit” and it’s about two bi-coastal friends who’ve perfected the art of shooting the shit on all things Black. We record while I am here in Los Angeles and she’s in D.C. Click the link to visit our instagram page. Give us a follow, a listen and let us know what you think. It’s available on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Music & iHeart Radio.

That’s really all I have for my 2020 resolution check-in. Although I wanted to check off many more items on that checklist, I am proud to make as much progress as I have. I hope you guys have made minor and major progress in all of your goals this year. At the end of the day, what’s important is that progress was made. 

XOXO Lipstickcoco