Hello, my lovelies! I hope you are all well.
Today want to simply give you an update on how post-graduation life is going and upcoming content.
To begin, the search for a day job continues, and it’s been rough. But I’ve been learning through it all. First I’ve been learning how to be confident in myself and the skills I’ve accumulated while in school. I initially looked passed on job listings because I thought I was underqualified. But some of my friends helped me understand how to see my past positions in a more professional light. When I worked in the church daycare, I demonstrated the ability to keep organized in a “busy environment while maintaining care and control of children.” While working on our anthologies together, I “navigated interpersonal relationships on a large creative project.” (I put these in quotations hoping if those friends read this, they will see this as a thank you)
Seeing my mundane experience described in such poetic forms boosted my confidence enough to see my past as something to be proud of. I soon understood that I wasn’t simply going to school and working part-time, I was multi-tasking and adapting to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment while meeting deadlines and cultivating relationships. Job hunting is exhausting (I bet you know that), but my grandmother reminded me two nights ago that I need to keep trusting God to provide. I already do, but sometimes it’s easy to forget and become frazzled and burnt out.
Meanwhile, I’m slowly tilling the ground, preparing it with fertilizer, and dropping in the seeds. Soon, I will get to water it. That’s just a fun way to say I’m cleaning my old bedroom of old things, preparing new things for it, and putting it all together. I haven’t decorated my room in about ten years or so. Adult Beth has very different tastes than teenage Beth. Haha! So, it’s time to give myself the room I’ve always wanted.
It’s kind of funny, actually. I saw a reel on Instagram a few days ago about waiting for the day you can afford your personality. The pictures in the reel were of some really nice libraries, desks, lounges, etc. I thought, “Oof, I’ve been there. I’m still there.” But then I stopped and looked around me to realize, “Well that’s silly. I’m working toward that goal now.”
What I mean by that is I will probably never be able to afford my personality. Do I expect to one day be making six figures a year so that I can purchase everything at once? Of course not! I’m a creative person, and last I checked, creativity doesn’t pay much money. No, I have to work toward my dreams, purchasing little things here and there until it accumulates into a dream come true. That’s the only way I will ever get there. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the beauty I crave, however small, every day. I counter, “Until I can afford my personality” with another quote I heard many years ago (paraphrased because I can’t remember the exact wording): “Don’t wait. Start living the life you want to have now.”
I know that’s easier said than done, and in some cases impossible. I mean, I would love to have my own family, have a great job, be a successful author, and drive my own car. But, I have to be realistic and work toward those goals. If I want my own car, there are steps I must perform to get there, and I’m working on it. Two of those steps are buying a car and getting my license. Those steps have smaller steps under them, such as finding a job and learning to drive. And the steps go on from there. But waiting for those things to happen won’t work.
At the same time, there are other things on that list that are out of my control right now. I, unfortunately, do not live in a Hallmark movie where I meet my true love by accident and fall in love, and get married in a few days, or a year. Nor can I simply adopt and support other human beings without a job or car. So having my own family right now is not possible. However, I do live with family right now. And I love and care for them, and they need me to help them. So, even though my family doesn’t consist of a husband and kids of my own, they are my family.
As for being a successful author, well, I’m working on that too. And believe me, I’ve wanted that author aesthetic for a while now, ever since I fell in love with writing at the age of thirteen and was allowed to have a Pinterest account at eighteen. It wasn’t until a couple of years had passed and I had accumulated (wow, I keep using that word today, my apologies) a lot of amazing pictures of writing desks cute little nick-nacks scattered across the surface, sitting at a window with a tree in front of it. I kept thinking, “I want that, so badly.” And one day, I happened to look at my desk at the right angle and realize I had subconsciously set my desk in front of my window with a tree in front of it. The desk had cute little nick-nacks scattered across it as well.
The living image before me blew my mind. I was so excited that I had it. I had what I wanted, and it didn’t take a fortune to get. I just assembled it, little by little, buying the various objects when I could spend a few extra dollars once that month, or in some cases, once for several months. I wish I had taken a picture of it now to show you, but I’ve changed it all up again, and it’s just as nice. In fact, it’s the featured cover photo for this post. Don’t wish away the time you could be using to work your way toward the life you want.
Where was I? I got distracted by the writer’s aesthetic and forgot I was going to talk about upcoming writer’s content. I mean, I can’t be a successful author without actually writing, right? So, for those of you who keep up with my Instagram posts, you know I am working on a new story right now. I’m still working on my full-length novel, but it’s still got a long way to go (delayed because of school). However, I am working on a novella that I really think you will like. I’m at 10,000 words, and I only started it three weeks ago! I’m also working with my lovely anthology peeps on a new set of short stories.
Amidst all of that, I also plan to get back into posting here regularly again. Because of all the above projects going on (what is that? Six of them, both creative and adult stuff?), I won’t pledge myself to two blogs and a short each month. Instead, I want to post one blog and one story a month. It’s more than I have been doing but less than before (which, let’s face it, I didn’t do so well keeping up with that schedule anyway 😉).
So, that’s all I have for you now. Be on the lookout for anthology updates, novella reports, novel progress, and a short story later this month. I’ll be back next month with a blog. See ya then!
~ Beth
Beth Freemont 