As my solar return approaches…

This year for Halloween, I dressed as Bee from Bee and Puppycat, my new favorite TV show. It premiered on Netflix only about a month ago.

I went to Peddlers Village with my friend and I got recognized a few times, which I totally did not expect! The absolute highlight was when this mother walked up to me, told me that Bee and Puppycat is her daughter’s favorite show and said her daughter wanted to take a photo with me! It was so adorable. The little girl was so shy but I could tell that she was really excited. It was so pure.

I hope everybody had a fantastic Halloween! Halloween marks two weeks until my birthday. So, I’m definitely feeling more reflective, especially over this past year since my last birthday.

This was certainly a life-changing year. The biggest change, being my shift in career. I was starting to think I’d stick with my prior job forever, but it really hit me last spring that it was time for something new. I became super burnt out. I was really content with my company, but I knew I couldn’t be an animal care tech any longer. It wasn’t my ultimate path, but it was still a vital stepping stone.

In the past year or two, I watched many great coworkers leave, people I considered best friends of mine (even if we didn’t always talk every day, even if we didn’t do anything together outside of work.) It’s always upsetting when someone close to you leaves, but ultimately I have to be grateful for that. If certain people never left my department, then I never would’ve left either, and that would’ve held me back. You shouldn’t base your career path off of other people, especially when you know that you’re meant for something else.

And actually, this past year there were a few prior coworkers I reconnected with after they already left the job. These are people who I would never see outside of work. But no longer seeing your friend almost every day, gives you that motivation to make a point to see them again. Like, for example, going to the Lunar Faire with my friends Christine and Rachel. So, I’m grateful for people who left because 1) it allowed me to move forward on my own path and 2) it actually made us closer, because it gave me the motivation to reconnect.

Anyway, my new job is going really well so far. I feel that sense of belonging in which I know that this is the right path for me. I like how I was able to stick with the company, but work in a completely new environment, in a different lab with new people. I’ve met some incredible people so far, who are kind and funny, and that’s another aspect that helps me move on from all of the people I’ll miss from my prior job. Although, I still occasionally run into my old coworkers, which is awesome.

I love mixing and measuring things, it feels very witchy, like I’m concocting potions! I love how much focus it requires; it’s like a meditation in which I can drown out the world and zoom in on a single detail. I love working in a lab and being on my feet, but balancing time at my desk/computer, so I’m getting exercise without overly exhausting myself. Today, I had to walk back and forth between buildings a few times, and it weather was so nice and it made me so happy.

And of course, there’s going to be complaints about every job. Work is work. But I am genuinely happy. It’s been almost two months, and I’m at the point where I can work independently on many things. However, I still have so much to learn, and will still be in training for several more months.

Now, besides work…

• I did a lot of research into my family history; I connected with many distant relatives through my family history blog posts — who I’ve never met, or who I haven’t seen since my childhood.
• I published my second novel.
• I saw Dillon Francis and Yung Gravy in concert with Connie; we also saw Alt-J and Portugal the Man.
• My brother got married!!! I have a new sister! We traveled to the Dominican Republic for the wedding!
• I promoted my two books through Instagram book reviews.
• My Guinea pigs, Skull and Bones, passed away. Rest In Peace.
• I completed the 30 day yoga challenge.
• I made many tarot videos on YouTube and one went viral, currently 4.4k views (I know that’s not much for some, but that’s A LOT for me!)
• My mom’s assisted living home opened up and eased Covid restrictions, with more family events happening more often.
• I got a second round of goat yoga!
• For the first time in six years, I got to see my best friend from high school again!
• I read many books. Not as many as I was hoping for (I set a very high expectation), but still many, many books!
• I learned the basics of Latin language, and hope to keep moving forward with that.
• I took a Shibari healing class.
• I learned palmistry and completed the level I and level II courses through zoom classes. I meet some cool classmates and had the honor of being taught by Mack and the Zodiac!
• I know we’re not in the clear, but everything regarding the pandemic has significantly improved since this time a year ago — last December was probably the worst of it.

And I’ll wrap it up with this. This past spring and summer I made a deep connection with someone. I’m not sure what the future holds for me. I am a very open minded person. Sometimes I get easily frustrated with people but I don’t hold onto my anger. I feel my feelings in order to release them. I’m thankful for all the people who come in and out of my life, and just because endings are sad doesn’t mean that new beginnings aren’t twice as exciting. I do believe in setting people free, even though I can struggle with that, but we are all meant to go down our own paths. Sometimes that path leads you back to someone and sometimes it doesn’t. I hope that bravery can help me make my highest choices in life.

This is me one year ago: