I think everyone can agree that 2020 has been one hell of a year. While the global pandemic has radically interfered with everyone’s life, welcoming a new member into our family drastically changed my husband’s and I’s!

And let me tell you, this baby didn’t just will itself into being: pregnancy and childbirth are no walk in the park. It’s haaaaard!!!

As if that was not enough, the first 6 months of this kid’s life were just physically and emotionally difficult. Not even for any particular circumstances, but rather because overall, infants are super demanding and the physical and emotional exhaustion takes a giant toll on everyone caring for the tiny beings!

But here we are, looking at the 6-months mark, and the turn of a new year per the Gregorian calendar, and I am left to ponder what I want for myself and my family in 2021.

I generally keep my expectations low: since 2016, I have been increasingly disappointed in humanity. And while the results of the US 2020 elections give me a sliver of hope for the world, I still find myself rather uncertain that we, as a global community, can find ways to turn around our self-destructive streak.

I’ve therefore decided that I cannot focus on humanity or even necessarily on community to better my/our lives. Instead, for 2021, I chose to focus on personal improvement. As I often do, I began this process by choosing a tagline, a motto if you will.

I present to you Love God Diversity’s 2021 tag line:

Outgrow the bullshit!

What bullshit you may ask?

All the bullshit! Personal hangups, petty rivalries, unhealthy relationships, social pressures, others’ expectations… if it doesn’t empower me to grow, it’s got to go! I will no longer make space in my life for things that hold me back.

I’ve been joking lately that my last fuck went out with the placenta, and it’s certainly true that motherhood makes your reconsider your priorities, but even so, as we are looking INSHAALLAH [God Willing] towards the end of the pandemic and, more personally, the end of my maternity leave, I’m left to wonder what I will allow back into my life. It’s important for me that, this year especially, I cultivate healthy habits and positive relationships as my child becomes increasingly conscious of the world we are building around him.

So there it is: a new year, full of surprises I’m sure; a new tagline which will, in time, help me consider my priorities; and a renewed determination to make the world, and myself better!

Peace and blessings