REFLECTIONS
I picked through a bunch of the 2014 in review questions posted by into-mind and answered a bunch of them below, you can check out the full list here if you’re interested.
1. What one event, big or small, are you going to tell your grandchildren about? / 26.What experience would you love to do all over again? / 6.What was your favourite place that you visited in 2014?
Traveling. There’s so many great stories I have from the people and places I visited this year. New York City was beautiful and thrilling, Vancouver was amazing and
heartwarming and as inspiring as always. Portland was cozy and
intriguing. San Fransisco was quirky and amusing. Boston was changeable
and familiar.
2.If you had to describe your 2014 in 3 words, what would they be?
Progress, rediscovery, and solitude
3.What new things did you discover about yourself? / 28.How did your overall outlook on life evolve?
I can’t say there’s a whole lot I discovered about myself this year, but I did rediscover a lot of things. My patience and confidence have both recovered a lot and I’m beginning to appreciate wonder and optimism again.
10.What, or who, are you most thankful for?
I’m thankful for the opportunities I have both the big things like the opportunity to travel, but also the little things like access to a farmers market and a working furnace.
11.If someone wrote a book about your life in 2014, what kind of genre would it be? A comedy, love story, drama, film noir or something else?
I would have to say it would be some sort of artsy film. I spent a whole lot of 2014 working long hours, particularly at the beginning of the year when the only time I wasn’t at work was if I was sleeping or cooking.
13.Which mental block(s) did you overcome?
I’m constantly relearning how to be patient and kind to myself. This year in particular I focused a lot on finding the balance between pushing to get more done and cutting myself some slack.
15.What was your biggest break-through moment career-wise? / 24.What major goal did you lay the foundations for?
Realizing that having a desk job is not the be all end all. I’ve known this before, but knowing that there were other things that I could do, things I wanted to do, was a really great moment, particularly when I decided this was something I really wanted to persue. I haven’t gotten all that far yet, but that moment when I realized this was something I could do, that was huge. I’m 80% there with my etsy. I have inventory and ideas, I just need to get the logistics figured out.
17.What book or movie affected your life in a profound way?
There’s a whole list in my 2014 favorites of influential books and films/tv shows, but if I had to pick one, for a book I would pick Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver because it changed the way that I look at narrative structures (similar to how A Tale for the Time Being did the same thing later in the year) and changed the way I look at people and the human and natural environment. For film or tv I would have to say The Newsroom because it not only changed how I look at visual mediums but also how I look at narrative structures and interpersonal relationships, the news, and the world as a whole. More than anything it’s The Newsroom that had the greatest effect on my life this year.
19.What little things did you most enjoy during your day-to-day life?
I’ve been trying to embrace the smaller aspects of my daily routine like brushing my teeth and washing my face. I’ve been trying to find a sense of accomplishment in finishing these things instead of finding them tedious. While I’m occasionally a bit flakey, I can say I really did enjoy the slow lazy mornings while I still manged to check everything off the list.
20.What cool things did you create this year? / 34.What activities made you lose track of time?
I’ve
started doddling again in photoshop and illustrator which I’ve loved. I
started a bunch of longer writing pieces that I’m very pleased with. I
think what I’m most proud of though is the crafting nook I created in
one corner of my room. Anything
creative. I haven’t done much this year, which is something I want to
work on next year, but creative activities are definitely something that
put me in a state of flow. I will lose hours in photoshop, illustrator,
and primiere. The same can be said for writing or hand crafting just
about anything.
25.Which worries turned out to be completely unnecessary? /38.What advice would you give your early-2014 self if you could?
The
spring 2014 version of myself could have used a reminder to slow down. I
was pushing myself to get a lot done which felt great at the time, but
the go go go was also slowly feeding into a mess of stress, anxiety, and
burnout which as with pretty much anything that caused me any amount of anxiety, was totally unnecessary.
“I scared the bird.” That was both the funniest and the cutest most endearing moment of the year.
