Muse and Mischief

The week after Christmas is like a whole different world. Everything feels like a state of flux as we reconcile the past year ending with the coming of the new one. It is a confluence of nostalgia and possibilities that puts me in a unique frame of mind. It’s a celebration of old and new where looking ahead means taking stock of where I’ve been over the past 365 days. 

2025 was an interesting year to say the least. On a personal level I had several milestones. My youngest started first grade, I made incredible strides in promoting my own mental health, and I finally started the medical portion of my transition journey. Professionally I encountered moderate success at my day job as a project manager with successfully launching a major project for the company I work for. 

As far as my Creative Profession/Passion, I really feel like this was my biggest year yet. I published my first novella in November, of which I did everything from writing to cover art to layout. It’s surprising how my hopscotching through majors in undergrad would pay off like this. I maintained a consistent writing schedule and produced three novellas, a second draft of my first novel, and wrote 43k words on my second novel. 

All of this while dealing with a world that spirals out of control and a government who wants to remove women like me from society. As a trans woman, it has been a very hard year and next year isn’t looking too much brighter for us. 

Looking ahead though there are bright points when it comes to my family and my career. I started this last year and I like how it kept me focused so I created a new Bingo Card for 2026. This one is geared mainly towards my Creative Career, I also have a more personal one that is just for me. 

My corner squares are dedicated to my major writing goals for the year and two squares are dedicated to my visual art projects. There are some squares for career growth and personal growth. The TikTok square is a stretch goal in relation to a sketch series I am launching just before the summer. 

I really tried to have a healthy blend of aspirational and realistic goals for 2026 so I feel good about what I have here. 

How about you? What is your year in review like? Are there any big goals for 2026 that you’re excited about?