My Biggest Challenges in 2024 are…

What are your biggest challenges?

Let me start off by saying I can’t even believe that it’s 2024. I remember when it was 2014 and 2004, so it always amazes me how quickly time flies.

My biggest challenge this year is the same exact challenge I faced in 2017 when I first started to have chronic full body pain that never ends: trying to get to the bottom of what’s causing this pain. In the process, I’ve been diagnosed with thyroid cancer (i’m doing everything I can to save the thyroid, so I’m in the watch and wait program at the local Cancer Hospital). I’ve also been recently diagnosed with severe iron deficiency, so I have to get to the bottom of why my iron reserves have gotten so low in the last year. I also have TMJ Disorder, and I’ve been having treatment since 2019 with no noticeable changes, which is very frustrating.

So of course, my biggest challenge is my health. I live a very healthy lifestyle since I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs. I’m a vegan, who is nut free, soy free, corn free, seed oil free, and gluten-free. But yet the chronic pain and multiple health problems continue which is enough to send me spiraling into a pit of despair. Why me, you know?

I feel like it’s not fair that someone so young, such as myself, who’s in her early 30s, is facing severe health challenges that her peers aren’t even facing. Anyway, despite all of this, in the upcoming year, I will try my best to fulfill my short term goals, such as:

1. Continuing to study, and hopefully master literary and classical Chinese. (maybe this year I can take the TOCFL proficiency test?)

2. Looking into suburban homesteading and improving my gardening skills by volunteering to do seed trials.

3. Planting a Fuji apple tree in the backyard along with my parents and watch the tree slowly grow over time, while taking care of it.

4. Improving my Instant Pot cooking skills.

5. Improving my loom knitting skills and hopefully learning how to do fancier stitches.

6. Spending more quality time with my parents.

I’m someone who really needs to have goals in order to get out of the bed in the morning, so i’m proud of myself for having both short-term and long-term goals. At the same time, I’m afraid of what 2024 will bring. There will be many worldwide elections this year, so in terms of politics, who knows what type of chaos will ensue. However, what I’m most frightened of is the climate crisis, and what will happen this summer. Last summer we had the Canadian wildfire smoke to contend with, as well as the irregular and unpredictable weather which really made my backyard vegetable plants depressed.

I’m not an optimistic person by nature, so part of me has no hope for the future, especially since I’ve seen firsthand the effects of humanity destroying the Earth. However, I’m still alive and still standing, so that at least has to count for something, right?