Year In Review: 32

Writing this on the night of January 1st, 2022 on a 16 hour flight home from the other side of the world. Julian and I are three negative PCRs in, which allowed us to travel to Texas and the Middle East for Christmas, New Years and my birthday.

Back in SoFla, more than a dozen friends and family members have shared that they have Covid, cancelled their holiday plans, and that it’s going to be another rough end-of-year for them.

Ooof. Makes me all the more lucky for my family in Texas who willingly joined us in taking PCRs before visiting (and tested negative), and that we were able to leave given travel changes ensued by the Omicron madness. As always, SoFla is doing too much. So grateful that we GTFO.

We’re not going to make Covid the center of this recap of 32, but allow me a few more reflections of year two of this pandemic. We started 2021 at home, just my cousin, Julian, grandma and me doing every ritual possible to bring good vibes to 2021 while we laid low. There were no vaccines yet and a 79 year old was under our watch.

What a difference a year can make. By Spring, we were fully vaccinated and back to travel. Yay! KN95s were still our best friend indoors, but the whole point of vaccines were to get on with life while protecting ourselves and others, right? So that, we did.

I went to Puerto Rico 3! times, met Rochester, NY; Denver, CO; Palm Springs, CA; Katy, Texas; Holbox, Mexico and el eje cafetero de Colombia for the first time. I introduced Julian to Chicago and spent time in CDMX, LA, and Orlando with La Gente. We went to six weddings and celebrated love. I ended the year adding two new countries to my list (at 28 now, woo!) by visiting Oman and Dubai.

That’s more than 15 trips, whew! The reflection here is that traveling, to far away places or not far at all, is key to my happiness. A change in scenery, in “routine,” a chance to learn from another place and its people, it’s life giving! 32 brought that back in full swing. Amen.

Ok, let’s keep going. 

As for accomplishments:

-For Pulso, I focused on “getting our house in order” and led us through a much needed 180. Finally got the team together in person and solidified our what, how and why. We finished a full 10 episode Season 2 of The Pulso Podcast and I’m really proud of how it turned out. And, I got back to sharing about our work in spaces that can propel us forward like TEDWomen, The Google News Initiative, Hispanics In Philanthropy and LTX Quest. 2021 was a solid year 

-For me, personally, my 2021 word was “Focus” and I definitely did that. I focused on who and what mattered most. I closed my chapter as a Global Shaper and ended other commitments that ran their cycle. My 2021 goals were to honor my lunch break and become fluent in Portuguese. Julian and I took 10 sessions of Portuguese to build on our previous studies, so not quite fluent yet! But I definitely stuck to my hour for lunch, so snaps to that.

-For my life beyond me, well, we bought a house which has been a whole new adventure. The most fun part has been making it a home. Filling it with the love of home cooked meals, of aesthetics that match our vibe, of the people we love, just, magical!

There were hard and stressful moments like any year, of course, but, honestly my dudes, 2021 was a great one. Despite all the continued trials of the times, we focused on making it the very best we could. I always say this because I never want to forget: I am immensely privileged to live the life I live and don’t take it for granted for one second. Eramos felices, y lo sabiamos are some words I live by =).

And now, to what’s ahead:

The passing of bell hooks, Desmond Tutu, Harry Reid and Betty White in the last leg of 2021 really struck a nerve. They were among the best of us. When I think of them, I think of the overwhelming love they had for their causes, their art, their people, their purpose. Not the fluffy kind of love, but a love that invokes action. That begs for justice. That requires effort and consistency. That’s the kind of love that resonates with me. That’s the kind of love I want to give, and to receive.

For 2022, I have no goals to share (well, I plan to keep helping save democracy, but that’s every year.) What I do have is more love to give. So this year my word is a phrase: Love in Action.

I want to double down on that bell hooks love. She defines love as a verb. “Love as ‘the will to extend one’s self for the the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.’ Love is as love does. Love is an act of will–namely, both an intention and an action. Love is a combination of care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect and trust.“

That’s what I call good, good loving. Here’s to a year (and a life) of Love in Action, in all forms, my dudes! I hope you’ll join me for the ride.