A Year of Reflection

This past year has been both hard and easy, stressful and relaxing, full of hope and full of fear. As my family endured a year of unknowns, awaiting the news of what our next chapter of life would look like I must say, I didn't get much writing done. On the other hand, I still got more writing done than I had expected to. I wrote and published Broken in that year. A year I had originally put no pressure on myself to write at all. A year that, admittedly, none of us had anticipated to stretch on to being the full year it turned out to be. This was supposed to be a shorter temporary season. With every day, week, and month that came and went, we were mentally and emotionally tested. It's not the easiest state of mind to be in for the creative mind. And that's putting it lightly.

But, as this chapter nears its end, I can see that it wasn't a waste of creative energy. The challenges we faced. The time to reflect. The discomfort we had to get comfortable with. It all lent itself to exercise my creativity and literary voice. Writing, after all, is more relatable when the feelings are real. When the author can touch their subjects more deeply. I grew my understanding of emotions, challenges, and struggles more in this past year and everything I felt could be used to tell a well rounded story or to create believable characters.

While I'm not quite ready to dive back into writing full tilt. I plan to wait until we've settled into our new home first. I do have peace in knowing that, though I put writing down, I know where I left it. It's not lost and its not stagnant. It is, in fact, blossoming beautifully as I give it and myself room to breath and thrive uninterrupted.