Just over ten years ago, around October or November, I was diagnosed with burnout and assigned (I think) two weeks of sick leave and a few meetings of therapy to deal with it. And I was told that I needed to find hobbies that weren’t in computer science. I did some sewing back then but I wasn’t very good. I’m still not. My body has a difficult shape for most commercial patterns which means that much of what I make doesn’t fit me all that well. I get frustrated and give up. Sewing more wasn’t a viable strategy. I remembered that I used to enjoy writing. I started writing my first novel.
The 2010s have been largely good for me. I went through a few professional upsets before landing in a place where I am truly satisfied with my day job career. But since that’s mostly covered by various NDAs, I’m not going to say anything more about that.
So what are you going to talk about?
What I want to focus on instead is everything that’s happened in my creative life. I’ve learned how to knit again. I’ve made a lot of knitted items, learning to fit myself in the process. I have also learned to do a lot of things with my knitting that I just could not before. I still have a bit to go until every single knit I wear is handmade, but I’m getting there. I’ve also made a bit of a dent into the wardrobes of quite a few of my friends. And I’ve built it all during this decade that’s about to end.
At the same time, I’ve also started to build a writing career. Granted, I’ve only published one short story. But I’ve gone to two different, wonderful workshops. I’ve started gathering a community of other writers around me. I help and am helped in turn. And I have to say, looking back on ten years ago, it’s made a huge difference.
But what about this year?
This year I have:
- written 51 blog posts
- edited 1 novel three times
- drafted most of a second novel
- edited 3 short stories
- translated 2 of the previous short stories into Finnish
- critiqued one novel
- finished 11 knitted items.
I feel like there must have been something else in there, too, but honestly, that’s plenty.
How did you do, dear reader? Did you have a good year? A good decade?
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