Taking Stock

Vocal has asked us to write about any 2025 New Year’s resolutions on creative projects we plan to work on. I don’t make New Year's resolutions. I haven’t made one in over thirty years, so I won't lie and say I set any for myself this year. However, instead of resolutions, I look at what is happening in my life throughout the year and see what needs changing- taking stock now and then to see where I need to improve or in what direction I’d like to see myself headed.

I thought with this New Year, I’d do a personal Q&A to help center myself and give guidance for the upcoming year.

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Q: What matters the most to me in my life right now?

A: The obvious answer to this question is my two daughters because they are my world. I’d always wanted to have a large family but had problems carrying more children, so it wasn’t meant to be. I hope to be a grandmother one day, but that is not today.

My husband for being the kind of man he is and always supporting my writing attempts. Sometimes, he’s prouder of my accomplishments than I am, if that’s possible.

My best friend, with whom I can always be myself, and understands my dark moods too. I've never once felt the need to explain myself to her, she has always understood me. She's one of the sisters I should have had.

Writing. If I didn't write, I'd go nuts. Putting my thoughts down keeps me sane. The process of making a storyline understandable is soothing to me.

Q: I feel my best when I am…?

A: Besides the apparent answers of being well-fed, well-rested, and healthy, I feel best when I can entertain others and bring a smile to their faces. I enjoy writing even more when I know that it brings others joy. I’m the same in my daily life, I always look for a way to put a smile on my friends and family's faces.

Q: The one thing I’d like to learn more about this year is…?

A: EVERYTHING! I have an insatiable hunger for all knowledge. I love to read anything and everything I pick up. I’m always looking up words, weird facts, and historical tidbits. I read in places like the car, bedroom, the bathroom, etc. Anything can be interesting if looked upon with an open mind. My favorite courses back when I went to college were psychology and Sociology, but I loved learning about everything in all the courses I took. To top it all off, I have a semi-photographic memory and can remember just enough of what I read to either make me dangerous or look stupid– depending on the topic.

Q: Who has had the greatest impact on my life?

A: Both my grandmothers had a huge impact on my life. One taught me faith, the other taught me culture, and they both taught me unconditional love.

My daughters have taught me patience. Without it, I would never have gotten through the terrible twos or the teenage years with them.

Dr. Irby, my college English professor, taught me that I needed the courage to write and that the gift was already there. As I write this, I remember the professor, in her aged hand, grading my college essays with an A++++ or a 100++++, and telling me that I needed to be a writer or a journalist.

Q: What relaxes me when I’m feeling stressed?

A: I write. I get so completely wrapped up in the short story or poem I am working on, that I’m lost in the world for the time I sit at the computer. While most writers play music in the background while they write, I have the television on. What I’m watching (listening) depends on my mood and the type of writing I am doing at the time. For instance, as corny as it may be, I have Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, and Leave it to Beaver on as I write this Q&A.

Q: What makes me proud of my work?

A: When others enjoy my work. Nothing makes me prouder than a comment or just a heart and like. But when a comment is left, my heart soars. Don’t get me wrong, I love winning an award, badge, or contest– but those are so far in between I don’t count them. It’s the comments, hearts, and likes that I count.

Q: I enjoy my own company because…?

A: I like solitude and quiet. Too much noise makes me feel crazy. Plus when I am alone, I can be with my thoughts. It’s when I come up with my most inspirational writing ideas. Or my craziest ideas, depending on which way you look at it.

Q: What are my top five personal values?

A: Family, honesty, loyalty, compassion, and generosity are my top five personal values.

Q: Which is worse: failing or never trying?

A: I would rather fail than never try. To never try is worse because you’ll never know if you will have succeeded, it’ll always be a what-if. A what-if will drive you crazy with what-could-have-been’s. For this reason, I plan on entering challenges or contests that inspire me this year.

Q: When did I last step out of my comfort zone?

A: I make it a point to step out of my comfort zone daily. Every time I face an uncomfortable situation. I’ve lived with high anxiety my entire life, and it’s something I’ve taught myself to do early in life to fit in with my classmates who seemed to have it all together. So, when I look at obstacles in my path, things that make me cringe inwardly, I take a deep breath and tackle the problem. I’ve done things from writing a villanelle for a Vocal challenge to giving my youngest daughter shots, to driving a stickshift tractor because I had to, even though it was all out of my comfort zone.

Bonus:

Q: What’s one thing I want to make happen for Vocal in the next year?

A: The one thing I’d like to make happen over the next year is to bring more joy and unity to Vocal. I can do this by doing what I mostly already do:

1. Write content that others will be attracted to and enjoy reading.
2. Write content for different communities.
3. Read and positively comment on my friends’ articles, stories, and poems. (If I see a glaring mistake in grammar or spelling, I will send a message privately, if I can)
4. Offer more prompts through the Facebook group, ViM.
5. Being patient with the support staff when I make a ticket, because I know they are busy with the huge number of people on the platform.

Other ways I can do this are:

1. By reading creators' content I do not follow and comment about what I like about the articles, poems, or stories.
2. Nominating more stories for Top Story status. As it is, I don’t nominate nearly enough, maybe once or twice a month. I know there are more stories deserving of at least a nomination.
3. Nominate or second useful recommendations for Vocal to implement. Whether it’s a much-needed change to the platform, another community, or a new challenge, there’s always something to suggest or back.

I wish Vocal had a new author section, to make it easier to greet the newbies to the platform. I would love to be able to drop in on their first story and say, “Hey, welcome to Vocal! Chairs are on the left; cookies and milk are on the right!”

Q: What’s one thing I want to make happen in the next year for myself?

A: I plan on posting less often on Vocal for multiple reasons.

• I plan on writing longer pieces than I have been and more intense shorts than you are used to. More quality is what I'm going to strive for, not the warm-up I've been doing.
• I'm organizing my favorite poetry and short stories into indexes for easier access.
• I'm going to "Spring Clean" my old stories. Touch up the stories that aren't really any good, fix the grammar and mistakes; and delete the ones I can't.
• I'm going to be spending more time on research for both my writing and for fun.
• I'm going to do more reading both on and off of Vocal.

~~~~~ Well, looky there, I have a resolution after all. ~~~~~

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~~ I’ve included a blank list of questions for anyone to use if they’d like. ~~

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Q: What matters most to me in my life?

A:

Q: I feel my best when I am…?

A:

Q: The one thing I’d like to learn more about this year is…?

A:

Q: Who has had the greatest impact on my life?

A:

Q: What relaxes me when I’m feeling stressed?

A:

Q: What makes me proud of my work?

A:

Q: I enjoy my own company because…?

A:

Q: What are my top five personal values?

A:

Q: Which is worse: failing or never trying?

A:

Q: When did I last step out of my comfort zone?

A:

Bonus:

Q: What’s one thing I want to make happen for Vocal in the next year?

A:

Q: What’s one thing I want to make happen in the next year for myself?

A: