It feels like months since I have last written a blog post, but really it’s only been one.
I’ve written three drafts of this blog post, each one not feeling right. That may be my inner critic talking, bashing me down. Truth be told, a lot has happened in only a few months, and it’s hard to figure out where to start.
Throughout most of my life, particularly my journaling life, I have had one singular journal, where, every week or a few days or so, I would write down long, complex entries, things that happened since I last wrote, along with trying to keep up with the news.
As I grew older, and thus busier, I had less and less time to journal in that style. At the end of 2022, as you may know, I was dealing with a lot of stress—I lost my job, had buckets of self-doubt, and didn’t know who I was or where I was going.
At the advice of one of my friends with dealing with anxiety, especially anxiety at night, I started another journal—one to only be filled with the stressors of the day, so that at the end of the entry, the things worrying me would be on the page, and I would have a better time sleeping. These entries were shorter, had a bullet point style, and I didn’t bother to be personable with it. I started this second journal—which I had dubbed my “nighttime journal” with one intention—to BURN IT (again, at the advice of my friend).
That…didn’t end up happening. Soon, I was being more honest and raw in that journal, and that journal style, than I was in what I had soon called my “Monthly Journal,” aka the main journal. After finishing both of those journals at around the same time, I made the decision to adopt that style to all my future journals—not tying myself down by a formal style, or having to write only when something important came up. Plus, writing every night has helped me a lot with dealing with my anxiety.
This is a long-winded way of saying, that’s how I will format this blog post! (I know that I owe no one an explanation, that this is my blog, my little corner of the internet, and I can do whatever I want with it (within reason, of course)).
Without further ado:
- I got a job offer in a field I am interested in
- Quit my bartending job
- Went through a lot of my belongings, getting ready for a fresh start in a new city
- Moved out, and moved in with one of my best friends
- Got a new therapist
- Started TWO UCLA classes (Video Game Writing and Copyediting I (the former is the first of two electives I need to take to finish out my Screenwriting for Film Certification, and the latter is the start of my Editing and Publishing Certification! What can I say, I love learning)
- Made lots and lots of new friends
- Doing my best to be a self-sustaining adult (I know people think it’s “cringe” to say “adulting” these days, but let’s be honest, how else would you describe budgeting, meal prep, feeding yourself 3x a day (plus bonus snacks), acquiring new skills, and getting yourself to work on time, EVERYDAY? Plus socializing, fitness, a proper diet, sleep, and mental health?! When you figure it out, you come back and let me know; until then, I will continue to be “cringe”)
There you have it. Thank you for coming to another instalment of the “Life Update Series.”
I have a lot of plans for this year: book reviews, movie reviews, creative nonfiction, more creative writing, the possibilities are endless. I am very much looking forward to seeing what this year has in store.
E. A. Young Writes 