Here we are at the end of 2021. What a year of lows and highs! I’ve broken down this post into three sections. Here’s a rundown of how my 2021 looked like.
January Through April
January
I decided to create a website on January 15, 2021. I’ve always wanted to create a website and have a space where I can showcase my art, thoughts, etc. Click here to see the first post on this site ever!
I’ve decided to have a word for the year. My word was “Enough.” I have a blog post dedicated to it here. I have been working on changing some mindsets and learning to lean on God some more. Overall, it’s been alright. It’s still a work-in-progress and there are days where it can be challenging, but I’ve become a better person than I was last year!
February
This year I celebrated my 22nd birthday! I decided to take the day off from work and treated myself to a free Starbucks drink LOL (btw, I got the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino). Sometimes you gotta celebrate yourself! Jam out to the ~famous “22” song~ and read my post here.
I’ve also been writing letters to my friend during the middle of the pandemic (we’ve decided to become pen-pals). She lives only 7 minutes away haha but it’s always such a nice surprise when I see the letters at my door. Take a look here to get started on a pen-pal journey.
March
Towards the end of February and early March, I went through the interview process for a grad school program. This was my first time being interviewed for grad school so I have some tips and thoughts that you can find here.
April
At the start of April, I got to take grad photos with my friend Julie. A big congrats to her! Her blog post can be found here. She’s also a fellow photographer, so go check out her website, Julie Frappier Photography.
I ~finally~ got a callback from the grad program… and I’ve been rejected. Not gonna lie, my initial reaction was to cry (it’s okay to cry! 😉). It was not a great feeling at all. However, slowly but surely, I started to move on and learned to take care of myself. If you need a little pick-me-up, take a look at this blog post here.
May Through August
May
Moving onto a new chapter of 2021. I’ve been planning out some ideas and decided to take a step into self-publishing. There were lots of little details that had to be addressed, which took a couple months. But they were worth it because I was able to self-publish my first social-emotional/social issue children’s book, “It’s Okay To Cry.” You can purchase your own copy of the book here. And I’ve documented a little behind-the-scenes of the book photoshoot, which you can watch here.
June
During this month, I did my best to market my book and introduce my book. Thank you to everyone who supported me (and continues to support me!). To find all the information about my book, “It’s Okay To Cry,” take a look here.
I also got to take another grad photo at the end of May. Another big congrats to Valerie! Take a look at her grad photos here.
July
This month, I went through some old high school art projects. It was a nice little blast to the past. To check out some of my older art work, take a look here.
August
This fall was a little different because it’s my first time NOT getting ready to go to school (in over 16 years!). It got me thinking about the last four years of my college experience! If you’re going into college or you recently graduated, let me know what you think about this post here.
September Through December
September
Towards the middle of this month, I began working full-time. But before that, I was trying to get some little projects in. I’ve started on a portfolio, so hopefully that will be out soon! Some plans fell through, however, which made me learn how to handle situations in a mature, adult way (as much as I could anyway 🤷 I’m still learning). Instead, I wrote a piece about some podcasts I’ve enjoyed in 2021, which you can find here. I would listen to these podcasts every week as I get ready for work. It was a great way to start my day because it gets me thinking and entertained (“Unsolicited Advice” is one of my favorites!)
October
This month marks my one month of working full-time (wow! this is adulting). It’s been a journey. I was going through some personal stuff (phew, again, I’m learning and growing… but it’s been rough not gonna lie); but thankfully I had something to keep me busy. Here are my thoughts about working full-time.
November
November has been a pretty quiet month for me. I haven’t gotten around to doing a lot of artsy, fun stuff. However, I tried to create a list of future projects to do (possibly a new children’s book in the future?!👀) Let’s see if I’ll follow-through with them! I also had some time to reflect as Thanksgiving rolled around. Hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving.
December
At last, we are in the final month. Thankfully I was able to get some time-off so I worked on some fun Christmas light photoshoots, which you can take a look here. I literally blinked and it’s finally the end of 2021. How crazy is that?!
Thank you so much for being a part of this creative journey with me! Happy New Year! Here’s to another year filled with more fun projects!
XOXO
Pauline
