So much happened in 2015. Here’s a quick rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also included: some of what I’m thankful for in 2015, what I’m looking forward to in 2016, and a list of New Year’s Resolutions!

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The Good

• I was published for the first time! I sold a piece of flash fiction (“Accidental Queen of the Spiders“) to Fireside Fiction and it was published in their August 3^rd I may never stop talking about this because this is such a huge deal.
• I spent from April to September of this year writing about James Bond for The Mary Sue. I got a lot of exposure from it and made many new friends as a result.
• I’m actually currently doing reviews for Word of the Nerd!
• I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens and cried forever.
• I (eventually) got accepted into the Master’s Program for Literature at my alma mater in Miami.
• I got a car at the beginning of the year. It’s a milestone.
• I’ve been making inroads in writing and I’ve learned so much from fellow writers throughout the year.
• I’ve found a community of really cool people thanks to twitter and publishing. Sure, publishing has a lot in common with media fandom in that there are some really powerful and terrible people out there, but I’ve actually met a ton of really amazing and wonderful diverse people, some of whom have taken me under their wings a bit.
• As of 11:23pm on December 30, 2015, I have written at least 198,175 words in at least 75 different finished files. This number only includes most of what I’ve written between September and December of this year because I wasn’t keeping track of what I was writing until September.

The Bad

• I dropped out of the teaching program I was in after basically having a mini breakdown at the end of student teaching.
• While I got a job (working with two of my peeps at a small app designing company), the conditions there were terrible and I had to deal with so much for so little pay. After all of the microaggressions and having someone newer than me get a raise before I did (despite my supervisor recommending me for a raise!!!), I wound up leaving the job.
• It’s been about three months and I still don’t have a job.
• I lost quite a few friends that I didn’t think would stop being friends with me. It really sucks

The Ugly

• I’m pretty sure my relationship with my parents is irreparably fractured because they still see me as a child when I’m decidedly not. Asking for help doesn’t mean that I’m not an adult. It just means that I need help.
• I no longer feel safe in South Florida comic book stores after seeing the man who destroyed my confidence (and essentially made me never want to be intimate or alone with a man again) at one of the comic book stores in my area during Free Comic Book Day.
• I’ve been dealing with a lot of mental and physical health issues this year and I can’t afford to get help for them just yet. I’m hoping that having a purpose in grad school (as well as access to the school clinic and mental health services) will help keep me on a good track.
• I’ve gained like thirty pounds in the past year and so I basically can’t fit into anything I own (or afford to buy new clothes!)
• Endless money problems that leave me freaking out all the time.

What I’m Thankful for in 2015

• All of the amazing books I read in 2015.
• Jupiter Ascending, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Crimson Peak
• Deepening my friendships with people like Fleet (my beta bae), Yam, Alex, Sonia, Justen, and Araceli. These are people I’d known in fandom for a while but who I definitely interacted with more this year.
• Making new friends on Twittah!
• Hanging out with many of my old friends (on and offline)!
• Getting second chances.
• Surviving another year despite everything.

What I’m Hoping For in 2016

• That my first semester of grad school goes well.
• That I can get my act together with regard to self-publishing and submitting. I want to get more work out there and get more people reading my stories.
• That my [SECRET WRITING PROJECT] goes well and that people like it when it comes out!
• Figuring out “branding” for myself and my blog because I want Stitch’s Media Mix to do well and go far.
• That I can get a press pass for Megacon (and maybe score some interviews with creators that I like)
• To build more and better relationship with creators and figure out networking

New Year’s Resolutions

• To lose thirty pounds in a healthy way by the end of May
• To finish my Poison Ivy and Nicki Fury (a Nick Fury/Nicki Minaj mashup costume) by May
• To read more, write more, and review more
• To learn how to drive (well enough for Broward County at least since Miami is currently out of reach for me for now)
• To be a better friend and strengthen connections.
• To get a good job.
• To network more and establish myself amongst my writing peers
• To self-publish my short story collection

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2015 was difficult, but some good things came out of it.

Friendships.

Goals.

A sense that I finally know what I’m going to do with my life.

I’m hopeful that 2016 will be better. Way better.

Thank you all for supporting me through all of the ups and downs, awesome people! I hope that you all had a decent 2015 and that you have an amazing 2016!

❤