I'd like to say that the snow has inspired me to write my little hands off, but it hasn't. My latest inspiration is myself. Conceited? Maybe just a bit, but it's the truth. This year is going to be the year for me. 2017 is the year I become myself, the person I've always been meant to be. Not the self indulgent mess from the past five years. We're a week into the new year and I've already done more to better myself than I have in the past twelve months. The coolest thing I've done so far is to start learning Polish. My grandfather grew up speaking Polish and had to learn English as a child when they moved to Manayunk. He doesn't remember most of what he knew, but he knows enough to swap words with me. I don't know enough to hold a complete conversation, but according to duolingo I'm 4% fluent already.
One thing that app has given me already is some accountability. I struggle a lot with commiting to things I start. I can't tell you how many manuscripts I've killed from undergrad because I never followed through on writing them. I'll be honest, it was due in part to laziness. Laziness and fear. It's no secret that I'm afraid of the what if's and of not being as good as other people. The thing is, there will ALWAYS be someone out there better than me. That's okay. I don't ever want to be the best because that means that I've stopped learning. I don't want to grow complacent. I want to learn something new every day for the rest of my life.
I've got big things happening, 2017. I hope you're ready for me.