Life in 2021
One of the things that surprises me about my twenties is just how different every year can be. In the five years (almost six years) I’ve been in Austin, every year has had significant changes, mostly job changes, except maybe 2021.
From 2016, when I moved to Austin, to 2019, I was changing jobs at least once a year. I lacked consistency. Since my last job change in April of 2019, I’ve been in the same job, which is nice for consistency, but I never anticipated 2020.
2019 was full of good changes (new job, bought my first car, and got my boyfriend), while 2020 was just about surviving.
2021 was the first year in the middle, where I just felt here. Confined to my 600 sq foot apartment, I felt stuck, literally. 2021 was about trying to figure out how I find the magic in the stressful, but mundane, life.
Besides my writing, that didn’t go all that well, it’s funny to me the things I did accomplish. I managed a few writing goals, like writing the draft of Justice and Lies, and launching my patreon.
The one goal I had that surprised me the most was my career-related goal. At the end of last year, I set a goal to do four job interviews in 2021, just to keep myself in practice for whenever it was time to leave where I’m at.
I got six interviews for three roles. One gave me an offer, which I turned down for a few reasons, and the other two I didn’t get because of experience, but it was great to just put myself out there and try. The more you interview, the better you get, and even if I’m not actively looking to leave my current job, practice is always good.
In fact, because of my day job, I finally filed for a DBA, so I can do things like open a business bank account and hopefully get business funding in the future. In 2022, one of my goals is to form an LLC for my publishing. If not for my day job, I wouldn’t understand anything about business formations. So I will always be grateful for the free education on business formations.
This year also felt like a lot of waiting, specifically with my day job. Waiting for the next shift bid so I could get a better shift or waiting to see when we go back to the office (which we aren’t). 2022 will be about working with what I know now, not waiting.
2021 also saw changes in my personal life. In January, I lost my pup of 12 years and didn’t realize she was sick until after my family called to tell me. A few months later, they adopted a new pup. He’s a cutie (and he loves to investigate with his teeth first), but he’s not my pup. Our dog, Aggie, she was mine. She knew exactly who I was and was excited to see me every time.
The few times I’ve gone home and she’s not there, it feels a little less like home each time. It was a year where I realized I need to make my own home and my own choices. 2020 was about survival, 2021 was about taking stock in my life could look like, and I hope 2022 is where I make it happen.