Recent Update Changed the Way My Macbook Runs

I noticed that my 2018 macbook had a recent automatic update. It is still on Big Sur 11.6. After the update, it changes how it operates. I no longer could see my desktop files under Finder. I work a lot and I was comfortably using my macbook as my own files including the use of desktop files. Now, I couldn't see my desktop files on Finder. I read and it sounds like I needed to turn on my icloud storage which I am extremely unhappy. I did and had to pay 200 GB subscription. Why am I being forced to do this in order to see my desktop files on Finder? How do I go back to the old way of using my own macbook storage system?