summercomfort | New Year's Resolutions!

1. Do 80%.
Welp, I think I failed that one? Hmmm... the first half of the year I was at 80% at school, and didn't have Chinese school. Starting in August, I've been at 100% at school, plus Chinese School. I keep pushing other people to do less but keep forgetting to do that for myself. I did manage to step away from modding, which is, while I was sad to go, is better for me in the long run. I'll give myself a solid C-.

2. More comics, less pics.
It turned into less of everything, I think? I think pics tend to happen when I do fandom events where I'm illustrating for others' fics. Comics tend to happen when I'm left to my own devices. But a result of failing the above is just less time in general. But there's no point in double-penalizing, so B.

3. Find/Build/Participate in creative communities.
Comics is still going strong, and we're back to participating in taiko. Also joined the Oddfellows, so that's good? Internet creative community isn't quite happening, but it might be that I'm just ... bad at it. I don't know who to talk to about that. May be worth a potofsoup post. A-.

4. More conversations, less logistics.
I think this has gotten better over the year -- been getting better at having actual convos with Hoosband. Not spending all my spare time doing mod or travel logistics has helped. Childling getting to a stage where she's not just 80% logistics has also helped. Having serious convos with Hoosband about our relationship has helped. I still get suckered into fandom sometimes, and I sometimes still prioritize arting over convo with Hoosband, but I think we've struck a good balance. A.

That puts me at a B/B+ overall, I think.

Okay, resolutions for the new year!

Take my comicking to the next level. That might mean finishing some stuff, or leveling up my skills, or just having more time to draw stuff that is meaningful to me, or maybe investigating just what is publishing. More specifically: spend at least 15 minutes a day on creative stuff.

Less FOMO, more "for me". As in -- hey self, you know that thing you do where you get that irrational fear that everyone else is having fun in a clique without you? Yeah, stop that. Instead, think "is that actually a space that I want to / have time to engage in?" Find/build social spaces that work for me, instead of feeling like I'm being constantly left out.

Try to be/stay in good health. Hey lady, you're getting older, gotta start taking care of yourself. You know there's that mental block in your head where you can't exercise, anything that starts feeling like exercise gets instantly shut down. So maybe work around that, yeah? Keeps a spare pair of bachi in the house and do a taiko song every night, maybe. Hide all the chocolate in the house. EAT REGULAR MEALS. DRINK WATER.

Own up to your experience. You're 36 now, which means that you're no longer 25 and trying to prove yourself. Start acting like it -- yes, you *are* the principal of Chinese School. Yes, you *do* have 10+ years' teaching experience . You *do* have experience in drawing comics, even if it's all self-taught.