16/01/2026
Jumping on the 2016 recap trend with a slightly longer lens.
Ten years ago, 2016 was not loud or polished, or even a year I was on social media much. It was a year of quiet shifts and growth.
I had just finished my degree in English Literature, Creative Writing and Journalism. I was freelancing for a charity, landed up working my first and last corporate job, and learning skills I did not yet realise would one day support my own business. London was home and we only had 2 cats - how simple life was!
That year I focused on getting healthy after years of struggling with my weight. I quit smoking after ten years. I started climbing more seriously. I began to feel at confidence in my body again.
It was also a year marked by loss. I travelled to Japan to say goodbye to a close friend dying of cancer. Being present in that moment reshaped how I understand time, health and what truly matters.
We travelled widely, including back to South Africa, unknowingly planting seeds that would only make sense years later. The Cederberg entered our story for the first time, long before it became the place we would marry.
Behind the scenes, it was one of the hardest years with my family. It was the year I stepped away from my relationship with my mother and stepped into a deeper role supporting my siblings. Slow, heavy and necessary. More grief.
Looking back now, 2016 was not a turning point but a foundation year. The year before the leap.
Sometimes the most important years do not announce themselves. They simply prepare you for what’s to come. 💜
#2016
