Word of the Year: Explore

I have had this thought in the back of my mind nagging me for the past couple of weeks. I hoped I could just keep it buried there amongst forgotten To-Do Lists, knowledge only suitable for trivia games, and abandoned dreams, but it keeps bubbling up to the surface during the quiet moments of my day, begging me to address it. Lately, I have read a lot of posts about embracing a word of the year. It’s one little word that embodies how you want to move forward (or perhaps slow down and stand still) in the new year, and I realized, I have a word that needs to be embraced too.

Explore (verb)

1. to travel to a new place to learn about it or become familiar with it
2. to search and discover; learn about
3. to think and talk about something to find more about it

There have been small signs popping up around By Golly, Ollie! that “explore” is meant to be my word of intent for 2020. I write about diving deeper down the rabbit hole of tea and finding ways to bring more enrichment into family life in my 2020 Resolutions post. I write about experimenting with writing what makes me happy in Silencing the Internal Pressure to be the Blogger I’m Not. I even mention in my sidebar that one purpose of this blog is to reflect on personal rediscovery one cup of tea at a time (which, btw, I’m drinking a cup of Gyokuro right now).

But, “explore” is a scary word for an introvert like me. First of all, it’s a verb, an action word, and most days I’m perfectly content curling up on the couch with a cup of tea and watching Netflix, thankyouverymuch. Second, it’s one of those words that challenge me to be present in the world when it feels safer and more comfortable being hidden away. I’m not meant to be hidden away though. As much as the hermit inside tries to convince me I am, I know in my core that I am supposed to exist out there, shiny and effervescent and vibrant. I mean seriously, my star sign is a Leo. I’m not meant to be caged; I gotta stretch these gams!

So 2020 is the year of exploration. A year of exploring tea. A year of exploring writing. A year of finally exploring my community. A year of exploring activities and playgroups to bring enrichment to Oliver’s life. A year of exploring who I am becoming.

Do you embrace a word of the year or a word of intent? Tell me about it in the comments! If you haven’t embraced a word, join me in exploration!