Saturday, January 12, 2013

Hello 2013

New Years Resolutions aren't my thing.  Usually, I keep doing the things I do and sometimes I exercise/write/travel more, and sometimes I do these things less.  There's a plethora of internet tirades about the ridiculousness of resolutions, so I'll hold off on that.

However, I do have a, um, goal for 2013.  Let me begin with a review of 2012.



Overall, I didn't just love 2012.  Grad school, relationships, the pursuit of meaning in my life, all of these things seemed to weigh heavily on my this year.  Yet, I find that in retrospect, I spent a lot of time doing all of the things I love doing, i.e. exercising, writing, and traveling.

I averaged two yoga classes a week with plenty of dog-walking and jogging on the side.  I wrote and wrote for school and pleasure.  In the fall, I found out I was a finalist in a short story contest at Glimmer Train, no small feat.  Then, I got my first story accepted for publication at Saw Palm.  "Anderson's Light" is dear to me, and it is fitting for the beach-centered story to appear in the University of Southern Florida's journal.  In addition to that, a local magazine has asked me to write a couple articles on little bits they need.  They are paying me for this.  It's not tons, but to me, getting paid to write anything is pretty much the coolest ever.

Annnnd, the travelling.  As much as I may lament the difficulty of travel compared to my experience in France, somehow, I've managed to make it quite a few places in the last twelve months.

In Feb/March, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference was in Chicago.  The conference, honestly, is not my cup of tea.  But it was the first time I've been to Chicago!

I went to Gulf Shores with a few friends.
Visited New York for the first time and saw my eternal travel buddy, Elvynia.

Drove east and wound up on the Appalachian trail: hiked, camped, saw the views, and visited some friends along the way.



Gave a reading at Off Square Books in Oxford, MS.
(I don't have any photos of that, but here's me with a pickle juice cocktail.)

Went to a safari resort.

Not to mention, some great times at home in Memphis.

And in Lafayette with my bestest.


Anywho, on a day-to-day basis, this year wasn't the best, but looking back, some amazing things happened.

In 2013, I want to keep up this little travel journal that some may call a blog (ugh, what an awful word).    I want to share my travels and keep on truckin'.  Because really, what else is there to do?






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