The year is almost over and while it’s ending on a low note for me, I can’t deny how productive it was. It was by far my most successful year as a writer.

In 2018, my poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction was published by The Mantle, Rag Queen Periodical, The Write Launch, Weasel Press, Buddy. a lit zine, Dying Dahlia Review, Burnt Pine, Sad Girl Review, A Velvet Giant, Venefica Mag, Hypnopomp, Show Your Skin, Paragraph Planet, Train Literary Magazine, Z Publishing, Marauder, and FIVE:2:ONE’s The Side Show. In November, I was chosen to be poetry editor for one of these (Rag Queen – Issue 3 will be out soon!). And of course, my first chapbook, MISS MACROSS VS. BATMAN, was published this fall by CWP Collective Press! I still haven’t fully processed that. A local publication picked me as one of their top 40 artists under 40, and because of this I received a congratulations letter from my U.S. senator, which was also sweet and was totally unexpected. If I’m honest, none of these accomplishments were expected.

I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, mainly because the cold, dark middle of winter is the worst time of year to start pursuing your dreams. It’s like suddenly jumping into an already losing battle with no weapons. That said, I have goals for 2019:

1. Finish my first full-length fiction manuscript.
2. Finish my second poetry chapbook.
3. Find more paid writing gigs.
4. Move to a place where I’m happy.
5. Start a new band or music project.

These are goals that I’ve chosen because they seem achievable and because they would advance my career/general life goals. I have a few smaller, more personal goals as well, which relate to my education, my body, and my relationships. I also want to write more book reviews for this blog. However, these goals are more like hopes, as I don’t know what to expect next year in any realm of my life. The end of 2018 has been so rough because it’s a time of transition; these transitions haven’t been completed yet, so who the hell knows how they’ll turn out?

• Current drink: Suja Daybreak Probiotic
• Current book: The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen
• Current e-book: none
• Current music: “Make Me Like You” – Gwen Stefani