Fellow blogger Peckalapooza over at the confusingmiddle.com published a recap of his top 10 2016 posts. It was a neat way to highlight his 2nd year of blogging success. So neat, that I am stealing the idea.
Ladies and gents, I give you my top 10 most popular posts from 2016. They make sense: a lot of self-discovery, my struggles with insecurities, vulnerability and mental health, the beginning and the end of Beaut, some current events, a bit of my travels, the transition from boxing to dancing. A fair reflection of what my 2016 was all about.
A breakthrough in accepting myself as I am; even more importantly, being proud and kind to myself as I am. Like every woman on the planet, I struggle with liking my body. Since publishing this article, I’ve gone from total pride in my appearance to disgust and shame, and everything in between. On average, I hover around the mood and attitudes described in this post, and that is worth celebrating.
The end of Beaut. Nothing more to say, really. It sucked, it hurt, I learned a lot. I’m more cynical now, and less naive. Silver lining: I’m ok. I always was ok, surrounded by the love of my friends and family. Depression: 0, Vanilla: 1.
A fun holiday anecdote from early-Beaut times.
Where I transition from boxing to dancing. Do I miss boxing? Yes, every damn day. But I am convinced that the next stage of my self-discovery and growth lies outside my comfort zone… and that is what dancing is to me: uncomfortable joy.
A watershed moment, the turning point for 2016: the realization that I am entitled to find my happiness, that I’m responsible for finding my happiness, and my action plan for being happy and building my life worth living. While the specifics have slightly changed, in 4 short months I’ve succeeded and I think my heart will burst with joyfulness. Key follow up posts, written at the end of 2016:
5. The Dynamo trip: white girls are slutty, obvi
I spent 10 days in Lebanon, for my best friend’s wedding. I experienced a wee #funnynotfunny culture shock.
4. That time Vanilla tried to be sexy
Key word: tried. This remains one of my favourite posts ever. So funny. So me. #vanilla
3. Guilty until proven innocent: Jian Ghomeshi
My rather irrelevant take on this Canadian scandal/trial. Because #womensrightsyo #exceptinnocenttillprovenguiltyiskey
2. The Dynamo trip: bow ties and feelings
My insecurities and mental health issues threatened to wreak havoc during my trip to Lebanon, for Dynamo’s wedding. But they didn’t – my heart forced my brain to shut up, and accept the love that surrounded me. When I ended my therapy, 2 months later, my therapist pointed to this specific trip, and my successful management of my paranoid brain, as the moment he knew I was well on my way to being very ok.
1. 2nd red flag: that time I went insane
I’ve no idea why this post was so popular: it generated 3x as many views as the runner-up. Still, I enjoyed it. And FYI, I pulled out all my winter running gear when I got home from the holidays, and I am looking forward to taking it up again – Tuesday, to be exact!
I can’t wait to do this same exercise on January 1, 2018. May 2017 be a blog-worthy adventure!
Discovering ratchet 