It has taken me all day to sit down and write this, because quite simply I didn’t know where to start! 2022 was a big one, it was the first year post pandemic that actually felt “normal” (or as normal as life can be these days!) and so because of that it was absolutely full to the brim with rescheduled events, last minute ticket purchases and a lot of making up for lost time!
As always with a new year looming over me, it’s all too easy to look back on the year and focus on everything that went wrong, so instead I wanted to document everything that went right, or at the very least the highlights, because it turns out 2022 wasn’t too bad at all.
Events
Theatre
It has been quite the year for live theatre for me (shout out to my sister for working in theatre now and helping me get good tickets whenever I need them)
This year I saw:
We Will Rock you
Back to the Future (x2)
Titanic
Rock of Ages
Hamilton
Strictly Ballroom
The Commitments
Shrek
Nativity
Circus of Horrors
Panto
Hamilton was, without a doubt, my favourite show of the year (no shock there, I’d wanted to see that since I first watched the Broadway bootleg back in 2015!), but a personal shout out also goes to Back to the Future - I saw it for the first time in 2021, and then twice more in 2022 and I just absolutely can’t get enough. It is a FANTASTIC musical, and has definitely solidified it’s place in my favourite shows I’ve ever seen!
I already have some very exciting theatre shows booked in, so I am hoping that this year follows in 2022’s footsteps!
Live music & Events
It would take far too long (and too much brain power) to list everybody that I saw live last year, so instead I’ve decided on my top 3 shows of the year!
Lady Gaga - Chromatic Ball. London - 31/07. I can’t even begin to describe how incredible this show was, and to see her live with my sister & my mum made it all the more special.
Hella Mega - (Greenday, Fall Out Boy & Weezer) London - 24/06. Due to the pandemic, we had to wait 3 years for this show, but god was it worth it! Greenday never fail to deliver, nobody does it like them!
Abba Voyage - London, 06/08 - I know this isn’t technically live music, but there was no way I wasn’t going to include it because - WOW. This show is absolutely incredible and has to be seen to believed, it really is like ABBA are on the stage in front of you. What an experience!
WWE - Clash at the Castle - Cardiff, 03/09. This was the first WWE pay per view event in the UK since the 90s, so of course there was no doubt that my dad and I were going! 10/10 show, so nostalgic, so much fun, would happily do it over and over again.
Comic con - London, 29/10. MCM Comic Con really is my happy place, it very much feels like a second home at this point, so to finally be able to go back after 2 years away was SO much fun, I can’t wait to do it all again in May!
I read a lot of books this year, so like the theatre shows, I’ve narrowed these down to my top 3 favourite reads of the year, too! The three books below are all very different from one another, but all of them got 5 stars from me!
The House in the Ceruleun Sea by TJ Klune.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Releasing my third book. My third poetry book, and second solo poetry collection was released in November and I was/am so, so proud of it. It took me a long time to write, and was an incredibly cathartic process.
Starting a Podcast. In April we started our podcast ‘Hypothetical Happy Half Hour’ and it has been nothing but fun every time we record an episode.
Launching my new website. This is the first blog post on my brank spanking new website, and I am absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. I am incredibly blessed to have a friend that not only knows how to build something like this from scratch, but will also listen to my ideas and take my personality and energy into account while making it!
Getting a matching tattoo with my twin flame. After talking about it for a good while, we finally booked in our matching tattoos, after designing a flash from one of our favourite shows “Oh Hello on Broadway” we settled on a simple, but meaningful “Charmed I’m Sure” design which I absolutely LOVE. I felt quite emotional when getting this done because it meant so much to me, and now I get to see it every day - lovely!
I’m not big on new years resolutions and reinventing myself, I don’t think I’m doing too badaly exactly how I am, so I wanted to round this piece up with a couple of life things I want to get done this year!
House decorating . My bedroom, and our games room/work room are in serious need of attention and I have decided that this is the year that I get it done. So pass me the paint brushes and the photo frames, because DIY Paige has arrived!
Produce more art. For a while I stopped creating things with my hands because I got into the mindset of “there are people better than you, so why are you even trying”, but that is absolutely not the energy that I am taking into this new year, so instead I’ve put myself in the new mindset of “you love creating things, so bloody create things!”.
“30 things to do before I’m 30” to do list. Finally - this is the final year of my 20s, and I wanted to do a bucket list full of things that I have never done/haven’t done since I was a child to tick off this year (more on this next week, I’ll be putting the whole list on here then!).
So that’s it, my round up of 2022 ends here. I am so happy and grateful to have this platform to document it to look back on in the future and remember how much fun I had. I have a lot of blog posts lined up for next few months, but until then - thank you for reading.
Happy new year.