I hate the slogan “New Year, New You.” It might be a new year, but I don’t expect to be a new person just because the calendar has reset. It’s still the same me, with the same achievements, skills, and struggles. Normally, I balance this idea with the idea that I should be slightly better this year than I was last year.
I’ve noticed that over the past few months, I’ve struggled with feeling like I’m not as productive as I should be. When I feel this way at the end of the day, it usually results in me putting on a tv show and half watching it while playing a game on my phone. To be fair, that was a lot of my time between Thanksgiving and Christmas as a means to deal with the overwhelm and exhaustion of the holidays.
I also wondered how much of this is not recognizing some of the things that I naturally do throughout the day. I am constantly Googling topics that are related to things I’m reading or watching. Later, these topics come up in conversation or during our homeschool lessons, but I don’t really know when or how I learned those things. This year, I decided to write down something I learned each day. This may also include just the mention of a documentary, audiobook, or podcast if it includes research or information about a topic. Maybe listing these things will reinforce for me that even learning one thing a day makes me a better person today than I was yesterday, last month, or last year.
(Key Located at the bottom)
January
1/1 – Lowland streaked Tenrec and other strange animals
1/2 – Frontline Documentary: Plastic Wars
1/3 – Weird Medical Treatments (Tobacco Enemas) (SM)
1/4 – Diphenhydramine and possible ties to Dementia (Con.)
1/5 – Pizza Hut removed salad bars from restaurants in China after Salad Stacking (SM)
1/6 – German words like “Backpfeifengesicht” meaning a face in need of a punch (or a face begging for a slap) (SM)
1/7 – Difference between direct unionism and traditional union activity (SM)
1/8 – James Madison’s Health (Hamilton)
1/9 – Split Skirts and other fashion (SM)
1/10 – Kalash People (BK – The Moonlit Cage)
1/11 – Afghani Horse Breed (Kabuli) and an old Afghani sport Buzkashi (BK – The Moonlit Cage)
1/12 – Khaal (Harques in the book) – Facial tattoos among the tribal woman of Afghanistan (BK – The Moonlit Cage)
1/13 – Parsis Community (BK – The Moonlit Cage)
1/14 – Netflix documentary about Jerry Springer Show (Fights, Camera, Action) and murder associated with guests from the show.
1/15 – Frontline Documentary: South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning
1/16 – Stone circle under Lake Michigan and general mysterious events on the lake. (SM)
1/17 – Weird Al’s life story (after watching movie Weird)
1/18 – Scoliosis and its correlation with ADHD (Con.)
1/19 – Barreleye Fish (which are horrifying) (SO)
1/20 – “Even the Royals” Podcast: “Catherine the Great Part 1”
1/21 – “Even the Royals” Podcast: “Catherine the Great Part 2”
1/22 – “Even the Royals” Podcast: “Catherine the Great Part 3”
1/23 – Whitney Houston Documentary “Whitney” on Nextflix
1/24 – Edith Wharton’s life after watching The Buccaneers (1995)
1/25 – Sebaceous filaments and how they’re different from blackheads (SM)
1/26 – Sociology of Jealousy (after seeing it as a listed subject of study under Sociology)
1/27 – Ostriches do not stick their head in the sand, but it’s still a great metaphor (SM)
1/28 – Heart health: How sleep and stress impact your heart
1/29 – Organic waste research: microplastics and ways to reduce exposure through soil and water
1/30 – Hair and DNA extraction (SO)
1/31 – Impact of Biodiversity on Ecological Sustainability (SO)
Inspiration Key:
(Con.) – Conversation I had with someone else
(Doc) – Extension of something I saw on a documentary.
(BK) – Something in a book I’m reading inspired me to look more up about it. Followed by title.
(SM) – Social media post or video|
(WK) – Work related
(SO) – This topic related to one of my children’s Science Olympiad events and the topics they are studying. These will often be related to forensic science, glaciers, ecology, cryptography, or engineering.