To be honest, I truly didn’t think anyone would really be interested in what my year has been like. Because I mainly share travel content, I doubted people would want to know the current happenings of my life. To put simply, 2020 has quickly changed my entire life due to the travel restrictions from you-know-what, and it paused nearly all of my year goals. While I definitely consider my “solo trips” a first world problem, it doesn’t take away some of the losses that came from my it (brand trips, sponsorships, decrease in revenue, etc). And although this post could cause a tug-of-war in the comments of who had it worse, I simply wanted to write this 2020 review as a virtual way to tell you that I’m so glad we’ve survived this year.
…I’m so glad we’ve survived this year.
What I fear most about sharing some of the not-so-great parts of my personal life is that I hate being seen as ungrateful. With everything that happened in 2020, I know that we shouldn’t take for granted our health and safety. Writing this post has made me almost re-live the fluctuating feelings that I’ve tried to hide online for a very long time, especially when I consistently felt like I was “behind” on life. However, finally being on the “other side” of those situations has kept me moving forward. And with mentioning the unfiltered parts of 2020, I’ve also rediscovered the beautiful, amazing, and wonderful parts of my year too.
My 2020 Review
January
I was able to visit Costa Rica for the first time to attend my cousin’s wedding and celebrate my birthday. I was able to enjoy the beautiful beaches/infinity pools, sunsets, and delicious food. This month was definitely the biggest highlight of my year, and while I wasn’t able to go on another international trip for the remainder of 2020, I’m so glad Costa Rica was the last place I was able to visit.
February
I actually celebrated Valentine’s Day, and I was able to watch an amazing music concert that weekend as well! This month, I’ve also connected with friends to do some photoshoots! I visited The Color Factory with a friend and we had the best time taking photos that day, and I also did a photoshoot at the River Oaks shopping district to capture the floral backdrops happening in Avant Garden Houston.
March
I remembered the media really highlighting the severity of COVID-19. At first, I didn’t take it seriously (and maybe I was planning a trip to see the cherry blossoms in DC during the last week of March….shhhh). As the trip date got closer, I realized that traveling was not the safest thing to do. It literally took every ounce of me to cancel the trip (along with dropping hotel/restaurant sponsorships) to prevent any possibilities of spreading the virus.
April
Well, the lockdown happened. This month started to set the tone of the “new normal” for the rest of the year. It felt polarizing to see people online doubt the effectiveness of restrictions, criticize policies, and quickly spreading the virus all over the USA. New cases were increasing, and I’ve received emails daily from brands placing sponsorships on hold/dropping because there was so much uncertainty of when the travel industry could resume again. Also, I had to find new ways to handle the losses of my finances while celebrating Easter watching church on TV. This month, all I wanted to do was crawl in my bed and wish for everything to pass. Needless to say, I has to mentally block myself from all media for a while.
May
I needed a month break from posting on Instagram. I tried my best in keeping myself occupied, and maybe I’ve learned some new dances from TikTok along the way. I remembered feeling surprisingly happy with the newfound freedom and spare time I had – which was immediately spent with playing with Rajah and focusing on fitness. Did I actually wore a swimsuit this summer? Nope! Did I feel better staying active? Yes.
June
I resumed posting on Instagram again right when the Black Lives Matter movement was highlighted all over social media with #BlackoutTuesday. It feel amazing to see people share their allyship to the black community and the ripple effect that it had with the world. It was very moving for me to experience this in my work life, personal life, and online life. I dedicated this month with supporting causes for people of color, black-owned businesses, and doing my own personal research on the perpetuating issues on social justice.
July
I started to get really creative with my summer content. I posted a lot of photoshoots that focused on the everyday scenery of my home. This included the backyard, a nearby park, my matchbox living space, and my pet dog Rajah. I loved incorporating photo challenges for myself and evolving my editing skills.
August
I created an IGTV series called “Conversations Around America” where I connected with my favorite content creators for the entire week. We discussed for an hour about social media, travel experiences, and plans for our content moving forward from all the changes happening with COVID-19. If you want to see more, view here: https://www.instagram.com/reesarei/channel/!
September
Not to get too specific, but I was a part of a huge settlement claim with a big media channel that stole one of my images, and I received news that the claim won in my favor. I never felt so incredibly validated as a content creator, because I (and other creators) constantly get images stolen from all the time without proper credit, and it made me rethink so much of my perspective in the value of my services.
October
October was a rough year for me mentally – I felt very isolated and stuck. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Houston is not the most autumnal city in the world. So, I got creative with doing more at-home Fall content and even did a fun Lilo and Stitch Halloween shoot with my pet dog, Rajah!
November
Personally, the beginning of this month felt extremely intense because of the presidential elections…and I was happy to spread awareness of voting rights! During Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to visit The Woodlands and do my first travel-related sponsorship since COVID-19. It was an amazing experience that I shared more about from this post. It felt great to have a mini escape away from my city, even if it’s only less than an hour away.
December
I spent time with my family this month (safely) and even had a great time celebrating the holidays at home. I won’t lie, I felt most stressed during this month due to an experience where I thought I had COVID-19, but I ended up being negative and was able to finish off the year with good health and safety. By the time New Year’s Eve rolled around, I was just thankful to have made it to 2021.
What do you think of my year in 2020? Let me know in the comment below! As always, you can always keep up with me and my travel content by following me on my social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reesarei
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reesarei/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/reesarei/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReiReesa
Until next time!
