Looking Back: Reminiscing On The Old Year

As we approach the new year, I think it is a good time for looking back on the year that is coming to a close. How can we know where we are going if we forget where we have been?

Personal Growth and Adversity

I think this was a year of a lot of personal growth for me. It has been a very introspective year for me. There’s been a lot I’ve dealt with, from working through unresolved daddy issues to exploring a reawakened creative spark.

The year started off with my wife having surgery. Although that surgery went smoothly, she ended up having to have a followup surgery by the end of the year to resolve unforeseen issues that arose over the summer. I will say we’ve definitely had our challenges this year.

In the spring, I rediscovered my creative spark. I found a creative inspiration and started writing again for the first time in years. What started as a short story attempt quickly grew beyond that. And even though I’ve shelved that story for now, I look forward to returning to that world in the new year.

Another aspect of my writing that was reignited was my blog. This post marks my thirty-second consecutive week posting a blog entry. My writing has ranged from extremely introspective to strictly informative. I am trying to focus my writing on where my heart leads me, but I also have a few new paths that I would like to venture into in the new year.

In my personal life, I’ve still struggled with the loss of my grandfather last year. I also at least have made some peace concerning my father that I had long been estranged from.

Professional Life Stability

With all of the changes in my personal life, my career has been one of the more stable areas of my life. Even though it was a crazy busy year at work with new projects galore, it was one of the biggest sources of stability for me this year.

With my creativity blooming, I have found that I would love to eventually parlay my writing into another career. Only time will tell if that actually happens. Until then, all that I can do is keep writing and try to improve as much as I can.

That’s a Wrap!

That wraps up 2017! Now that we’re done looking back, we can all look forward to 2018, whether it is with hope or trepidation. I hope all of you had a great 2017, and that 2018 is even better for everyone!

Housekeeping: In expanding my social media reach, I’ve created a subreddit, /r/waynecochranwriting/. If you’re on Reddit, be sure to subscribe to my sub. I’m currently working on backfilling links to all of my existing content. Once that is done, I’ll be posting links to my new content here as I publish it.

Teaser: Come back next time when we’ll discuss keeping your passion alive.