December 31st 2024
I’m back again for another yearly reflection and if I'm going to be honest, I didn’t really feel like writing this. I felt like this year has been really tough on me both mentally and physically and I felt like there was nothing I wanted to share. But then I looked through my posts and photos from the last year and realised that I had done a few cool things that deserved a write up so here we are.
Fallas is and always will be my favourite part of living in Valencia. This year served up another banger event with some amazing artistry and lots of loud fireworks. It’s always a fun time where everyone is just so full of life and energy that you can’t help but get swept up in it. During March I also went to my friends’ wedding in Ireland (I missed a little bit of the festivities but it was probably worth it) and had the best time catching up with friends from around the world as if nothing had changed at all. It was incredible to be able to just slip back into those friendships as if no time at all had passed and to be a part of such a special occasion. Truly memories that I will treasure. Plus I got to drink fresh Guinness straight from the factory so that was pretty sick.
My brother and his now fiance (congrats again guys) came and visited Valencia in June so I got to show them around the place and treat them to some of the local delicacies. They settled on buying a frozen slushy everyday from this one touristy cafe but I’m glad they enjoyed themselves. It was great seeing family again even if it was only very brief. If there is one thing that being away from home for so long has taught me it is the importance of family and the ones you love. There is no better safe place than being with family and the people that become your family.
This year I also got to see more of Spain. I spent some time getting to know the local region and heading out to Albufera (the home of paella) for some authentic paella and not the “rice risotto” that they serve everywhere else. It was also really interesting to hear about the history of the area while being taken on a little boat tour. I went down south (during Summer when the temps were over 40°C) and saw Granada, Sevilla and Cordoba. I got to tick off one of the places in Spain that I wanted to visit in the Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba and I have to say that that is one of the most interesting places to visit and the architecture is stunning. Definitely recommend going if you’re out this way.
In August and September I went to the Olympics and the Paralympics and even though there were a few (or a lot) of bumps in the road, I thoroughly enjoyed my trips to Paris. It was so interesting to see a world event being put on and just how many people showed up for their countries. If I had to choose I would definitely say the Paralympics were better than the Olympics just based on vibes alone. There was a lot more support and positivity going around and way less people which was so nice. I got to see sports I had never seen in person before like Wheelchair rugby (they hit hard!), blind football (hilarious to hear the crowd try to be silent) and para badminton (so many courts going at one time!). I also got to see the Louvre which was amazing but the layout was way too confusing. I feel like you could legit get lost in there and no one would ever find you again. I also went to the Catacombs and it’s weird to say but I think that might be my favourite place in Paris. It was so serene and calming to be down there. Like you’re faced with your own mortality and I know that’s scary for some people but I found it weirdly reassuring to know that there were the bones of famous people mixed in with common folk and nobody knew which was which. It really puts it into perspective and I highly recommend going there if you can.
The last trip I did was to Barcelona where Rachel and I met up with Catherine who I hadn’t seen in like 2 or 3 years. Again, it was a moment where we just kind of fell back into the friendship. Like we talk online all the time but seeing each other in person and catching up again is just so nice and felt like no time had passed at all. We went around Barcelona for a bit (had to hit up the Sagrada Familia) and then headed down to Valencia to see the sights down here. We also all ended up getting matching tattoos of a bat to symbolise Valencia and it was such a great experience all up, especially for my first tattoo (I don’t know if I’ll get any more but I like this one so maybe).
For the rest of the year, I just streamed on twitch ( https://www.twitch.tv/rexamillionaire come say hello or just watch me do games badly) and tried to get by. Over the course of the year I doubled my follower count to 769 followers which is pretty cool. I managed to reach over 10 concurrent live viewers as well without being raided or anything so I think that puts me somewhere in the top 3% of streamers which is also really cool. It’s nice to know that some people out there want to watch trash gameplay with a side of rambling.
In terms of the theming for this year I really don’t know. There were a lot of highs and lows. I reunited with so many people this year, ticked some bucket list items off and it was all so lovely but the same problems from last year also reared their heads in the form of being broke and kinda just struggling with life. I didn’t realize how bad it was until the other day when I was talking to a friend and she told me that it was noticeable. Like I knew but I didn’t think that other people would and it kind of threw me for a loop. I guess the theme of this year can be turbulence. Lots of ups and downs but we’re heading towards leveling out. It’s tough but all we can do is try to change and make things better for ourselves and the people around us.
I don’t know what the next year holds for me (it’s the first time in a long time where I have felt like I haven’t had a solid plan in place) but I am planning on making the most of whatever I end up doing. I also want to get back into reading and writing more again so hopefully I can stick with it this time. I’m not sure if I’m going to post more frequently to social media but if you want to chat then feel free to hit me up at the regular places (I’m usually awake).
As always, have a Happy New Year and look out for one another.
Rex
