Pausing work on another, longer blog post about what I’ve been up to in order to acknowledge the changing of years. Of decades, even. This time of year makes me extra introspective and saying good bye to an entire decade? Yeah, I’m in deep.
This has been a decade of loss. My dad, an uncle and aunt, a brother-in-law, my husband’s grandmother, both of my grandmothers. I had a miscarriage. Trump became president. People I know and love have gone through enormous amounts of their own heartache.
But damn, has this decade been epic. I built a house and had a kid. I traveled to Ecuador and Turkey. Theatre made a huge comeback in my life after a decade without and I landed some amazing roles like the governess in Turn of the Screw and Mina in Dracula. Hell, I’ve even been able to do some work as a film extra and been paid for acting. I started attending writers conventions, made amazing friends, and sold a couple stories. Now I am so much closer to being the writer I want to be and able to tell the stories as I dream of telling them.
For the next year–the next decade–I wish that the world becomes a kinder, more equitable place, that we all just explode with our arts, and that we make major strides in healing the damage we have done to our planet.
I already know that my future is filled with stories and adventure and possibilities. The good won’t stop or prevent the bad, but the bad won’t stop me from enjoying every moment of the good. So let’s bring it.
Melissa Burkart 