Where Am I Going, Where I Have Been: 2022 in Total Review
Those of you who read last week's post will know I managed to accomplish quite a bit this last year, but 2022 as a complete year hasn't been the easiest year for my family and I personally.
Back in March of this year, my mother had a medical nearmiss that required surgical intervention. Thankfully, because my brother coached my father and she while in the emergency room, she got the treatment she needed and is doing better now. (It really pays to be your own advocate in medical situations when the need arises.)
Things seemed to be doing well until July—the month from hell—arrived. My father had his own series of medical fuckupperies, followed by a professional one that I won't go into, but the circumstances of which royally pissed off everyone in the family. And my family holds grudges. You wrong one of us, and we will all carry a hatred for you in our blood to our graves.
Once he got better, we suffered our first full familial tragedy when my cousin Roger passed away. He'd been through a lot in the last several years, but even though he was far too young to have passed, his passing at least afforded him the peace he deserved.
Again, things seemed to improve until the final triumvirate of horrors hit us at the end of this year:
1. A school shooting ocurred at my old high school, Central VPA, resulting in the deaths of two people, a student and a teacher.
2. My Uncle James Died.
3. One of my oldest friends (I've literally known him since before he could talk), got hit by a car, which almost killed him, and ended up spending over a month recovering in the hospital.
Having gone through all of this in the space of a year, you'd be right in asking, "So, Ian, after all of that, why haven't you been waking up every morning curled in the fetal position and screaming 'FUCK!' before going about your business?"
Good question, and there's only two answers.
1. No clue.
2. Because I've kept writing through this chaos, despite everything.
The thing about finding yourself behind the fan as the shit hits it is, after the first time, either you learn to cover your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth prior to impact, or...you learn to keep an umbrella handy.
Writing has been my umbrella through all this.
The habit I established at the start of this year of writing for a couple of hours, 4-5 days a week has sustained me through all this hardship. I've never considered my writing a form of therapy, but consistently doing it has had a therapeutic effect on my state of mind. Thinking back to past years when my family's endured a lot of hardship, I seldom came out of those years in good mental shape. Why? Because I had no consistent mental refuge to turn to when things got tough emotionally. Now, with this consistent habit, I've whethered the worst much better than before.
Despite everything, I'm actually feeling good about 2023, a feeling I haven't quite had to this extent since perhaps since the end of 2018.
My year of blitzing magazines with story submissions has hardened me in a good way that will help with enduring the query trenches. I have a consistent work routine that will help me produce my next novel. And I have confidence in my abilities as a writer to produce stories that I both like and that others will like too.
There's no knowing what 2023 will bring. Hell, nobody could've seen what the last three years have thrown our way. But I'm ready for it, whatever it ends up being.
I hope you have a good rest of 2022, Funny People. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and Happy New Year.
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