Some Things I Should Mention

Despite my lack of audience, I feel like I need to talk about my absence from the blog. I feel overwhelming guilt about it, though I know that isn't necessary, warranted, or helpful by any means. I also feel weird about my dramatic "boo" post, but I just had to say something. Maybe to prove to myself that I hadn't stopped thinking about Outlandish Lit.

I just had too much stuff going on to feasibly keep blogging. Not too much stuff for every person in general, but for me. I got a job in addition to an overbooked school schedule, my relationship turned long distance, and I was working on multiple senior film projects. And running a club on campus. I was at school actively doing things from 8 to 6 every weekday then spending my weekends trying to get caught up on all of my homework. I was really stressed and didn't know how to handle it. And it sounds like I am just rattling off excuses right now, but that's not what I'm trying to get to. I'm trying to get to this:

A List of Great Things I Accomplished This Fall

Because I don't need to feel ashamed and I don't deserve to be ashamed.

1. Got a regular job that I do well
2. Learned how to 3D model
3. Held successful NaNoWriMo events at my school
4. Helped 7 people complete their NaNoWriMo novels
5. Finished my third NaNoWriMo novel in 10 days (I pray nobody ever lays eyes on it)
6. Wrote several short stories in my fiction class that I'm proud of
7. Performed at a poetry/creative nonfiction reading for the first time and killed it
8. Made a lot of amazing new friends that I don't secretly hate
9. Finished Project 365 (where you take a picture every day for a year)
10. Learned quantum physics (with actual math and equations, not just concepts - YIKES)
11. Knitted socks for the first time
12. Learned that I need to give myself free time to be a normal person

I know I let my blog slide, but I just didn't have time to make it a priority. Now I know that I have to take better care of myself. I'm learning how to time manage. And I'm excited to start reading books more regularly and read about everything I've missed out on from my favorite blogs. I'm going to lay low for a while in the blog world. I've got a schedule of posts and several drafted already. I'm not going to link to them on Twitter (except maybe this one, so people know I'm not dead). I'm just going to get to a place where I'm having fun blogging again first. I'm going to spend my time reading and commenting on my favorite blogs. I'm the one making these things stressful, and I have to learn to enjoy what I'm doing without being hard on myself. If you're here, thanks for giving me a chance.