Celebrating a Couple of Not-So-Small Wins

It all comes down to the wire, sometimes. That can make it exciting. It can make it nerve-racking. There is only so much control we have over things. We can't do anything but worry or decide we won't worry.

Today, I look at two things, and they are milestones I'm so incredibly close to achieving that I can almost feel them in my hand. Milestones come, eventually. Some might think you can force milestones to come sooner rather than later. That's not always the case.

It is now 2024. The happiest of New Year's to you all, by the way. As with any endeavor, we make plans for the facets of our lives. Writers are no different.

While two of my plans are sitting on the head of a pin, waiting to become real, they'll likely do so before the end of this month. At least, that's the hopeful side of things. My immediate plan at the beginning of the year was to cross two milestones.

One should happen tonight. While it's not much, it's a milestone achievement because of where it comes from. Okay, I'm guilty of grasping small but achievable goals. Who among us hasn't needed a win, if for no other reason than to have something to feel proud of?

Oh, it's so close. The distance to 200 is about six more reads. I can feel the chills of excitement, the electricity in the air around me, and the thrill of such a monumental achievement.

What do the players say after winning the Super Bowl? Oh, "I'm going to Disneyland."

Well, a trip to Disneyland costs a lot more than 200.00. It costs a lot more than the total I've earned on Vocal. But the feeling of crossing the two hundred dollar mark is still pretty exciting considering the years I put into writing on this platform.

Don't get me wrong. I'm appreciative of the platform and what it did for me. It saved my sanity during the pandemic and gave me a focus point to start putting myself out there.

If not for that late-night advertisement on Instagram that promised we could make up to $6,000 for telling our stories, I might still be writing on my computer and nobody ever reading a thing. That would mean no new friends, no feedback, no associating with the like-minded people I've found in the different writing communities since joining.

Hum? What to do as a celebration? I think I'll buy a piece of gum. Can anyone point me in the direction of that time machine to the 1950s? Where else would I get a piece of gum for that missing $.03?

Right on the heels of that milestone, one that I honestly foresaw happening this month, despite it taking forever, comes another celebration in the making.

My crowning achievement on this platform will be the story of Phillip Marshall and examining the case and details around his untimely demise. Being only 16 reads away from having 8,000 on a story on Vocal may not be the record, but dammit, I'm excited about this.

Why am I so excited about this? The first spring I was on the platform, I wrote a piece about calling in to work. As you can see, it didn't do too bad.

The facts of that story, however, are that it earned the majority of those reads in just a couple of weeks or less. Most of them came on Friday and Saturday immediately after publishing the story.

Seeing that whopping read number, a thousand plus in the first day, I felt like the Man of Steel. It was like Clark Kent writing his first hit story and actually competing with Lois Lane and her mad skills.

I think I celebrated that night. There was a red cape, my Superman Underwear, and my running around the house like I was going to fly up, up, and away. Face it, we were still locked down, and we had to make our own fun.

So, wherever you are, pop a top or raise a glass and help me celebrate the small wins. Then, share your small wins in the comments. I'd love to hear them.