Wishing You a Happy 2013

I don't know about you, but I am happy to put 2012 behind me. This was a year of dualism, filled with disappointment and pain as well as much that was divine. There were so many horrific events and so much economic difficulty. And yet, this year was also filled with innovation and hope. Communities came together, and, in hard and even impossible times, people lifted each other up.

My 2012, in summary: 

My family faced illness and worry, and we bounced back. I traveled to visit all the members of my family this year. I also went to New York City for the first time to read at the KGB. Thrillingly, I discovered a new favorite writer in Edith Pearlman and found publication of my own short work in two of my all-time favorite journals: Gargoyle (#58) and PANK (as well as many other fine literary venues). I made new friends, and many friends moved away. I made a dent in my student loans, but still have many years to go. The husband and I moved to a larger apartment, where we can actually have our own space. We get along even better now. We both moved up in our positions at work, if slightly. I became very sick and began working to raise awareness about endometriosis in my small way; I was always afraid to write about this illness but no longer am. I became anxious a few times this year but bounced back naturally. I learned to appreciate a little more, cope a little better. I am, I think, on track to being healthier than I've ever been. I didn't write enough, didn't finish my novel, didn't look for an agent; but I am far prouder of what I wrote this year than I've ever been. I know I'm on my way. I've slowed down a bit, but this has helped my writing more than it has hurt. In 2012, for the most part, I did not fight with people who were out to fight. Engaging is losing. I worried over global events (large source of anxiety), but I also found myself in a better position to truly contribute to causes I believe in, to take a stand in my way. This feels good.

In summary, I'm glad 2012 is over and thrilled to begin anew. I have a lot of hope for this new year.

In 2013, I plan to:

1. Have fun, take risks
2. Read more
3. Write more 
4. Give back in the ways that do not drain me
5. Somewhat conversely, say no more often
6. Join a local group of some sort: running, foodies, something other than writing that will fuel writing
7. Support other writers and writing journals
8. Continue to eat better; workout, but know my limits (again, not too much)
9. Finish the novel, finish the novel, finish the novel...
10. Travel more, visit out-of-town friends and family, and make plans to travel out of the country sometime in 2014 (this will take a small financial miracle, but I have hope)
11. Take a real vacation
12. Meditate/relax/don't stress over what I can't control
13. Aprender mucho de azar frases en español y utilizarlos de forma esporádica. En otras palabras, comienzan a estudiar español (correct me if need be... I'm out to learn)

So that's it. I wish you all the best in this new start. We're in this thing together, so I'd love to know your resolutions. Feel fee to share below. Peace. -Jen  

Oh, and...

Happy New Year!!!

Coming Back

Oh boy! Things get messy when your computer is stolen. This past week, I've felt like a chicken with her head and feet cut off, spinning around on my ass, trying to figure out which way to go and how to get there. Despite this feeling, however, I have finally begun to catch up with my work. I've been able to salvage most of my writing projects and have quickly recreated lesson plans to get through the last few weeks of the English courses I'm currently teaching. There's still a lot to do, but things are looking far more manageable.

So, now that I've been through this ordeal, I wanted to share with you a few things that have helped me to bounce back quicker from such a loss of information:

1. Dropbox - This is an excellent service, especially for writers, to back up work in a way that is secure. Dropbox saves your writing to the cloud, which means even if you lose your computer and your drives, you still have a saved version of your writing accessible on the web. A Twitter friend of mine suggested it, and to him: Thank you!

2. Rewriting - There are times when I just need to rewrite and never do. I've known this for some time, but it can be a difficult step to take unless forced. Rather than revising a thing to death, which seems easier, sometimes a piece just need to be started over, with new energy and new resolve. Of course, I was forced to do this. I had a really short story that I had been reworking for a few months, and on one of the nights I couldn't sleep over the past week, I decided to just rewrite the thing, and guess what? The kinks came out in an organic sort of way I doubt they ever would have if I found the piece and continued to tinker at it.

3. Appreciation - There's nothing like catastrophe, even a minor one like getting robbed, to remind me how valuable it is to write through the hard stuff. Writing is always there for me, and again it has served as a way that seems far more therapeutic than any counseling I could undergo. The strongest writing comes from a push of emotion, and whether or not this writing is shared, it remains my foundation, my grounding.

The beauty of being a writer is that nothing can stop us from doing what we do. Writers are resilient that way.