Every year for the past five years or so, in the final weeks of December, I’ve chosen a word for the following year. My “word of the year” (you’ve probably seen the concept in a dozen places by now) encompasses a trait or a goal or something else that I hope will serve as a reminder throughout the year to strive, to reach, to be myself in the most fully-realized way I can be.
My word for 2018 was BOLDLY. How’d I do?
Well…I had my first-ever book signing in February. I’ve since nearly finished another collection, due out sometime in early 2019.
We moved. We finally moved to a state and a climate that suits all of us much better! We moved to a town where we didn’t know anyone, and I chose our house on a solo trip beforehand. (No pressure, Mel!)
I opened a little art shop on Etsy after discovering my love of alcohol inks. I’m still fine-tuning things but it feels good to put myself “out there” in this new way. (I may sell more than digital art eventually; I’ve gone crazy for ornament-crafting again, too.)
There are more examples that my short-on-sleep brain doesn’t want to spit out in words at the moment, but you get the picture. I think 2018 has definitely been the embodiment of a bold year, for better or for worse! Gotta be careful choosing a year-word, as they tend to hold true in ways you could never have predicted.
Other words from recent years:
2014 — PURPOSE
2015 — AUTHENTIC
2016 — RESILIENT
2017 — ILLUMINATE (boy, did 2017 ever illuminate things in my life…not always for the better)
What’s my word for 2019? You’ll have to check back and see!
Are you going to choose a word of the year? I’d love to hear it if you do!
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