Taking a Look Back at Life in Lubbock in 2021

As the new year approaches, I want to take a moment to reflect on the past year of my life. I hope that some of you will relate to what I experienced, but if you can’t relate, I hope it at least helps you understand me better as not just a writer and DJ, but also as a friend, partner, daughter, sister, and a person just trying to do their best in this crazy world.

2021 was full of so many changes and unknowns in my life. At the beginning of the year, I had just graduated from Texas Tech University, and it was the first time in my entire life that I didn’t know what the next stage would look like. All I knew at that point was that I needed to find a job and start my career.

I was fortunate enough to have the support of my family during that process. So, during the months of submitting resumes, doing interviews, and feeling hopeless after being rejected, or even worse, ghosted by these businesses, at least I knew I was backed by an amazing support system.

If it wasn’t for the support from my family, and the encouragement from my amazing partner and our friends, then I don’t think I would have managed to land my dream job that has me writing this for you now. I am incredibly blessed to be able to create content for the amazing people of Lubbock every day, and I am excited to continue doing so for the years to come.

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Once the stage of job hunting came to a close, it was time to learn how to function as a working adult, rather than the student I was for the previous 15 years of my life. I was able to put those skills as a student to work as I learned how to function in a new job within an environment I’d never experienced before. I went through the ups and downs of picking up some skills very quickly while others took much more focus and practice to improve on.

I had my moments of frustration, and feeling like I wasn’t good enough at what I was doing, but those feelings eventually passed as the hard work began to pay off. I realized that being in the role of a student never really ends. I am constantly learning new things and working to try and improve every day.

As my workflow started to feel more natural, I was met with another major life change: moving into an apartment on my own. This process felt very familiar as I contacted what felt like an endless amount of apartment complexes, just trying to find the perfect fit. There was the struggle of finding units that were available, in my price range and fit my needs. Just like the job hunt earlier in the year, it felt like a losing battle. Whenever there was a unit available it was either out of my price range, or someone else snagged it before I could even submit my application. Thankfully, everything still worked out and I ended up finding the perfect apartment that checked all the boxes.

Moving out on my own was a really big deal. Until that point, I had been living with my parents, so being completely independent was a major change. It was really scary at first, but now that I have been out on my own for a few months now, I’m so glad I made the Jump.

Along with these major leaps into adulthood, I also took the time to really try and improve myself this year. I have struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life, and I found that my mental state really declined earlier this year. This led me to start going to therapy again after going without it for a few years.

It was hard at first. I had to open up about a lot of things that I had been holding onto for years, and it hurt. It hurt really bad to tear into old wounds in an attempt to heal myself, but I knew that it was worth it. I have always been an activist for mental health in hopes that my speaking out would help those around me, but I didn’t realize how much I had been holding onto and suffering with. I’ve managed to make leaps and bounds over the past few months of returning to therapy, but I know I still have a long way to go. I also know that I will always live with my depression and anxiety, but I can’t let them consume my life.

If you are still reading this, I want to say thank you. I am incredibly grateful for all of the support I have received that has gotten me to where I am, and I hope that sharing my story might help someone that is going through something similar. Change can be scary, but I promise you it is worthwhile.

2021 has been a crazy year and I can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store.