I shared my “ins and outs” for 2024 in April last year and then despite the best of intentions, promptly stopped posting because I’d just been told I was being made redundant. A lot of my self worth was tied up in my work – no surprise, because I’d poured almost ten years of myself into it – and I felt really lost and unsure of myself and my abilities. I wasn’t allowed to talk about it, and my anger and complete devastation over the situation took over every waking moment.
On top of that, I had numerous health challenges including being on a waiting list for surgery (at the time of writing this, I’ve been on the waitlist for 354 days and counting), my mental health was terrible for at least half the year and most of what I tried to grow in the garden just wasn’t very successful.
Some good things did happen though – I turned 40, I became a kuia (grandmother), I got a new job that I love and feel like I’m thriving in, and I had some incredible adventures including flying in a helicopter (actual bucket list dream!), visiting Hobbiton, trips away to spend time with my friends and whānau and multiple concerts (very much outside my comfort zone!).
So how did I go with my ins and outs for 2024? I spent lots of quality time with my loved ones, I got a little better at setting boundaries, and I really leaned in to community. The outs? Yeah I probably still need to do a bit of work there…
With Sarah Page, founder of the Kindness Collective and all round GB.
One of the highlights for me was volunteering with the Kindness Collective, who do some incredibly important mahi helping to support kids, whānau and communities to thrive across Aotearoa. I sorted and packed pyjamas for their PJ Project which helps to provide winter pyjamas, warm blankets and cost-effective heating options so families in need don’t have to choose heating over eating; I packed kai boxes for whānau who need them and I helped bring a little bit of festive season magic in the Christmas Joy Store.
In December 2024, Kindness Collective provided 3,188 families and 11,598 children with 35,336 toys and 80,458 treats from the Christmas Joy Store. Across the country, they delivered 17,022 toys to 8,511 children and provided 1,314 whānau with food for Christmas Day. That is pretty dang epic, and it’s a kaupapa that I was really proud to be able to support last year (and will continue to do so!).
Last year was full of extreme ups and downs for me, I’d really just love 2025 to be a bit slower, a bit softer, a bit gentler. I want to focus on me, on things that bring me joy, and appreciating the now. You might notice that some of these are the same or similar to things that were on my lists last year – that’s because I either still need to work at them or because I found they really enriched my life!
I’ve been finding myself really torn between not wanting to spend much time online (which is partly because I work in marketing so am constantly online for mahi, and partly because the diet culture noise online is incredibly high right now), and recognising that the best way to counteract both the internal and external negative body nonsense is to show up, exactly as I am. To live my life fat, be unapologetic about who I am and stop shrinking myself to make others more comfortable (both physically and my personality).
So this is me for the new year, same me – just taking up more space.
