Please excuse me while I go insane.
I'm giving you a fair warning: This post is pretty much just a super awful ranting hopeful scary...whatever it is.
Plus, it's a little bit New Yearsy.
Okay, so I'm going to get pretty personal...
Man, this hurts. But ONWARDS!
And yes, I have neglected my "art" shamefully this past week. I slipped into a sort of reading binge instead (and knitted a scarf), plus there was all the holiday hoopla and stuff, and all that visiting... I just didn't have the energy, and I'm sorry.
SO, ANYWAYS, I have decided to TRY to be more vulnerable and sharing and adventurous this new year. It might kill me, but I'm kind of really fed up with my "grown up" self. Tired of the hiding and the waiting and the shutting up and the dependence and definitely the fear. Maybe I'm going through a quarter-life-crisis, or maybe I am losing it for real, but anyway...
Here's a list of some terrifying maybe-plans for 2017!
- Start an artsy online shop of some sort - Etsy, Society6, etc. The big clouds here are my concerns about doing everything correctly and legally, suffocation from exposure to random people on the interwebs, and if anyone would even like what I had to offer. Granted, I wouldn't have too much visiting traffic at first - and maybe never at all - but THE POSSIBILITIES are crippling.
- Start a blog where I can flail about books and other odd hobbies without feeling like I'm cluttering up someone else's pages. I'm almost ready to take such a leap, and I thank you all on Little Bird SO MUCH for letting me join you here and try out some things and share! If I DO start my own blog, I would like to keep posting here once a week Tuesdays just like I'm doing now, unless you think it would be good to do otherwise. You guys are my creative advisors/coaches/cheerleaders/inspirations, and I love reading what you have to say!
- Try the Bullet Journal thing! No idea how to start (despite reading dozens of posts on the subject), but it seems like the type of thing that is fairly foolproof and you kind of just have to do it to figure out what works best for your style and such. And I think it would be handy for scheduling possible blog posts, wrangling short story ideas, and tracking random things.
- Knock out some of the projects I've had started/listed for at least two years. Things like finishing crochet projects, making hair-bow clips, organizing/sorting junk, tackling that wild pile of photographs that are not where they belong...
- Read all the books. Just kidding. I read 58 books in 2016, but I refrained from setting this year's Goodreads goal at 60 because I'm afraid I'll be busier this year. So I set it for 50, like it was last time. I'm also doing a genre challenge (which will count toward my overall number) that someone shared. When I was looking up books for my list, I saw I already read more widely than I thought I did, but it will be fun.
- Try to draw every day. I was doing okay-ish for a few weeks, but then it got to be more like once or twice a week. Which actually I'm still counting as a win, since it was more of a monthly thing before I started posting here!
- Try out NaNoWriMo. I did the camps last year, at half the wordcount goals the main event in November has, and it was fun and slightly stressful.
- Remember to move my carcass once in a while. Other than the almost-daily 15-minute bicycle ride I like to take with my mom during the warmer months, I'm usually working or sitting.
And a list of some stuff I got done last year!
- Finished the second draft of a revisited story I'd written in 2008.
- Did CampNaNo (Which I kind of already mentioned in the last list). Finished a first draft of a new story, and another of one that hadn't marinated long enough and will probably have to be totally reworked.
- Took way too many trips. Haha. At least, it was a lot more than I am used to. It was fun, but I feel really guilty for asking off of work so much.
- Read 58 books (again, previously mentioned).
- Crocheted at least 8 little octopi (oh, and three teeny tiny ones). And many more things. Like monkeys. I will speak again of crocheted monkeys.
- Enrolled in some Craftsy art classes, and persuaded my sister Anna to join Leah and me every Thursday to draw.
Anyway, yeah. Lord willing, I will get stuff done and stay sane. This is going to be as crazy a year for me as the last, I'm afraid. Even without my self-inflicted torture quests. But this life is temporary, and we know all things work together for good to them that love God. Not one sparrow falls without His notice, and each of us is of more value than many sparrows.
May you have a wonderful year, and many more!
///// UPDATE 08.28.19 -- some of the most cringy freaking-out sentences have been deleted /////
I like your list. :-) It is similar to mine in some ways... (You probably saw mine on Instagram.)
ReplyDeleteCan I offer one word of advice? Don't try to Finish All the Things. If you haven't gotten back to something you were inspired to start, let it go and move on to the next place your inspiration leads you. I have much experience with this... The problem is that all those things are "have tos" and end up feeling like weights and probably won't matter in the long run. (Well, usually... that's probably not true of the baby books I started for my kids and never work on anymore..) The "want tos" are easy, and uplifting, and power you on to greater goals. Dump those "have tos". Do sort junk and get it out of your life, but don't pressure yourself to finish any of it.
Happy new year! I'm excited to see what you come up with next!
Sarah! I'm excited that you're feeling so inspired and hopeful and happy with your review of 2016. You DID move forward and do new things and I'm glad that motivates you to do more. Congratulations on all those accomplishments! Yes, your list is quite ambitious and Katie has given you good advice. It will be fun, next year at this time, to read your review and see how that list may morph into amazing things you never expected. You have so much talent and it's exciting to see you blossom. Happy new year, dear!
ReplyDeleteWhat a marvellous post, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteGoal setting, then review after a time, is a very motivating and challenging practice.
I have been very happy to see your post each week and would love it if you would continue, even when you start your own blog, and shop, and journal, and projects. By all means do dive in head first. The bottom is very deep and you won't hurt yourself. At your age your responsibility is mostly to yourself to stretch and grow and get experiences and try every good thing, so your list is great for that. Do as Katie said, but also review at check points along the way in the year, and revise as you wish.The lists and your daily progress and your commentary along the way are excellent content for a journal. And don't forget to draw, scribble, collage, and scrapbook in the journal, too. You will find you need a new one every couple of months or so. They make a great record of your progress, ideas, development, and travels (physical and mental). I have lots of them.
One thing to add to what Katie said: start by breaking your "to do list" into segments of how you want to tackle them and how much to do each session and short term goals to keep you on track (e.g. " minimum - read a chapter a day of book list, fill one sketch book page a day five days a week, journal daily, finished an art piece weekly, blog ______, have story ready to submit to _____ by _____," etc.)
We will cheer you on all the way, so please do keep us informed.
A Very happy and progressive New Year to you, and your sisters. It is good you keep each other going.
Thank you all so much! I will try to remember to be okay with not Finishing All the Things. :)
ReplyDelete