Here we are on Boxing Day 2023 (26/12/23)! With the year drawing to a close it’s only natural to do some reflecting on how the year has gone by. So how was 2023? For me, it has been a pretty good year!

I finally started ADHD medication, in May of this year, after being diagnosed towards the end of 2022, October or November, I think. Let me Tell you it has been a profoundly life changing event, in a very postive way! being on medication has helped me in so many ways, not just with my ADHD. It has helped with my depression and anxiety, I have lost weight, which is something I’ve struggled with for a while, I’m sleeping better, there’s a whole lot more I could rattle off here about how it’s helped in different ways that I wasn’t expecting.

My life suddenly has clarity and direction, I feel like I have a future worth living now, which this time last year, heck even in early May of this year, I didn’t have. I was drifting, struggling just to survive. I’ve written on this blog before about struggling with being suicidal and not seeing my worth, or the worth to life, how different my outlook is now! Now I feel like I can achieve anything and have a clear goal and a path to follow!

At the end of last year I started a YouTube channel (search Beardo Bloggins on YouTube to find it). The purpose of the channel was to talk to people about my own experiences of not just being newly diagnosed with ADHD, but also what it was like growing up with Autism and Dyspraxia (diagnosed at 13 and 8 resectively). Now the channel has 145 subscribers, which is amazing! I’ve really been enjoying creating content that people enjoy and find useful and I have more plans for this channel going forwards; so keep your eyes peeled!

Of course there were othe highlights this year. I had the good fortune, as a Manchester City fan to be in Istanbul, Turkey, for the Champions League Final, which was amazing! I went with my Dad for a long weekend, so we were able to have a few “tourist days” either side of the day of the final. Of course, winning the game helped made the weekend even more special! Travelling around the city was fascinating, it’s such a different culture, and seeing all the different mosques, was really interesting. Being outside at the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia during friday prayers was a special expercience, even thought I’m not a Muslim or especially religious, it did raise the hairs on the back of my neck. We obviously couldn’t miss the opportunity to go visit the half of the city that lays on the Asian continent, so that we could say that we’ve visited Asia in our lifetimes.

Other highlights include my Mums wedding, it was a great day and it’s always good to see the extended family and hear how their lives are going and catching up with them. Speaking of mum, she released her book in november, which is based on her mother and aunts diaries from late World War Two Germany. My Oma and her sister were German and after they passed away, a collection of diaries were discovered and reading the book now there were some harrowing stories and I feel like I learnt a new perspective on history that I didn’t have before.

On the whole I feel much more positive about life and how things are right now! I haven’t felt this good in years, which to be honest is a nice change. For so long, I struggled with depression and who I was, why wasn’t like eveyone else? Why was I fighting so hard just to exist? Now i feel like I’m on a steadier path, coming out of the darkness and shrugging off an all consuming weight. I am now at the true beginning of my life and now it is time to make the most of it!