What does the word 'Reflect' mean to you?

Hello all, and I hope you're all having a great 2024 so far! I know I'm 2 days late here with this post, but if I'm being honest, I really couldn't be bothered to post on NYE.

Anyway, as the above rhetorical-questioned title states, I am curious to know what reflecting means to you. Does it consist of reflecting on yourself? Last year? (2023) Or even a few or more years back? Whatever your thoughts are, do feel free to type them in the comments. I personally, will be using this post to reflect on how 2023 has been for me. Although I'm not one of those people who tends to have a priciest opinion on how each year has been for me, I can definitely say, without a doubt & as a fact, that 2023 has been my best year so far. And I'll tell you for why...

What does reflection mean to me? If I was to choose how to best answer this rhetorical question, I would say looking back over the past 4 years on how far I've progressed with myself, compared to where I am now to this day. If I was to think deep about it, my mind just feels like it wants to explode with disbelief. It's also if my mind still cannot actually believe how long my self progression has been!

Let's go back to late 2019, where I had manifested my interest & passion for psychology. A.K.A, pre Psychology Intake times. (And of course, COVID-19😂) The most I was doing, in terms of anything psychology related, was looking up psychology quotes on the internet. I was pretty much doing the same for the 1st 5 months of 2020. A short while after that, I random began looking up the psychology behind some old children's TV shows I used to watch when I was in my single digits, as well as actually watching them on YouTube myself. (I think I can be excused for doing this, being that I wasn't allowed to do much back then😂)

In December 2020, I suddenly had the idea of starting my own blogging site, where I can distribute my knowledge, as well develop more knowledge on psychology. Most of which had consisted of the psychology behind something to shape it how it is. I was fully active on here back then as well. In terms of my education, I was doing a course in Outdoor Activities at college, where I got to undertake a lot of sport & fitness. As I got to learn a lot about mental health in sport & fitness, I was able to do a couple of posts about something on the lines of the the psychology behind keeping yourself active. (I know I wasn't being accurate here, as I've not looked back on my previous posts lately)

Moving onto September 2021, where I got accepted onto a 2 year Public Services course at college. This has been, without a doubt, the most stressful 2 years of my life, but I can happily wholeheartedly say that it was worth it! Not just in terms of getting closer into my dream career, but also there was a huge amount of psychology on that course I had found interesting. An example of this was to learn & understand about conformity.

In March 2022, I undertook the 310,000 steps in March Challenge for Samaritans. This challenge had taught me that I can achieve absolutely ANYTHING at all, if I can put my mind to it. This was also where my walking had turned into a regular hobby by going out as much as possible in my spare time. During that year, I was a wee bit less frequent with my blogging on here, but I was fairly active. My mind was rightly cautious to stay focused on my 1st year of my Public Services course.

In January of last year, where I applied for, and began working at a local MIND shop. I knew I needed to boost my people skills & employment. My 3 month absence period on here (forcely) occurred a month later, as my mind was sensible enough to put my coursework first due to it being the most important get done, or else I'd fail the 2 years of hard work & effort on that course.

In April & May of last year, I attended 2 major sporting events up in London, ad I had signed up to be a Samaritans Events Volunteer. This had also helped my to build up my people skills by doing thing out in the community. (I'm hoping to do some more voluntary work with them this year)

Also in April last year, I began my part-time job with Disability Challengers, where I got to put my psychology skills to good use by working with children & young people with different behaviours. I'll tell you what, after 8 months of working with them, I feel like a different person. (I'll save that for a separate post)

In terms of my blogging site for the remainder of 2023, I had spoken out about the work that MIND do, and shared it with LinkedIn, so I was able to gain more recognition of what I do on my blogging site. In fact, I did the same for some of my other posts that raise awareness about importance topics, such as ADHD. (I intend to do much more of that in the future)

Finally, in November of last year, I became a member of the Surrey Youth Commission, which is where I meet with a group of other people in my county area to discuss how crime is impact ing people in communities. Again, another "putting my psychology skills into good use" & a another step closer to my dream career industry opportunity there.

And that was how 2023 had earned its title "best year ever so far." Now here I am in this day & age, looking to make 2024 a bigger & better year for me... Although I wouldn't want to jinx it though, as my mind has the important job of opportunity hunting. And that itself, is no easy task.

I just want to say, if anyone has survived reading down to this point of the post, thank you so much!

*I began this post on the 2/1/2024, but didn't finish it until the 5/1/2024*