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Writer's pictureRachel Berntsen

twenty twenty


Sorry for the delay, friends! I had an extremely exhausting week and just needed to take the weekend to relax. It was a good week - I just felt really burnt out by Friday! I've had a chance to breathe and sleep and play some board games though, so I'm feeling much more like myself now.


First, I wanted to share a tiny bit about my wisdom teeth getting pulled two Saturdays ago (all four at once, thankfully!). It was the first time I've been sedated, and that was quite the experience. I remember sitting in the chair and having the IV put into me and something stuck into my mouth, and the dentist randomly said, "I gotta feeling," and I felt the need to reply with "Whoo-hoo!" I heard his assistant say, "She's singing!" And the next thing I knew, I saw a man flying on a magic carpet past me and started waking up in a room that I didn't recognize. It felt like I kept going in and out of consciousness. Oh yeah, and I remember crying. Apparently it's typical for women to respond to anesthesia by either laughing or crying. I HAD to be the latter type. Peter was amazing that day. Despite still being sick with a terrible cold, he took really good care of me, from cleaning up my drool because I couldn't close my mouth all the way for several hours to cleaning up the mess I left on the bathroom floor, probably from both the amount of blood in my mouth and from the amount of anesthesia in me. That first day was rough, but I've been fine since then! Still adjusting to having four holes in my mouth and the fact that I can't eat popcorn for another week, but I'm hanging in there. ; )


This week's post was going to be about my reflections on the new year and the resolutions I've made, and I'm sticking to that agenda. I just had to share my story about the wisdom teeth first lol. I'm not going to lie - this past decade has been pretty epic for me. Here are the highlights: I went to Williams. I started a Disney a cappella group. My faith became my own. I studied abroad in Rome and discovered my wanderlust spirit. I found and lost love. I made lifelong friends. I celebrated my parents' 25th (and then 30th) wedding anniversary. I spent a year teaching English in China as a result of God's calling. I rode on an elephant in Thailand. I attended several weddings and served as a bridesmaid in one. I taught middle school English for two years. I checked one off the bucket list when I ran a half marathon. I fell madly in love with Peter. I was an assistant track coach. I studied in England for a year. I traveled all over Europe. I got engaged. I moved to Connecticut. I began tutoring. I started pottery. I got married and became a part of Peter's family. I made new friends. I welcomed a third niece into our family. I adopted a cat. I started my own tutoring business. I made more friends. I checked another off the bucket list when I rode on the back of a motorcycle. I started attending a women's Bible study that I love dearly. And I welcomed a fourth niece and met her in Austin. People have told me that their thirties have been the best decade of their lives because it was less uncertain and chaotic than their twenties, but I dunno, I think I really made the most of my twenties and experienced so many blessings through them. I'm celebrating my 29th birthday in a week, and it's crazy to think that I've got one more year before this chapter is officially closed. My thirties have a lot to live up to!


Here are my resolutions for 2020:

1. Deepen my relationship with God: In particular, I want to do more reading (which connects with my third resolution) and practice more rejoicing. With regards to reading, I don't want to just read my Bible more often, but I want to spend more time studying it and living it out too! I also want to read more Christian books that will help me continue discovering new things about my faith and deepen my love for Him. The women's Bible study I joined in September has been wonderful, but I don't want to rely on it as my main way of spending time with God. With regards to rejoicing, I want my joy to truly be made complete in Him, not in anything or anyone else. He's my first love, after all.


2. Eat healthier: Last year, I wanted to exercise on a regular basis, and I met that goal. Now, I want to take it to the next level and start being more conscious of my nutrition. I tried to do this simultaneously with the working out last year, but I failed miserably at it. I'm intentional about not giving myself a measurable goal here because I want to simply focus on adopting good habits, like making sure I take vitamins daily and eating healthy food as snacks more often than junk food. I need to start somewhere that I know I can handle, and this is it.


3. Read 25 books: That might not sound like a lot, but I've noticed I haven't been reading as much as I used to, and it saddens me. I have TONS of books in my personal library, and I haven't read half of them. I want to change that. I want to be more intentional about reading. AND I'm encouraging myself to read more nonfiction. Sci-fi and fantasy will always be my go-to's, but I want to be more open-minded when it comes to reading. I'm starting with autobiographies because those are super interesting to me, but I'm hoping to venture into textbooks on reading comprehension and ESL to expand my knowledge as a tutor and self-help books too.


4. Become fully booked: I have made leaps and bounds with my online tutoring business that I didn't think would be possible, but I don't want to stop there. I'm hoping to be fully booked by June because I gave myself a year to see how this whole tutoring thing pans out, and it just so happens that I officially began this business last June. Only 5.5 months to go. I did acquire 6 new students in five weeks, so I think it's totally doable!


Did any of you make new resolutions for the year? Did you manage to meet your goals from last year?

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