Re:Good Things.

My dad says my blog posts are morbidly depressing, so let's make this one decidedly... not.

This year, I made a solid $4.21 on Redbubble. Someone bought a phone case I designed. T'was a turtle in a puddle, holding an umbrella. It definitely sang of spring-time. I definitely drew that in five minutes before dinner. But hey, someone bought it! By someone, I mean my friend, Austyn.

Knee dislocation by sneezing. I did that. Twice. A genuine feat of nature.

My school started to incorporate more diverse books into English curriculum - right now, we're reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Though I'm not impressed by the effort being put into teaching these books (see my rant from early December), I'm happy they're there. It's a start.

Abby got into an amazing youth apprenticeship program; she'll probably go in for construction management, and I'm so proud of her. 

Outside my window at our new house, I have my very own Snow Queen and a whole host of tweety birds. Anne Shirley Cuthbert would be delighted. And I have a window sill, with lots of plants and vintage bottles and trinkets! Do you have a window sill? I never had one before. 

I ate a chocolate ice cream under a hot orange sun.

Crucial social justice issues are garnering more attention, from individuals and corporations alike. It's revolting what it took for us to get here. There's a long way to go. But maybe we are going somewhere.

There were letters from Denver, letters from Copenhagen, letters from Spain. Lots of them (and a few with wax seals).

I reached and surpassed 1,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Health workers are superheroes.

Three different stories I wrote were published in three different lit journals. Interestingly, they were my stories, not stories I made. 

As of December 29, 2020 at 2:28 PM, I've read 123 books. I'm going to try for two more before January. 

I wrote an obscene number of scholarship essays, because college is expensive. 

Gennabee gets to invent new drinks at Dutch Bros. now. She's pretty much the coolest.

When my camera broke from overuse, DJI said they'd fix it for free. I'm pretty sure they gave me a whole new device instead. That's pretty cool. 

We saw a Purple Tella Tubby on a motorcycle (the embodiment of 2020) on Halloween. 

Okay, so I haven't watched Queen's Gambit because I'm reading it first, but, boy oh boy, am I falling in love with chess. 

Virtual choir was uber educational and actually super fun. It turns out editing is my 'thing,' the kind of thing where you forget to eat, never get tired, and sort of don't want to stop, ever. Ever. 

I narrate audiobooks now, which is a blast, except I learned I've been pronouncing 'macabre' the British way all my life. That was embarrassing. 

People I love are almost done with high school. I'm so excited for them. I'm so sad they'll be gone.

The lucky bamboo plant (my life's purpose) Hannah gave me is still alive. It's surpassed its life expectancy by two months, I'm feeling a bit proud, and I have about five new plants in the IKEA cart I probably won't buy. 

I'm an INFJ, and that is about as significant as the type of chocolate Buzzfeed says my personality resonates with most. But it's fun anyway.

The soles of my shoes are worn out from long, long walks. I have discovered I love walking, and orange sunsets. 4:37 PM in the winter is a glorious time. 

Taylor Swift! Evermore! Folklore! 

The election is over. 

Somehow, I'm not failing AP Bio, even though I still sort of feel like it's the first day and I'm remarkably clueless. 

My Spanish teacher is going to let me skip into AP Spanish Lit, and I cannot express the magnitude of my excitement. I adore language. I hope we read Don Quixote, which I've been meaning to pick up since my fifth grade teacher told us about the wind mills. 

Abby found the rubber yellow frog you gave me once. It's on the aforementioned window sill.

The two items I purchased from ThredUp saved 155 gallons of water, 35 pounds of CO2, and 68 kWh of energy. I'm also pescatarian now, because sushi is everything. Gotta love the environment.

Grandma and I talked each and every day.

I'm here. You are too. 

Here are some of my favorite things from this year:

Recipes: Easy Gluten-Free Pancakes, P'at Lassi, Disney's Gingerbread Cookies, and brussel sprouts roasted with garlic and balsamic vinegar.

Music: "Light Years" by the National, "State Lines" by Novo Amor, "Asleep" by the Smiths, "coney island" by Taylor Swift and the National, "Re:Stacks" by Bon Iver, "I Know the End" by Phoebe Bridgers, "'tis the damn season" by Taylor Swift, "Holland, 1945" by Neutral Milk Hotel, "Brook Revisited" by Adam Melchor, "peace" by Taylor Swift, "Goat" by French for Rabbits, "My Rajneesh" by Sufjan Stevens,"Boston" by Dermot Kennedy, "champagne problems" by Taylor Swift, "Could It Be Another Change" by the Samples, "Cherry" by Harry Styles, "Walking on a String" by Matt Berninger and Phoebe Bridgers, "Warm Me, Winter" by Hudson Freeman, "Like Real People Do" by Hozier, "Lady by the Sea by Stephen Sanchez, "exile" by Taylor Swift and Bon Iver, "2021" by Vampire Weekend,"Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners.

Books: The Mothers by Brit Bennett, The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Having Our Say by the Delany Sisters, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Normal People by Sally Rooney.

Happy almost next year, my friends.

Photo by Allec Gomes on Unsplash, Photo by Josh Couch on Unsplash, Photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash