“That’s Worth Highlighting! — Moni Jay’s 2020 in Review”

What’s one of your highlights from 2020? Post it in the comments!

Here are my top 20 highlights from 2020, in no specific order:

1. Hosted my very first Vision Board Party and created a vision board for the first time. I was so hype for 2020 and what I had planned that I needed to host this vision board party. #2020Things was going to be the hashtag for every great thing that I accomplished this year. I had my closest friends come over (and even my best friend virtually via iPad!) and I had tons of magazines and newspapers and we had a great time! “Focus” and “follow-through” were my words for 2020. But what I didn’t know was that just a couple of months later 2020 would hit us with something completely unexpected and nowhere near what’s on our vision boards.

Once I felt that the items on my vision board weren’t going to “happen,” I created a “Values Board.” This was something that would never change regardless of what was going on in the world because they were things dear to my heart and a part of my character. My vision board is currently sitting behind my bedroom door, but this values board is up on my wall by my front door. Constant reminders of what’s important in my life.

2. Participated for the first time in Athens’ Martin Luther King, Jr’s Day of Service. (Click here for more information and to register for MLK Day of Service 2021!) How come I never knew that this was a thing?! This year I wanted to volunteer more of my time and to donate, so that’s what I did. Not only did I volunteer for the MLK Day of Service, but I also chose to raise money for a birthday fundraiser. Ending homelessness is something that I am extremely passionate about so I selected the Athens Area Homeless Shelter as the recipient for my Facebook birthday fundraiser. I was able to raise $510 for them!

3. Became “ordained” and officiated my first wedding! My beautiful friend Maria asked me to officiate her wedding and I was so delighted! I knew it was easy to become an officiant online, but it surprised me that all you needed to do was provide your name, age, and email address! Lol! This video is a snippet of their ceremony.

4. Terminated my cleaning business, In & Out Cleaning, LLC. Now most people would have STARTING a business as a highlight. But nope not me. Running that business wasn’t bringing me joy (and I wasn’t good at it lol). Yall know I’m a lawyer! I thought cleaning people’s houses would be a piece of cake, but I was mistaken. Covid and the pandemic expedited the termination, and I couldn’t have been happier!

5. Lost 25 pounds (and counting)!

6. Turned 30! My birthday is May 22nd (yes, I am a Gemini, and I am proud of it!). I was supposed to go to Santorini, Greece to celebrate my 30th, but you know that thing called Covid happened… I know Covid has halted and deterred many people’s celebrations (like my best friend’s wedding that was supposed to be May 1st!), but even though I wasn’t traveling abroad, I was determined to get cute and do something memorable! So, I grabbed one of my little black dresses out of my closet, put on my lashes, and bought myself some big 3-0 balloons. I had a virtual happy hour and then a game night at my place with a few of my friends. I was with people I loved and had a lot of fun, so my 30th will always be something that I remember! Oh! And you know those marvelous photos you see of me in my pink dress at the botanical gardens?? I also had a birthday photoshoot!

7. Was interviewed and featured on Athens’ Justice Talks podcast; “Working in the Legal ER: Public Defense in a Pandemic.” Click here to read more about them and listen to the interview!

8. Applied and was selected to be a member of Envision Athens’ Implementation and Oversight Committee. I was also hired to be a board member with Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement. Both of these positions mean SO much to me that I could probably write separate blog posts about them, but I put them both here together as number 8 because they fulfill my goals of connecting, networking, and improving the world (see values board above).

9. Volunteered for 2 local political campaigns for the very first time. Both candidates stood for things that I believed in, were fighting for change in Athens, and were Black. I wanted to offer my services to not only fulfill my 2020 goal of “volunteer and donate,” but to also be a part of culture change!

10. Worked as an Elections Poll Clerk for the first time. Also, Georgia was flipped BLUE for the first time since 1992! I will be working the polls again for the January 5, 2021 GA Senate Runoff Election.

11. Went to the gun range and held a gun for the first time. Whew! This was a stressful experience haha. My hands were all sweating lol. But, with all of the mess that Black people have to deal with, one of my good friends told me I needed to know how to use a gun. So he took me to the gun range. Confession: guns scare me. I know too many people whose lives were taken by guns. They can misfire, backfire, upfire, leftfire… IDK! Lol, they’re just scary. But, I can now cross “going to a gun range” off of my bucket list!

12. Celebrated my 5 year work anniversary! I also got an unexpected letter and certificate in the mail thanking me for my 5 years of public service with the Georgia Public Defender Council.

13. Dove into my finances and took some courses with Tiffany the Budgetnista, “America’s Favorite Financial Educator.“ This woman obviously knows what she’s talking about and she is dope! Her courses have helped me see where I can cut back on my spending, how I can increase my monthly income, and how I can invest in my future.

14. Attended my very first protest. I also spoke publicly for the first time at a protest. The fact we need to even protest is obviously not a highlight. But I couldn’t believe someone asked lil’ ol’ me to be one of the speakers and a part of such a major movement. These moments led me to add the title “Community Advocate” to my bio. Public defense is a form of advocating for the community, but speaking publicly and being asked for insight takes it to another level!

15. Healed from a past relationship. Not to dive too deep into this here because I already wrote about it some in my “Living Single” post, but this year I was wondering why I was still feeling pain from a relationship that occurred years ago. The answer was because I never allowed myself to heal from it. So, on August 19, 2020 I chose to write a letter to myself. This letter helped me express my pain, look past it, and move on from it.

16. Cut and dyed my hair. This moment was more than just a regular trip to the barbershop. This moment signified cutting out negative energies from my life. Yall, I felt so much lighter and more FREE after this haircut! And almost 2 months later, I still love this cut! My hair has changed so many times over the years, and this baldie is by far my favorite. This video is how I chose to debut my new look and energy! I also love to dance lol.

17. Launched my blog! Lol that’s self-explanatory!

18. Got a new cell phone. I didn’t get a new house or a new car, but I finally switched from #TeamAndroid to #TeamiPhone lol. I had my other cell phone for over three years and its age began to show. I am loving my new iPhone and pray that it lasts me a good three years or more!

19. Visited home 4 times. When I was in law school I only went home for Christmas (besides in 2015 when Grandpa passed away). And since then I probably only went home once maybe twice a year. I am a very family-oriented person. I love being in my family members’ presence; even if it’s just sitting around on the big couch watching Family Feud. So going home only once a year didn’t make me happy, but it was all [I thought] I could afford. But, if 2020 has taught me anything, it is that life is too short and we should live in the present. I scraped my pennies together and found a way to afford my trips home. I’ve been 3 times this year already and I’ll be going for the 4th time in just a couple of weeks!

20. Last, but not least, joined Bumble BFF. One highlight of this year was that my close friends and cousins started new chapters of their lives. And those chapters didn’t include Athens. They moved away and I began to feel as if I no longer had anyone to call on to come over and watch a movie, or to go browse TJ Maxx, or to go grab a quick bite to eat. And at the age of 30, I had no idea how you made new friends without making a PSA on Facebook saying “IN NEED OF SOME FRIENDS!” But some people suggested I hop on to Bumble BFF and so I did! I connected with a couple of really dope women who live here in Athens and are really fun to be around. A major 2020 highlight, for sure!

Now scroll back up and look at what’s on my vision and values boards. After reading my top 20 highlights from 2020, do you see anything from those boards accomplished? I DO! I was reminded that even though I make a plan, God’s plan will always come to fruition. Now that doesn’t mean we as humans aren’t supposed to make plans for our lives and futures. But the key is you have to be in tune with God. When we are in tune with Him, His plan will inevitably become our plans! Our desires will align with the ones He has for our lives. Just about everything on my vision board came to fruition this year, but just in a different way. As of today, December 10, 2020, there are exactly 3 weeks left in 2020. Anything worth highlighting can happen in those 3 weeks, and if it does I’ll be sure to share it with you in 2021!

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” — Proverbs 16:9 NKJV.

Moni Jay, Off the Record