Turning Over the 31st Page

I started this blog when I turned 28. It perhaps was a bit before but the birthday as a marker isn't a bad marker.

Today I turn 32. Thirty-two is a nice round number a lot like 28. It's arbitrary, but I feel better about 32 than say 31. Thirty-two has purpose where 31 is just a number waiting to change.

I was feeling bad about life a few days ago and I stopped to try and clear my head. "Think about something positive, God damn it," I said out loud to no one but myself.

During year 31 I did a few things well:


Industry Career Change
I decided to change the direction of my career from for-profit to non-profit, and I successfully got a job. Even though I'm still cripplingly confused about career, it's good to remind myself that I set my mind to this and did it. I did it within just a month or so of losing my job.

Cooking/Veganism
I have spent most of my life wanting to be vegan. I tried it once in college, and it was disastrous. Last year for Christmas I received a vegan cook book, and it actually changed my life. It brought me to cooking in a way I could have only dreamed. Today I can now follow almost any recipe, and I really do love to cook. I don't do it every week, but some weeks I cook 4 or 5 recipes. Most importantly, I'm not scared of cooking. And now I'm probably 80%- 90% vegan.

Stuff Removal
Even though I am currently lodged between a pile of paintbrushes, a pile of bags, a desk and a book tower, I have continued to free myself of the unnecessary materials I've spent a life hoarding. I'm still figuring it out. I'm still figuring out how to co-exist with stuff, but I know believe that I can figure it out. Back at 28 that would have been no where near a reality.

Art
This time last year I would have never thought I could honestly pursue two-dimensional art. I have a focus, and I'm actually actively working toward art goals. And even though I'm still not very good, I see progress in what I'm learning.

I feel really proud of each of these four things. They each represent a meaningful accomplishment. Sure I'm still 15 pounds overweight, and sure, I have no actual idea what I'm doing with my life on the grand scale. But the year was not completely static. It wasn't ONLY a blur of netflix episodes.

This post was about what last year accomplished. The next is about what I hope to accomplish this coming year.