2024… Welp.
2025, here we are! Buckle up!
But on day one two of the new year, here I am. Here we all are. Meteors (hopefully figurative) and pandemonium will keep coming, and we’ll still be here. Whether it’s surviving or thriving or sleeping, that’s an accomplishment in itself.
I’m way out of “comebacks.” I’ll always have excuses, but those aren’t funny. So I’ll just be here, on day one two of 2025 and onward. We’ll all be here together. Me and all 2 of you who read this.
I have actual “goals” for The Hen in 2025, and I’m not sharing them. I can’t fail if no one can hold me accountable! HA! But I will say I am here TRYING; trying my best to still share some cackles or something and write some words for my petite coop, even if they’re not all published. (You’ll never know about my spring hiking trip where I kept startling a midwestern woman! Sad!) So flying into a new year, Hen is taking a new approach to writing, at least for this article. Since most of us here would like a RE-DO for 2024 but can’t get one, I’m focusing on unsolicited advice that’s helping me thrive (mostly…sort of… MOMMY!) in the hangover of 2024. And you can trust me: all my therapists say I’m doing really well.
I’m minimizing my news consumption and being extra mindful of how and when I CHOOSE to digest news.
We should not live in ignorance (although my near-ignorance since November HAS been bliss!), but much of the news doesn’t directly affect us. And most of it is fully out of my control. So why I am going to let those headlines and videos send me spiraling into despair? There are many ways we have agency to affect change and progress, and we should embrace those in the ways we can, within our full lives. But our human brain isn’t wired to properly manage the new onslaught information we have all the time. (Remember our lives before smartphones, social media, algorithms, and reels? Me neither, but I hear I enjoyed it.) I can’t carry the weight of all the world’s problems on my shoulders. In spite of this imperfect world, this one life is also an amazing gift! So I’m going to enjoy time with loved ones, flap around in a sunny day, run away to South America, regret my 5th beer at a new brewery, make my house a nest, collect beads from Pride parades, read a book, pretend I’m living a rom-com, burn my beak on my favorite coffee, get unhealthily invested in my football team, sing perfectly in the car, and whatever else brings my life joy and meaning. Some crusty stupid orange creep in DC who’s gonna die soon does not dictate MY day! He and his goons will likely try in their gross and stupid ways, but WE still hold power and control of our own lives. So I’ll do my brief, intentional, and mindful check ins on the news and respond if needed. But I’ll mostly just be going about my day. (Someone text me if we go into full global war)
*NPR is my go-to for quality journalism that is digestible without the hype. Their website and podcasts are excellent. And you can trust me here too: I do hold a master’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies, even if it’s dusty.
I’m listening to music!
Many of us underestimate the power of music for our mental well-being. I’m the last hen to embrace the power of Spotify Premium in lieu of so many news and politics podcasts podcasts that I enjoyed, but consumed me. Music makes us feel something; usually something good. It can make us think, it can make us dance, it can simply lift our mood. It can even reduce unemployment! (See statistics since the release of Britney’s “Work Bitch”) And on top of Britney’s major contributions, many scientific studies show the health benefits of music. I don’t know any details, but trust me.
I’m minimizing time on social media and setting time limits. And no doom scrolling!
*All Hen content excluded from time limits*
This is not easy, as our phones and apps are designed to be addicting. But remember that WE still hold the power in our consumption. I try to be intentional when I open social media apps. I ask, why am I opening this app and what do I want to do on here? If I don’t have an answer other than mindless scrolling and boredom, I (usually) put my phone down now. In taking full breaks from social media, even just for one day, and trying to be conscious of screen time, I honestly notice that I feel best mentally when I’m on my phone the least. I was born to fly (and cackle!), not to be controlled by my phone.
*Note* Returning to social media, my algorithm was feeding me more politics and news than I wanted to see anymore. These algorithms take power over us, but I learned to take power over MY algorithm. I stopped liking any news and political content, and actively clicked the like button on account posts I still wanted to see. In just days, a huge shift! Instead of seeing orange guy nonsense and fights in congress, I now see my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Britney dancing in her house, Seinfeld clips, rude cats, and thirst traps of the CEO shooter. Digestible!
**PSS - Go LIKE all Hen content.
I’m living unapologetically! Bad powers in government do not dictate my values, who I am, and how I deserve and choose to live fully and authentically. To anyone’s efforts to make me small or quiet, or attempts to take away my rights, I RESIST.
I am not getting bogged down in the “what ifs” and speculation of bad things coming. When there are ways that I have some agency in preventing bad things, I’ll act. IF something bad happens, I’ll respond THEN. We’ll figure it out and move forward. I don’t want to be consumed in worry and anger. I wake up each day with a new day to embrace, and a life to LIVE.
We all have POWER in CHOICE.
Buckle up! But let’s embrace our power.
Bitch is back. Onward, coop!
2024, don’t (do) let the door hit ya on the way out!
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