Abigail Hopewell

And so another year comes to a close and we look to the one that follows.

I have made a decision this holiday time to introduce a ‘pivot’ in how I use my personal blog in the future.

Now for some of you the word PIVOT! will recall memories of a very famous and funny scene in Friends. It’s funny for me because the circumstances of the scene are both awkward and relatable.  If you have no idea what I am talking about just look up ‘pivot friends’ on YouTube.

It’s fair to say I’ve been highly inconsistent with blogging over the years. And yet, I keep on frequently returning to my blog in my mind and on the page. Various drafts haven’t made it to publication, and never will. Either because I’ve only written them in my head or I did write them and then determined they were a load of dross or not quite up to the mark. Delete.

Also, they haven’t necessarily been in my “true voice”. I have perhaps been trying too hard to appear as a certain someone. My inner Impression Manager working furiously on my behalf to show me in a perfectly curated light.

I have realised this isn’t really working for me anymore. It’s a bit like Ross in the Friends Pivot scene who has the ‘perfect’ plan/sketch for manoeuvring his sofa, but reality isn’t quite so polished/planned. Real life is just a bit messy and unexpected. So I am giving my inner Impression Manager a different brief from now on – a PIVOT if you will – which is to focus on just chilling out a bit with my writing and whatever I choose to write about: Go with the flow. Have fun. Enjoy the ride of simply writing for me, about things I’m into that I’m happy to publish for anyone else to read. Embrace the awkwardness, selectively reveal a bit more of my own ‘mess’, interests and musings. Convey my multidimensional human life as a whole and not just a curated/single lens version. We shall see how it goes anyway…

So Happy New Year, dear readers! Wishing you the best 2026. May you embrace – with love, kindness and deep respect – your own awkwardness, mess, humanity, and explore with curiosity any ‘pivot’ opportunities for growth and joy which may come your way…