Hopes for 2022

Of course, one of my main goals is to prioritize friendships--even though right now that requires more of a virtual approach than an in-person one. I'm extremely grateful for my friends and how they have put up with my anxiety/depression-induced isolation periods over the past year, and I want to be the best friend I can be. 

I want to continue to explore my faith and connect with God in new ways. My personal brand of Christianity is more progressive than most of the spaces where I used to express my faith, and that is a lonely spot to be in sometimes. My to-read list of theological books is several miles long, so I'd like to get on that too, haha!  

I love acting and I miss it so much, so my hope is that someone will hold auditions for a virtual production again. I adored the last virtual production I did (As You Like It with Stage Door in Fall 2020) and I would relish the chance to work with those people or with either of the community theatres in my town. 

Writing-wise, I was in a bit of a writing slump for the fall/winter season of 2021. This month, I finally updated my current writing project (!!!), so I am optimistic that I will write more this year. One of the reasons I get stuck so easily is because I tend to spiral into panics over whether what I'm writing is any good or if people hate the direction the story is taking (which is silly because it's not like very many people read my writing anyway and I don't share my fiction work with people I know personally, save for two or three close friends). I don't know how to free myself from this kind of insecurity, but I have to try if I want to write fiction + continue blogging at least every month in 2022. Unfortunately I tend to lean towards long-windedness, so I won't set a goal to finish the current project--just to continue it. That way if by some miracle I do finish it, that will be a happy surprise, haha. 

My "slumps" extend to reading, although I made a huge jump in 2021 (12 books, 3 poetry collections) from 2020 (zero books or poetry collections, just plays). I would like to read some combination of books/poetry/plays in 2022, so I'll just hope for 12 works in general for the year and see how that goes. I would like to start reading manga again as well (getting back to my middle school roots, lol). 

I wish I could say that I plan to go to concerts or travel more or go speed dating or something, but seeing as we are still in a pandemic, those aren't really options at the moment. Instead, I'm going to say one of my goals is to prioritize being careful and safe even when it is inconvenient or difficult + to navigate the changing optics of the pandemic in a more compassionate way. My sister/roommate and I mask any time we leave the house but we recently upgraded to KN95 masks, and we are ready to get future boosters/vaccines if available. The most exciting goal I can set is that I hope we can support local food businesses more and discover new ones--I've really enjoyed the small local restaurants/food spots we've incorporated into our routines this year (Otto's, Thai Cuisine & Noodle House, the local Asian market, Grit, Mi Casita's, Murphy's) and because we always do takeout or delivery, I feel comfortable continuing that this year. 

I've made sustainable and eco-friendly changes to our dishwashing and laundry routines, but I am anxious to figure out where our household can adjust next. With a pandemic still in full swing, it can be hard to know where and how to compromise. I have toyed with the idea of composting for years, but being on the upper-floor of an apartment building makes this a bit difficult. We do have a balcony, but there is a friendly neighborhood squirrel who frequents the area (Frankie) that will 1000% dig in the compost bin if I put one out there. I am exploring other options and hopefully will come up with some solution this year. Additionally, I would like to work on producing less trash and fewer recyclables, as I am incredibly suspicious of the recycling system in town. Over the past year I have learned a lot about recycling as a business and I now know that it isn't a sustainable solution to the problem, so I would like to find options to reduce both trash and recycling (and choose to reuse, refuse, etc.) this year (while also remaining safe in a pandemic). 

Finally, I want to continue exploring new hobbies--new music, new Youtube rabbit holes, new TV shows and Asian dramas and anime, take more walks, maybe start those online bachata classes I always say I'm going to start and then chicken out. I'm trying really hard to be a more interesting person (lol) and to connect with new aspects of the world around me, and I want to continue that in 2022.