Year in Review

I took this picture while visiting the Jellies exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium downtown, and I think they make for a great metaphor of my entire 2011 experience. It's a bit of a stretch, but I'll try not to sound too cheesy.

Jellyfish are free-flowing creatures without a central nervous system, and manage to exist out of practically nothing -- their bodies are 95% water, with the rest being a mix of gelatinous material aka "Jelly" that's transparent and fragile -- capable of living geographically anywhere in our oceans. They can't see very well, they only eat when they have to, and let the water's salinity and currents determine where they should go to meet with other Jellies and stay safe.

Taking all of this into consideration, I was fascinated by the fact that a creature whose biology and body mass is made up of so little could survive to be the oldest multi-organism on Earth, with 600 million years and a countless number of species on its belt. Call me a sap, but I feel like one day the Jelly decided to choose Life over Death with evolution, and make good with what little it had.

Looking back at my pursuit of happiness for 2011, I have to say that my experience this year has been like the Jelly. I've made decisions passively rather than passionately for the sake of survival because of the fact that I couldn't afford financially what I wanted to get into. San Francisco didn't happen, I moved to Chicago without a secure job, and my creative mojo suffered because of it. I applied to a graduate program in counseling to 'stay safe' about my professional future in something I was already familiar with, rather than continue with the 'starving artist' idea. I have been juggling 3 part time jobs to pay the city bills. In the same way the Jelly move with the water's current, I feel like I've been letting myself move along with whatever Life is bringing me.

The funny thing is... it's been five months since I moved to Chicago, and I know that my pursuit of happiness has a long way to go... except I can't really say that I'm unhappy.

Great things did happen to me in 2011:

-I got paid for a online comic strip submission.

-I got to experience my first serious relationship.

-I wrote my first spec-script without any prior screenwriting experience.

-I read "Gone with the Wind."

-I took my running hobby to a new level with 5ks and 10ks.

-I moved to Chicago, and can now say to people I actually do live in Chicago.

-I lost a job at a bakery after 4 1/2 shifts, only to get another job months later at another bakery who's cupcakes could make the first bakery's cupcakes cry in shame.

-I walked into a job fair at the Second City -- the Second City -- and now get to work in the same place that made people like Steve Carell, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler who they are now.

-I started painting on canvas again.

There really isn't much to complain about, even though my artistic endeavors haven't been the same. I'm happy with this small support group I'm getting with writing, the opportunities I'm having at my jobs to socialize and have fun... not to mention still keeping in touch with my family and enjoying the 20Something life with an awesome roommate!

Next year will be interesting, hopefully less-Jellyfish-like with more persistent choices on my career plans and finances as I stick to the city life.

ChristmasTime is here

Let the holiday-related decorating begin! I spent a good amount of time drawing those Christmas tree ornaments that hung from my place of work. =) My roommate and I also want to get a Christmas tree to squeeze into our new apartment, which will be fun, since I've never had a tree of my own.

Anyway, life has been really busy, but fun. I managed to go to the ChristKindlMarket downtown for the first time, and I bought me a nice knitted hat and had a delicious crepe and hot cocoa. Perfect for the wintertime! I also returned to the Lincoln Park zoo and drew some more animals to get my artistic skills rolling again. My writing is going smoothly as well, though I didn't completely finish NanoWrimo from last month - part of the reason being my crazy work schedule - but I did manage to make 30,000 words. It's the most that I've ever done!

Today I went to a special info session for the Nickelodeon Writing Program at Columbia College, which is the same fellowship program I applied to last year. I'm almost tempted to go for this again, because it sounds exactly like the kind of thing I would enjoy doing as a job: writing for television. I'd spend a year in Burbank, CA, working with professional writers and producers at Nickelodeon Studios and pitching ideas for shows. I can write a spec script and turn it in by February and cross my fingers that I get a phone call in October of next year. The problem is... I'm broke. I'm working 3 part time jobs without health insurance and paying rent in Chicago basically out of my own pocket.

It's also frustrating to think that I don't have a concrete plan for next year... how everything I apply for and things I tell myself to do are based off of a gamble.

I'm not 23 anymore. I cannot afford to think like this, nor can I afford to just sit around and brainstorm life plans for myself without actually doing anything about them.

Here are some things that gave gathered dust in my room while in Chicago these past four months:

- Arts & Crafts supplies. I have a huge newsprint pad and a painting easel that haven't been used since I moved in, and drawing utensils that have been used a handful of times.

- Graphic Design books & a Bamboo Tablet. My sister gave me that tablet for my birthday, and it sucks that my computer cannot really handle it. I miss digital art.

- Japanese textbooks and CDs. I used to think that if I had the open time to learn, I would learn. It started out like that in September, but then it became the excuse of not having a decent iPod to listen to the audio lessons.

- Cookbooks. I wanted to cook a lot more from the moment I moved here, but alas, buying food gets expensive, and cooking gets very time-consuming. And GroupOn deals don't really help, either.

- my DePaul University Grad School acceptance letter. It's funny, because I wasn't even excited when I got accepted. I haven't even said 'yes' to starting in the Winter Quarter, or ever, for that matter. The quick reason is finances - I'm already in a student loan hole - but another reason is that I'm not... excited... about doing the counseling program. It was one thing to talk about working with kids, talking to people, being Emma Pillsbury in Glee... but when I really thought about it, it was more about making people feel better about my situation, less about me. I visited the counseling department after I got accepted, and it just didn't feel right, like I walked in there by accident.

On the bright side of things, I have been exploring the city and running. I've managed to land some great work on my own that aren't brain-dead jobs, and that, if anything, are helping me grow and become confident as a person. I've decided that before I curl myself up in the "school" safety blanket again, I need to keep trying this real world experience... be the struggling artist, take the occasional class, work hard, pay the bills, network... and be happy.

And not feel bad about not having time for everything on her list.



It's the type of thing that a girl in her late 20s should be doing, anyway.

=)