31.What purchase turned out to be the best decision ever?
Rebooking my travel to stay on for the extra couple of weeks at work. It was a mess of stress, but getting the opportunity to learn and take on new experiences is something I’m extremely thankful for.
35.What did you think about more than anything else?
I thought a lot about the future, about what I wanted and I tried to come to terms with the fact that I feel like I should be doing/have more. I thought a lot about why my life feels like it’s been in a holding pattern for most of the last 3-5 years and what I want to do to change that.
36.What topics did you most enjoy learning about?
I loved my edx classes. I loved the policy aspects of the infrastructure class I took, but my favorite class had to be MIT’s introduction to global poverty which was both heartbreaking and inspiring. It really made me stop and think about my own privliges and how much I do have even if, as I said above, I feel really stuck at times.
41.What do you want the overarching theme for your 2015 to be?
Momentum. I would love it if 2015 was a year of progress without the typical burnout and backslide I experience every spring because of work.
42.What do you want to see, discover, explore? / 43.Who do you want to spend more time with in 2015?
This is something I’m still working on figuring out. I’m definitely going back to Vancouver and Seattle (since I’m 99% possitive that’s where I’ll be flying in and out of). I also want to make a point of making it to Stratford and by extension Toronto and possibly Ottawa. I would also love to visit friends I haven’t seen in awhile so I’ll be trying to swing out to Edmonton and possibly Portland, OR. Other than that I don’t know. Originally I hadn’t planned on doing any travelling in 2015 so I have no idea what I want to explore in that regard. I certainly have a long list of places with potential including the UK, Europe, and the American South, as well as the Mid Atlantic states in general.
44.What skills do you want to learn, improve or master?
Music. Writing. I would love to be able to start swimming again. I want to keep exploring new things and learning about things I hadn’t known I knew nothing about.
50.What is your number one goal for 2015?
I would really like to settle into something long term in 2015. In other words I would like to get out of this rut and feel like I’m making progress toward something. Looking back on 2014 I had some definite successes which I would like to carry into and build on in 2015.
GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS
2014 Successes:
Clear out the clutter/extra furniture and make a serious effort towards simplicity
Curating my wardrobe
Buy fewer books.
Give some serious thought to my job situation and act on it.
PLACES :: San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver
EXPERIENCES :: attend a reenactment, go camping, spend a day with a small child
LIT, LANGUAGE, FILM :: watch an anime series, read 110 books
WRITING :: keep up with my daily journaling
DIY & SELF-SUFFICIENCY :: take an adult ed class, fit all my craft supplies in one dresser, pay off my debt, sell more handmade items/repoen my etsy shop.
MISC :: exercise five days a week
Holdovers from 2014:
Make a serious go at lever knitting
Spanish, Spanish, Spanish
PLACES: Victoria, Banff or Jasper, and Stratford, ON
EXPERIENCES :: apple picking, cabin in the woods, go horseback riding, go to the drive in, post my travel vids for last summer
LANGUAGE, FILM :: read a book in Spanish, start learning French (or more realistically continue learning Dutch)
WRITING :: blog once a week
DIY & SELF-SUFFICIENCY :: learn how to replace cane & rush seats, learn more about permaculture, plant an herb garden, learn to id common local plants and animals (20 each), start a pressed flower notebook
ARTS AND CRAFTS :: Sew a cover for my duvet, knit a pair of socks or a hat from yarn I spun myself, turn an inspirational quote into a poster, scan my film photos
MISC :: Yoga five times a week for a month, meditate twice a week for six months, unplug
New Goals (mostly from my 101 in 1,001 project list):
Finish a USA Today crossword
Walk 2 bridges
Make sushi
Read 100 books (focusing on diversity and the Book Riot 2015 Challenge)
Write 150K (focusing on a novel(s) and short stories)
Photo a day for six months
Write a letter/email to someone I love once a week
Make more music
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