my year in review!

this has been one of the most eventful years of my life! despite all ive accomplished thus far, i would say this is probably my best one? at least top 3

an old mentor of mine told me my path was that of serenity - as someone born into constant turmoil, its been incredibly difficult to even imagine a day when i could find even the slightest modicum of peace, but im getting there! anyway since my wife did a sort of yearly review im doing something similar! heres a month by month review of 2025 for me:

january

terrible month! i was certain 2025 was going to be the year i die. my health had very quickly taken a turn from passable to almost nonexistent. i could barely walk, breathe, think, eat, or function whatsoever! whats worse is any treatment i received accomplished nothing. i took over 10x more pain medication in january than i had in, i kid you not, my entire life up to that point. everything was agony!

february

fortunately, things did manage to improve! towards the end of february, my doctor finally diagnosed me with lupus! naturally, that terrified me - my great grandmother died of lupus! but medicine has advanced significantly since that time. i started treatment immediately, since my doctor is certified cool B) and realized i was in dire straits! we started conservative treatment with half the usual dose of hydroxychloroquine (hcq for short).

march

there was, of course, a downside: hcq takes quite a while to start working well! i did begin to show some improvement by the end of march, but alas, it wasnt major! but i still held out hope.

march this year was incredibly beautiful! plenty of rain, and the looming threat of death faded somewhat, which was nice

april

in april, i started taking walks outside regularly again! i finally had the energy for basic, light exercise.

i should clarify - by "basic, light exercise" and "walks", i mean ~5 miles long. this sounds like a massive undertaking to some, but its more or less the bare minimum for me! ive been walking many, many miles every day for the vast majority of my life. getting out in nature means so much to me, which is why having it ripped so viciously from me due to my health issues put me into an intense depression near the start of this year.

may

i got a bunch of crayons this month! i wanted to get back into art, and figured these were a low-commitment way to try! i used to love coloring and drawing with them all the time! as i suspected, this reignited my love of drawing, and ive been doing it ever since! im still no good at it, but ill get there!

on the downside, my illness had progressed since receiving treatment for the first time! my breathing troubles had started getting worse, and i developed major abdominal pain!

june

this is the month where i would say my japanese study began paying off! i was able to play simple games in japanese, and i did my best to find copies of 華麗なる探偵アリス＆ペンギン to read! btw - very good series! its a childrens mystery series with a cute detective girl! if youre wanting to learn japanese i would recommend it!

this month, i also found the energy to begin cooking for myself quite regularly again! i love cooking!!!

anyway, my symptoms continued to progress, so near the end of the month, my doctor brought my hcq dose up to a normal amount, prescribed me a rescue inhaler, and referred me to an asthma specialist! no appointment open until august, but i was hopeful!

july

i started planning to paint my room this month - its an old room one of my siblings had, and she left it half painted! i chose cheating heart for the color - it combos well with all the decor i use!

that aside, the increased dose of my medicine helped quite a bit, alongside daily intake of fish oil! being in a landlocked area, my access to omega 3s in my diet is fairly limited, which apparently worsened some of my symptoms.

best of all, though: this month, i drew my first original characters! i had been doing some proper anatomy study, anime art classes, etc. and made a few pretty good designs this month! to date, i havent actually made anything other than some sketches with all of them, but i do have big plans eventually!

august

boring stuff first: asthma appointment! i had serious inflammation, which meant my inhaler wasnt actually helping much - it helped with the constriction, but not the inflamed tissues which were the root cause! fortunately, i was prescribed montelukast - this miracle drug has kept me from having to use my inhaler more than a few times per month!

now for the fun stuff: at this point, i began to have boundless energy again! i was hiking up to 10 miles on my better days, working out every day, cooking plenty, making art, and best of all? i took up making music again! i quit so many years ago due to self-conscious issues, and never really improved beyond pure novice. but now? i started writing real music, with very little hesitation! all my work making visual art helped my music progress as well, by teaching me to just keep at it!

september

15 miles! that was my walking record this month in a single sitting - no breaks! with my lupus and asthma finally being treated, i found another benefit: the depression that had plagued me for so long had nearly disappeared as well! i imagine my lifelong physical health issues were a major cause, and with them almost absent, so too went my mental health issues!

i also began running and proper strength training again - to date, im nowhere near as athletic as i once was, but im way better now!

anyway, i painted my room this month! it looks exquisite.

finally (yes this month was super packed since i had so much energy), this is when i started my journey to try all the pokemon! its been fun so far

october