I'm always a bit indifferent to the idea of new year's resolutions even in a good year 😅 and lord knows the last couple of years have had their share of curveballs...Still, there's something nice about having an arbitrary check-in point for where you're at with life goals etc.
Between moving to a new state and a lot of the general state of things being still uncertain, my main goal for last year was to focus on my creative writing work and figure out how to quit my corporate job. I was moderately successful at both those things I think, though definitely with room for improvement. I didn't do as much personal writing as I'd have liked last year, but I did more than I had the year before and managed to get several pieces published which I'm really happy with.
I did also quit my old job! Yay! But income has been pretty consistently rough since then. I was so so miserable and really struggling with my mental health, but didn't want to just leave for another office job. As much as I was unhappy at that job, I think it was the best possible job I could get in a corporate environment in terms of both pay and people I worked with. I've been doing a variety of freelancing, odd job, and contract work since, in addition to onlyfans/SG etc, and an unpaid apprenticeship at local tattoo shop. I knew I was going to be taking a significant paycut and have survived on less before, still it's been kind of a rough adjustment. I've kind of just accepted that I'll be living with some amount of debt until I'm making money with the tattoo work.
Which leads to...2022 goals.
Continuing to work on my writing remains a big goal. I've also been trying to go really hard with working on art - historically I've done a lot of traditional work, but the last year or so I've been trying to focus on digital art and drawing on my tablet as that's the most common way tattoo artists prep for appointment drawings these days but it's something I've never taken lessons for. I am pretty happy with how comfortable I've gotten with the tablet, however I want to keep working on that, but also - in focusing so much on the tablet I've neglected painting and pencil drawings. I really miss working with paints especially, and just want to stay well rounded as an artist so another goal for me is to get back to those things.
And the last major thing: in 2020 I was supposed to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a 2,650 mile trail that stretches across the US from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, going through California, Oregon, and Washington. Due to covid, and how much was still unknown about it at the beginning of 2020, the land agencies that manage various sections of the trail asked hikers to cancel their permits longer hikes. Last year I moved out of state and logistically rescheduling my hike for 2021 didn't make sense. So. Hopefully this year is the year and if all goes well I'll be starting in the spring. The PCT takes 4-6 months to hike to completion in a single continuous trip. I'm anticipating being on the 4-5 month end of that, if I'm able to successfully finish the hike 🤞🏻 but we'll see how it goes 🙏🏻.
I'm not sure if I'll get to start actually tattooing on people for my apprenticeship before leaving for the PCT or if that phase of the apprenticeship will begin after, but either way I'm looking forward to jumping into that full time when I get home. I'm excited to have a career that actually let's me utilize my creativity, and allows flexibility for working while traveling through guest spot opportunities etc.
Last year was really rough for me. A lot of change - which ultimately is good, but is also a process. A lot of shitty family stuff. My cat getting diagnosed with cancer and ultimately passing away six months later. I was pretty sick for a month straight over the summer (wasn't covid but still sucked). And just. All the financial instability that came with all that, not being able to see friends for most of the year, having to re-establish new routines, etc etc etc. For all that though, if it wasn't a happy year it was a productive year and I'm grateful for that. And I think it was necessary, to make room for the things I want in 2022.
I hope the coming year is a better one for all of us 🙏🏻
