2023 Celebrationn

Have you ever had a year you have been waiting to jump into? Not so much because of all that lies ahead–although that can be exciting–but because of the mile marker it brings?

 

That is how 2023 has been for me. I’ve been so eager for this year to begin due to the mile marker that it personally represents for me, and because of how I have chosen to celebrate this accomplishment.    

 

Twenty years ago I was in the process of publishing my first novel. It was something I had always wanted to do, and it was happening. Unbeknownst to my naive little heart, I was embarking on a difficult, life-changing adventure. 

 

Let me share a little backstory about me. I was the student in school who absolutely dreaded, like anxiety dread, the notion of a teacher calling on me which meant classroom attention would be focused on me. So in fifth grade, when I shared with friends and teachers that I one day would be an author, I had no idea what I had mentally signed up for. 

 

Come 2003, when I was indeed making my author dream come true, my quiet, “don’t draw attention to myself” persona was a recipe for disaster. In the years that followed, I painfully learned, my aspirations to be an author went WAY beyond my comfort zone. 

 

So this year marks my mile marker. After twenty years of pushing myself, failing often, picking myself up, healing my wounds, I trudged forward. I have wanted to quit OFTEN. I have given myself permission to quiet OFTEN. But something beyond the safety of my comfort zone has in one way or another pushed me to keep going.  

 

What about you? Have you ever wanted to quit at something but kept going? Are you at your crossroads right now? Or have you felt like a failure because your aspirations don’t align with your reality?  If you can relate to any of this, join me! 

 

Let’s take some time to pause, celebrate, and learn from our journeys. 

 

This year is a pinnacle moment for me to celebrate where I am and how I got here and how the journey has changed me into who I am and into who I am becoming. Through stories, special features, and prizes I will be remembering, enjoying the moment, and gratefully celebrating.