The Whole World's Gone to Hell But How Are You? (Patreon)

This year has been really good for me and I feel bad saying that because this year has been TERRIBLE for America. And though I've done some work to help make America less terrible, it doesn't feel like enough. I didn't call or even text my representatives every day. I gave money to campaigns, relief efforts, the ACLU, the SPLC, the Satanic Temple and the National Network of Abortion Funds, but I didn't give them a LOT. I only went to one protest because I really hate crowds and, often, being outside.

 And even though that list looks pretty good now that I'm writing about it, it wasn't enough because terrible things are still happening to my country. I know it's not solely my job to save America, but it's all of our jobs and we could be doing better. Once I get moved (if I move soon) I'm going to look for a neighborhood place where I can volunteer, preferably in a get-out-the-vote type campaign. I really hope they have positions where I don't have to interact with many people, like just setting up chairs or making flyers or, like, baking things. The Black Panthers had a lot of bake sales, does BLM? 

But, personally, this year has been amazing. I made more money than I ever have. I've been published multiple times. I really enjoyed the burlesque I did. I avoided "for the money" gigs and stressful "Make an elaborate costume I'll only use once" acts. I got engaged. My boyfriend, girlfriend, and fiance are all awesome in wildly different ways. I still don't know if we're getting the apartment but, at this point, I think we just have to go into the co-op interview and, like, not seem to be serial killers.

I tried to do the "get 100 rejections in a year" thing and didn't do terribly well. I pitched about 60 things and was rejected about 40 times. So I definitely have to pitch more, but I'm glad I kept track this year and a 33% success rate seems pretty good!

Keeping track of things I've done and money I've made has been really helpful in planning next year. It's really hard to plan things wen you have the memory of a goldfish. You try to plan and find yourself thinking "How long will it take to do this? I don't know! How long did it take the last time I did something similar? No clue!" Or you find yourself living your life and thinking things like "Oh, it's Valentine's Day, I should have pitched a bunch of related articles two months ago." Like, it's at the same time every year. It shouldn't be a surprise. But in December my brain is like "lol, Valentine's Day is SO FAR AWAY. Why would I think about it now?"

So now I'm making a calendar with reminders like "Pitch stuff that will be relevant two months from now!" or "You never have work in June so start looking for more gigs now!"

I'm hoping this will help give me the structure to be more productive and creative. I'm happy with the art I made this year, but I'd like to make more, and I'd like to get more of it out into the world.