A Positive 2022 Retrospective

[Lizica]

It’s mid-December already somehow??

Let’s celebrate some positives as we did the past few years. ^^ It’s been another year of lows and highs, but for this thread, please share with us some of the good things that happened to you in 2022, no matter how big or how small! <3

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After taking this one particular med for years, I finally got to taper off of it completely in January!! It was a med I had to take early in the day with breakfast, so in addition to being stable enough health-wise to stop it, stopping it has also meant that this year, I’ve finally gotten to sleep in again, after years of having to set an alarm every day. 8D Sleeping in again is AMAZING, you all, ZOMG. <3

My mom and I started volunteering at a local chocolate-making place that gives all their profits to charity! <3 We mostly help with packaging and cutting transfers and such. The people there are so incredibly nice and fun and supportive, and especially when I’ve been treading water during a pandemic and unsure about career stuff, it’s just been really, really good to go to a place I feel safe and helpful in. ^^ (And yes, before you ask, sometimes they do let us taste some of the chocolate they can’t sell. xP)

I got to visit an RL friend I haven’t gotten to see much during the past couple years! =D Outdoors and masked, but still.

We’ve gotten to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and my toddler niece a couple times this year! It’s been really fun, and it’s super cool to be able to see nieceling grow up and to get to play with her, too. ^^ (Over Thanksgiving, my brother and I thought we heard her say my name (much longer than “Mommy” and “Daddy” and “puppy”), though she hasn’t repeated it, and I’m not sure anyone else believes us. xP)

My sister came to visit a couple times! Games and good food happened. =D

I did (and finished! xD) an Artober challenge this year!

(I also finally finished that Wrighton poster, yes, that merits a paragraph of yay! XD Woooo)

We walked around at a local park much more often this year!

Read lots of good comics and books, and watched lots of good shows this year! (Shoutouts once more to Gordon Korman, Shipwrecked Comedy, and Amphibia~)

And, thank you again for being here. <333 I love having you all as friends and as a supportive community, and it's been awesome to get to talk with you and do things together with you online. ^^

Here's to 2023 being a good year for all of us, in everything we do!! Keep being your awesome selves, and take care of yourselves out there. \ o / Rock on~ <3

[tarulliah]

I discovered neopets and the neopian times, plus won the neopian times 2x, only in the past few months. I'm also having a lot of fun giving early christmas gifts!

[Stephanie (swordlilly)]

I've had many disappointments this year, but looking back, there were many things to be grateful for as well.


IRL things to be grateful for:

- I got to meet my new sister-in-law! She'd married my brother during the pandemic, and they'd chosen not to have a wedding ceremony because of all the travel restrictions that were in place at the time. It was nice to finally get to meet her in person.

- I came across a new book which is proving very helpful to my dissertation. I had felt like I was in a rut, unable to fit in any "field" anywhere, but this new book is opening up a field that feels welcoming to me.

- While caring for my mom, I learned a lot of old stories that I have plans to write one day. For now I've taken brief notes.


Things on Neopets to be grateful for:

- I finally won the customisation spotlight with my Kacheek, Sunniata's holiday-themed customisation after years of trying with multiple pets every week.

- I made it into top 20 of the modeling hiscores on Dress to Impress and top 8 on Jellyneo.

- I got 8 new Neopian Times publications this year. Of these, the story about Coconori is the one that I feel happiest about.

- I achieved a gold trophy in Food Club.

- I saved up for, searched for and managed to acquire some customisation items that I wanted.

- I did fifteen small giveaways this year, mostly NC but some NP as well.

- I also made friends along the way.

[Coaster]

• Paid off the last of my student debt (and now debt-free in general)
• Got a comic in the Neopian Times after nearly a decade hiatus, with another arc partially completed
• Made it to 10 years on the forum!
• Joined a D&D campaign (my first one that hasn't fizzled out within a few sessions) and some fun one-shots, all with NTWFers (shout-outs in particular to Moni and Pixie for hosting)
• Got another raise at work, and in talks with my lead and higher-ups about an outright promotion
• Officially an aunt (not unequivocally positive but at least an interesting life milestone)
• Had a nice Christmas visit with my closest family, for the first time in a couple years
• The game I'm currently into made an expansion (Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, for the curious) which I got to play alongside my partner, I got some extremely lucky drops (enough to not have to realistically worry about in-game currency anymore), and I made a lot of progress with account milestones/equipment

[Thorn]

• Moved out of my mum's place and into an apartment with my amazing friendo River, which has been such a positive life change. 
• I started gardening! I've had so much fun having little gardening adventures with friends, and acquiring cast-offs from folks. 
• I started drawing!
• I published work on the Dungeon Master' Guild for the very first time, which is something I've wanted to do for years. 
• I started on antidepressants! Which is why I am able to take on new hobbies without feeling constantly overwhelmed. I'm very grateful for that. 
• I went to a beautiful wedding and it was fantastic!