In the middle of a pandemic, I must say that I’m doing pretty damn well.
Yes, I’m struggling with isolation and the impending deaths of many people and of our planet, but I wanted to reflect on some of the things that I’ve done this year that I feel proud of.
My favorite research article that I got published this year was on James Baldwin’s writing about music.
My favorite personal piece this year was on learning to love myself and the rain with the help of a country song.
My favorite review (the only one?) that I wrote this year was about my twelve favorite country songs about death and dying.
My favorite personal milestone was hitting a year sober in a recovery program. A different kind of milestone was being published in a book for the first time, in two anthologies: the 25th anniversary of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and the co-authored The Decision to Heal: Pathways from Suffering to Love.
Some of my most healing moments this year involved my middle and high school, where I gave a Zoom presentation for middle school students about creativity, was interviewed for a webinar of successful alumni, and a very healing meetup with someone I didn’t get along with in high school.
Some of the biggest risks I took involved teaching a freshman orientation program at a university and tutoring as an embedded tutor, or a teaching assistant, in an ESL class. Both risks very much paid off.
Some of the nicest ego boosts came from musicians, and authors I admire like Clint Black, Joan Osborne, American Aquarium, Eve 6, Jessica Hopper, Nadine Hubbs, Jeffrey Melnick, and Michelle Tea liking my tweets.
One of my proudest accomplishments of the year involved landing three teaching and tutoring jobs for the spring of 2022—a big deal given the usual scarce enrollment in the spring in higher education. The teaching job involves teaching a freshman writing course I’m designing on music and humanity.
I won my highest placement yet in a national communications contest: two third place entries in different categories (Video for Web- Special Interest for my TEDx talk and Headlines for different essay headlines). I also won an Honorable Mention for Feature Articles- Online for this piece about race and gender in country music.
I started a regular blog (that you are reading now) and actually sticking to at least two posts a month.
I published my fiftieth article with PopMatters, Good Men Project, or Country Queer. I have fifty-two as of this writing.
I quit caffeine, hopefully for good. I am approaching three months without it.
By the end of 2021, I will have read/finished at least 35 books and 10,000 total pages of read published work—a personal record.
I have grown closer to multiple people I love, including in my family.
I am working through perfectionism, procrastination, fear, and impatience, and I must say, though I couldn’t believe it when a friend told me I sound happy, joyous, and free, I’m closer than I’ve ever been.
It sounds like you are quite busy, however, at some point I would encourage you to check out some new releases from last year. These include: Arlo Parks (Collapsed in Sunbeams -- R&B/Soul); Adia Victoria (A Southern Gothic -- Blues/Country); NDN Collective (LANDBACK -- Hip-Hop/Rap); Jyroscope & Montana Macks (Happy Medium -- Hip-Hop/Rap); Gabriels (Bloodline -- Soul); Hollow Frames (The Management of Forest Affairs -- Electronic); Frozen Inertia (After the Circus -- Avant-Garde/Experimental); Nick Cave & Warren Ellis (Carnage -- Rock); Amyl & the Sniffers (Comfort to Me -- Punk Rock); Viagra Boys (Welfare Jazz -- Rock)
It sounds like you made some significant changes last year that have led to substantial improvements in the quality of your life. That's great! Addiction to anything can be so detrimental but shifting gears and pivoting towards living on a sober path definitely has its rewards!!