January 2022 Newsletter: The Clock keeps ticking

It’s reflection month! Each year I like to take time to look back at my life and see what I’ve accomplished and how far I have yet to go. There are two times I typically do this: September, my birth month, and January, the start of the year itself. The Pandemic has forced me to reassess a lot of my goals and find what I value.

A Look Back At 2019, 2020, and 2021

2019 was without a question a horrible year for me. My anxiety was at an all time high, I was working a dead end job of two years, and to round it off my father passed away. At 26, my life was unraveling before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Come 2020, I was ready for a fresh start.

The months following my fathers death were extremely difficult. A handful of friends knew and that was that. After October, I simply showed up to work and did my job. October 2019 was major life event one. Major life event two was The Pandemic. And I threw my hands up. I said enough and quit my job. Originally the plan was to work until I paid off my student debt and while I can handle a lot of stress, The Pandemic pushed me over the edge. I was put in a no win situation and my only real option was to quit.

2021 was consumed by the job search. For 6 months I strategized and learned the best practices. Three to Five applications a week, weekly meetings with a recruiter, and a completely reworked resume. On top of this, I was posting to LinkedIn every couple of weeks and keeping a strong presence with my network.

October was a tough month where I was studying to be an insurance agent, only to fail the exam. I am now working part-time and have recovered the money I lost during The Pandemic. Life has slowed down to a crawl and slowly but surely I am finding solid ground.

2022

Looking ahead, I have a better grasp on how I want to tackle my challenges head on. I’ve learned that I can persevere no matter the circumstance and my circumstances could be far worse right now. I am better off now than I was 6 months ago and that’s all I can really ask for. My main task for this upcoming year is to pay off my student loans. $14,000 left and frozen till May, I’m feeling I can turn my fortune around. It’ll mean extra hours at work but ultimately I believe it will be worth it in the end. I’m going to double down on coding once more and obtain certificates by completing coursework. In the coming month I’ll go over my goals in more detail but those are the most practical ones.

A Look Ahead for January

As has become somewhat tradition for this blog, I’ll be dedicating a lot of time to reflection. It’ll be an article focused month, most likely in the form of a new years resolution post and a look at the blog itself. The blog has undergone many changes throughout the years, so I always find it nice to take a look back.

This Year

The main goal is to get my fourth ‘Special Series’ month set in stone. I have been flip flopping back and forth this last year between a horror month and a short story month. Outside of that the blog is in a great spot. Mental Health, Poetry, and Sustainability Month have all been wonderful to write. The last aspect of my writing that I want to work on is writing short stories, hence why the fourth series is my most difficult.

That’s it. We are now in 2022. I can hold my head high knowing I persevered and survived. This year will put what I’ve learned to the test and I have to say I’m excited. Cheers to the new year and here’s to hoping prosperity finds you. This year I’m going to be trying polls! My hope is they spark a little more engagement and lead to more discussion in the comments.

Lost at Sea: A Poem by Mike Cole

There was a ship lost at sea

Its destination not meant to be.

So it sailed as waters grew dark

The wind began to howl, and so swam the sharks.

When the storm passed, the horizon was left blue

Lost in the Ocean, there was nothing left that it knew.

A flip of the coin: A poem by Mike Cole

He flipped a coin, wondering where it’d land.

Heads or tails he pondered, mulling the coin in his hand.

Would he flip again should the coin land wrong?

He had done this dance before, he had sung this song.

The coin glinted in the fading sun.

One last flip, before the day was done…

December 2021 Newsletter: A crazy couple of months.

So it is now officially November December. A lot has happened since September and I’ve risen from the dead to give an update.

The New

Towards the end of September, I had accepted an offer to become an insurance account manager. Come mid October, the offer slipped from my hands and within a matter of weeks I landed a new job as a Welcome Desk Associate. October was stressful but ended on a high note as I’m now making money and can take a deep breath after what has been pure chaos for a little over a year now.

Horror Month: Oops

I had big plans for October and ultimately, they fell through… Horror Month I still think will be fun but I have begun questioning the limitations of making it a story centric month. I had great ideas for horror themed poetry and articles but was so focused on short stories that I ultimately did nothing. That said, I might repurpose some of the drafts that never saw the light of day for future short stories. Horror month is my most experimental so I honestly don’t know if I want to keep it. All other series from last year were a resounding success (Mental Health, Sustainability, and Poetry) but Horror Month has proven tricky. I’ll be tinkering with the final series category yet again… I’ve done Horror Month for one year so I might try simply making a Short Story Month.

Thanksgiving

It has come and gone. I sang, I ate, and even got my haircut. For the first time in about four years, I was able to spend it with my cousins and relatives. No Black Friday and no Cyber Monday! It was fun, cheery, and motivation to get my life in order.

Upcoming Plans

For this month, this is it. The blog was set up last year to make it easy to post while having a job, so I’m finally putting that theory to the test. Write a book? I now have time. Create a podcast? I can really dive into that. Gain certificate after certificate to build credentials for work? Also very feasible. And of course, blog!

The Winter season (aka now) will be slow filled with poetry and delight; two poems, spread out between the December weeks. Come 2022 I’ll be doing Poetry, Mental Health, and Sustainability Month so that will keep me quite busy as I explore those topics further. I have some great ideas and am looking forward to begin work on each. And the Fourth Series will land one of these days. Short Story Month is sounding much better the more and more I say it.

This Last Year.

Has been a huge success. I am grateful for how much the blog has grown and however crazy my life has gotten, through the ups and downs, my blog has been here. From a blog I never expected anyone to read to now, it’s been a journey I’ve enjoyed. As we get closer to January, I’m glad to keep writing and improve myself in the process. Thanks for reading and stay safe as we usher in a new year!