March 21/2021 Update

The nature of this year has me feeling fairly stuck. I've been unmotivated and my creative energy is quashed. I have to force myself to do things I normally can't wait to start. Because of these Covid Blues, I'm not making progress on my goals ... because all 21 are creative in nature!

As a recap, the 2021 goals I set at the end of last December were:

1. To attempt 21 new-to-me artforms
2. To flesh out my word-of-the-year: Explore
3. To recreate images that other photographers have made using the hashtag #tryittoosday
4. To pair a daily walk with listening to an audiobook that I only listen to while walking. This way I can ingest more books each year while at the same time be motivated to walk.

Number One just isn't going to happen, so I'm re-adjusting my goals to make them more doable. I'm taking the 21 artforms off the table. I hope to still do some this year, but I'm not going to make them my goals. I just don't see how I can reach that goal in the next nine months. 

Here are my revised and simplified goals:

1. Recreate 21 images that other photographers have made using the hashtag #tryittoosday
2. Flesh out my word-of-the-year: Explore
3. Pair a walk with listening to an audiobook. 

21 Goals: Try It Too-sday

I've already completed eight #tryittoosday photographs in the first three months of the year. That helps me believe that I can manage to create 21 of them by December. The photos are proving to be really good challenges. They require both creativity and technical skill. They're giving me a reason to work with my "big girl camera" again and sharpen my skills. Figuring out how to compose the photographs forces both hemispheres of my brain to work together.

I feel particularly proud of the photograph I produced last week, the rubber bands on black.

Word of the Year: Explore

As for exploring, I only did a little in March. Jodie and I went to Ruff Park to photograph the magnolias. After that, we took a long ride out into the countryside northeast of Eugene/Springfield. We went as far as Sweet Home on Route 228. It was a very pretty ride.

We also did some geocaching out towards Alvadore, northwest of town where we ran into some wild turkeys. That day, we also visited this old schoolhouse.

I've got my first dose of the Covid vaccine under by belt, so in four more weeks I'll feel more free to get out and about. I hope to initiate more explorations with my husband and daughters then. 

Audiobooks

As for the walks and listening to audiobooks, that's going quite well! I've already listened to ten books this year -- eight of them were in March! I love how many books I'm consuming this year. I finished my nineteenth book this afternoon! 

My favorite audiobook of March was Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back by Jackie Speier. I adore biography and memoire. Over the last year or so, I've become aware of Jackie Speier through interviews on TV regarding all that goes on in the US Congress. Her story is eye-opening. I gained so much respect for her.

Making the decision to revise my goals has freed up some mental bandwidth. That, in turn, gives me motivation to "keep my feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."

At least, 21 of them.