The last time I posted here was almost a year ago. In 2021, I accomplished a lot of things, did a lot of thinking, and lived my life unapologetically to the fullest. Same as I do every year. Ever day. Let me fill you in on what I’ve been up to.
I still remember the frustration felt as I typed my last post, I Think I Have A Problem. I had an uncanny urge to try out digital art, but that was a hobby that could become quite expensive, and I didn’t want to waste time and money on another failed project.
Well I did it.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ll elaborate more on that in a bit.
2021 is particularly memorable for me because in January, I hit a milestone birthday, The Big 30! Wooo!
Honestly, I feel great. I find that I don’t miss my 20’s. Don’t get me wrong, my 20’s were exceptional, especially in the latter half of the decade. But I’m ready to close the chapter and move on to a brighter, better future.
It actually feels like nothing’s changed at all, hence the reason I’m still loving and living life. But I managed to have a bit of fun poking jokes at myself in the birthday video I created on what turning thirty felt like.
As a birthday present to myself, I bought the Microsoft Surface Pro 7. This device turned out to be the resolution to my earlier dilemma. With a detachable, yet fully functional keyboard, and a delightfully slim and light formfactor, this 2 in 1 became the perfect drawing tablet and replacement laptop.
I wasted no time in trying out my digital art skills. I watched dozens of YouTube videos, took a digital painting course, and even created a new Instagram page @lifeinhdarts to track my progress long term. As expected, I’m not practicing as often as I should be, but it’s still fun and I’m keeping at it. Here are a few of my favorite drawings so far!
I may have told a little fib earlier. I said that the Surface Pro solved the issue highlighted in my last post. In truth, it only solved the specific issue of wanting to try digital art without wasting money. Because even if my art hobby goes nowhere, the Surface Pro is still a major upgrade from my last laptop.
My drawing itch is sated, but I still possess the overwhelming problem of having overambitious goals, working on too many things at once, and not seeing any of them to completion. Let me fill you in on a few of the projects I’m working on.
2021 Projects & Hobbies
Writing a fiction book that I hope to publish – I’m constantly writing and rewriting it such that the beginning chapters become more developed, and the ending chapters are non-existent. But I’ve made some solid progress this year, and soon, I might be able to share some more details.
Working on improving my art so that I could illustrate said book – This might be wishful thinking, but a girl can hope, and it’s been an incredible journey so far.
Maintaining my vlog YouTube channel, See Life in HD – I say maintain, but what I really mean is “posting whenever I feel like it and not worrying about the pressure of uploading with any type of consistency.” I’ll admit that my vlog channel hasn’t been a priority this year, but I still managed to put out a couple fun videos, like My day in the Park with my Drone on July 4th.
Maintaining my gaming YouTube channel, betrix3000 – I currently have 74 subscribers, which is about 30ish more than I had last year, so Hey! Progress! This channel has taken up about 85% of my free time for the last 3 months as I played through the masterpiece of a game, Outer Wilds.
Learning how to play the songs “Nocturne in E Flat” and “Rhapsody in Blue” on the piano – The former will take discipline. The latter will take a miracle. But I’ve got the first few measures down for each of the songs, so I’ll take my wins in any form that they come.
If I focused on one of these goals, I’m certain I could have completed it, or at least made major progress in 2021. But Nooooo! I must do everything!
At the end of the day, I’ve decided that, for me personally, the journey matters more than the destination. My mind is constantly buzzing and eager to learn something new. If I die and don’t accomplish anything else in my life, at least I’d have had a blast along the way.
That was a taste of all my 2021 hobbies, but there are other tasks / milestones that I managed to accomplish in 2021. “Adulting Projects,” if you will.
Things I’m glad I got Done in 2021
Cleared out my boxes – When I moved into my apartment in 2017, I took a few weeks to unpack all my essentials, my wants and needs, then proceed to leave the remainder of my boxes filled and stacked in the corner of my living room. There they stayed for nearly four years until I took the initiative to unpack them and replace the spot with more flattering cube shelves from Ikea. Victory at last! It’s so freeing and blissful to finally have decluttered that corner.
Got vaccinated – This pandemic has not been fun for anyone. While I do enjoy the perks like working from home and having a valid excuse to not see anyone if I don’t feel like it, the cons and devastation from this virus far outweigh the pros. I’m proud to say that I’ve done my part to help stop the spread by getting vaccinated against Covid-19.
Finally getting my teeth fixed – My front four teeth were discolored and crooked, to the point that I hardly ever smiled showing my teeth anymore. I finally got the root canals and crowns necessary to fix my teeth in June. It cost a pretty penny, but was well worth it. Look at that gorgeous smile! I got my confidence back!
Paid off my car – 2017 was a major milestone in my life. As I mentioned before, 2017 was when I first moved into my apartment on my own. That’s because I graduated from the University of Memphis with a BS in Computer Science in that year, and started my first “real” job with benefits.
Well, as a graduation present, I also bought myself a brand spanking new car in 2017! And after 4 years of faithful payments, that car is fully paid off and 100% mine as of August 2021! Woot woot! *Cries & Cheers* As a reliable Toyota Rav4, I plan to keep this car for a good long time and it feels so good to not deal with car payments anymore. My next car, I’ll be buying in cash.
Replaced my windshield – Speaking of car victories, in 2021 I finally fixed that abhorrent crack that had been spreading across my car windshield for the past 3 years. In January of 2018, I noticed a hand sized crack starting on the bottom left portion of my front windshield. I didn’t want to deal with it then, even though I knew instantly that the whole thing would need to be replaced. Like a child, I ignored it and let it spread artistically across my entire windshield for the next 3 years. Not anymore! I’m an ADULT! And I FIXED my windshield!
So that was my 2021 in a nutshell. It was fun. And busy. It felt so short. And in other ways, it felt like an eternity. Why is it that the first half of the year always feels longer than the latter half?
It’s a week before Thanksgiving, and I still need to figure out all my holiday plans. Like the procrastinator I am, I expect the holidays will fall into place right on time as they usually do.
Meanwhile, I’m still in the works of planning my trip to the Dominican Republic for a wedding that I’ll be attending in May, 2022. Such excitement! More on that later!
Thanks for keeping up with me. I want to take this blog and turn it into something real and meaningful. That means I’ll have to post more often.
New Year’s resolution, mabe? I can make it work.
Stay safe everyone!
Heather
