Earlier this year I fell rather poorly (before all this Covid-19 kicked off) and I spent some time in the caring hands of my grandparents who looked after me for a few days.
I was sat in their conservatory, having a cup of tea with my Grandma and she was telling me that over the past few years, she’s had a ‘Word of the Year’ to focus on.
I loved the idea immediately.
So I thought I’d do it for myself from now on.
So, what is my word of the year for 2020?
Educate
give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to (someone)
Now who am I educating exactly?
Well, myself.
But there is a specific type of education I’m actively looking for and I’m currently giving my social media a little bit of an overhaul to help me with it.
Which sounds a bit weird, but bare with. I’ll explain exactly how in a sec.
I’m not looking to learn a new skill, or a language or try my hand at a new sport.
I just want to educate myself on a whole host of things, which may seem overwhelming, but I feel like it’s important that I expand my little brain in this way.
I want to learn more about climate change.
I want to educate myself on the issues the LGBTQ+ and PoC community face and how I can become a better ally.
I want to expand my knowledge on period poverty.
There’s a lot of issues out there and I physically don’t have the time to learn about them all in their entirety. But I want to make a start.
But 2020 is the year I begin to educate myself better on things that mean a lot to me.
I’ve always loved learning. I was one of those kids who loved school. I was part of many sports teams growing up and took part in lots of extra-curricular stuff. I always wanted that little bit more.
I’ve always been the person that has ‘something’ else going on. If I wasn’t playing football, I was taking part in the end of year musical at school. If I wasn’t working on my dissertation, I was writing blog posts every other day.
Learning new things is something I genuinely enjoy. I think it’s good to never stop learning, no matter what it is.
I think that’s why I’ve loved CrossFit so much over the past two years. There is so much to learn and that helps to challenge my brain. There’s always a way to ‘be better’ and ‘do more’ and that’s something I need.
But now it’s time to challenge it differently.
Like everything else, I’m easing myself in. One step at a time just like everything else.
I’ve began to ‘curate’ my Instagram and social feeds that little bit more. Looking for creators from all walks of life, who produce a whole host of content on those issues that I’m looking to learn about.
I’m paying attention to what is going on.
Usually I use Instagram as a ‘quick release’ from real life, scrolling fairly quickly to look at images of those I know and those who inspire me in some way or another.
But with the new types of people that I am following. I’m taking time to invest in them, looking not only at the new stuff that they post but delving deep into what they’ve been saying for some time, to try and get the ‘whole picture’.
Next step is to see how I, personally, can become more involved with these issues. Asking those people ‘how can I help?’ or ‘what can I do?’ is important.
It’s going to be a slow journey and granted it’s going to take me even more time than I think it is.
It’s definitely not going to be ‘just’ for 2020 either. I’ve just decided that this is the year that I start to pay attention and hopefully, when I feel comfortable enough, I can pass on the correct information to others too.
But for now, I’m gonna open my ears, close my mouth, listen…
& Educate myself.
What is your word going to be for 2020?