Deadbeat daughter dreams

My Vocal+ renewal payment failed to start off the new year, and rent is about to NSF for February.

Last month was desperately covered through credit, and I’m even seeing a decrease in selfish Vocal stories. Don’t be fooled, readers - I still lack funds available for these bills, but after a moment of self-reflection, I realized this community means more to me than I once believed, even more so than working out or eating, as you could overhear me saying last week -

I want to get new workout equipment to get me through these -30 celsius deep freezes - and that Costco haul, you ask?! I desperately need it to provide some nutritious foods to storm this weather with my stomach!

If paying $135 CAD to ease tension and bring a bit of joy gets me evicted, I want to believe it was worth it - and have the faith that writing and working hard to sell belongings will gently slide the debt down a metaphorical slide.

$99 USD hurts tremendously, but when I hovered over the cancel button on the Subscription page, I felt my heart flip a switch - literally... now I know what those rappers are talking about when they sing about it incessantly.

I was on the verge of bursting into sobbing tears simply thinking about losing this community, who have each in some way brought my confidence up to shine more than any therapy, drug or relationship attempted in the last few years to save me.

You would think, then, that my goal for 2024 would be to win as many challenges as possible here, in order to rack in the cash and pay some bills, but that could not be further from the truth.

Below you’ll find dreams I’ve had within me for the past year -since joining this community in January 2023 - and with my own space to create throughout 2024, which I pray I am blessed enough to keep, it will allow me to pursue these writing dreams with ease and excitement...

and for that I thank each and every one of you, taking the time to read this post and help accomplish these ideals - which have been itching to get on yours screens, after a year or so of suffering.

Before I get into these, I wanted to take a moment to give a special thanks to all my readers throughout 2023.

Your kind comments and even a December Top Story to end the first year on Vocal have influenced my spirit and dreams more than I could ever begin to explain properly.

I do not deserve any of this, but am thrilled to have your support guiding me humbly through this new year’s journey as I accept these accomplishments and move diligently.

If you have commented or liked any of my 43 stories this past year, it includes you - a true dream supporter, which is much appreciated ♥

✎ Blog Posts

The main type of content writing I want to begin exploring this year is blog posts - a variety of topics to share, with bits of information for the community. Not only will this provide an outlet to express ideas and opinions, something typically my journal entries only see, but will also allow for branching out and exploring all the great communities Vocal has to offer - learning more from others while sharing some knowledge back.

Some examples I’ve already drafted throughout 2023 and the beginning of 2024 include mental health stories and struggles, recipes and food-related topics, regenerative agriculture, and history facts and fiction.

On top of this, I have a deep-rooted desire to share creative works including arts, photography and music, whether it be reviews or a recommendation for readers, to support other creative avenues and eventually showcase my own creative works in those fields.

This would allow me to explore communities like:

• Beats
• Confessions
• Earth
• FYI
• Humans
• Longevity
• Motivation
• Photography
• Psyche, and
• Viva, to name a few (or more)

Now, let's get into some of these topics in some more detail.

Sustainable recipes and hormone-happy eats

2023 began with a naturopath journey, learning about topics ranging from diets, hormones and inflammation to how it affects our mood and overall well-being. Inflammation-friendly foods and loose leaf teas will spotlight their own digital series (and I swear, indulging in alcohol prepared me for some of these bitter remedies!)

Homestead cooking throughout the Feast community will be featured by me throughout this new year, after the doctor prescribed foods to regulate hormones and feed nourishingly -

I’ll take this over needles and blood tests every week with simple meal prepping.

Biodynamic and regenerative farming tips

In theme with recipes and eating comes the farming process that feeds us each sustainably - namely, regenerative and biodynamic agriculture techniques. Some readers may be familiar with regenerative agriculture, being a hot topic in the producer world currently, as governments promote net-zero by 2050 and similar initiatives - globally.

Similar to organic farming, the principles encompass sustainable farming combined with ethical food production approaches - it goes one step further, though, and includes a holistic view of the process -> from farm to fork and beyond the trash bin in the form of food waste, which we need to do a much better job at reducing as a society.

This process embraces social, economic and, most importantly, environmental improvements to ensure land management and ecological health are well and sustainable for our future.

If this seems like a lot to consider simply to eat, then get ready for biodynamic principles - a heartier feat. Developed by anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner, this farming technique considers both the physical and non-physical, or the spiritual realm of cosmic activities happening within our world.

This may seem a wacky, supernatural explanation of farming abilities - but consider it a conductive way for us sapiens to work with nature, and not against it - as we are currently.

Both processes see the way chemical fertilizers and sprays have impacted soil health and crop yields negatively, but each go beyond typical organic farming principle to ensure sustainability was achieved on the field and beyond it.

A passionate topic of mine, being an agricultural data and policy analyst by trade for the feds here in Canada. I look forward to sharing tidbits of knowledge and best practices with you all interested in reading throughout Earth and Lifehack, for our sustainable-loving Vocal communities.

Navigating neurodivergence

After navigating the infancy stages of mental health diagnoses, I found an overt need for tips, tricks and vulnerable truths shared by those struggling with similar things. Encouragement is shared when people read and listen to the stories of others - especially when currently or recently experiencing struggles mentally.

This is a goal of the Navigating Neurodivergence blog series -> to teach others how to overcome each battle that commences, until the ceasefire is commanded.

As my battles are constantly ongoing, I want to encourage others who are feeling the same and validate any feelings of loneliness or shame. We are not isolated in this, and communities like Humans, Longevity and Psyche will assist (Vocally) with expanding knowledge of self-encouragement and hope, inspiring others similarly.

Non-fiction historical facts and stories

As I dig deeper into Eastern European familial roots, my desire for writing about their stories is rapidly unfolding. An attempt in this genre was posted on Vocal last year, aiming to expand my views through larger audience groups.

The opportunity to create inspiring pieces in the History and FYI communities brings a sense of pressure and joy to complete (and hopefully compete in friendly challenges), being so aligned with personal interests and abilities. Providing healthy motivation seems the best trick to sharing facts of non-fiction, and I hope you're ready for some heavy lifting.

Three major topics include:

• Romania
• Wars & genocide
• European royalty

Uncommon and interesting facts intrigue me, and I aim to share this curiosity with the larger Vocal Community as we dive into the heritage of Romania, Ukraine and Poland -> the grand cultural mixture creating uniquely me. As Canada has been home to my family for generations, uncovering hidden stories from our past and present mysteries remains another topic to write, which leads me to the interest in studying European royalty, including our mother country - the UK.

Personal stories and accounts may be included, especially once travel to Ukraine is safe once again. Meeting with family members and those who promote our heritage will be interesting to add in our unfortunately less-popular Interview community.

Historian roots seem to protrude deep within my familial groups as I complete research on Romanian ancestors along with a relative whom I’ve never met before -

The stories of these Canadian pioneers and how they came to be here is intriguing, and pushes me to accomplish these exterrestrial dreams - for the hardworking families who were never provided the luxury of having any.

From wars to genocide and political agenda shifts, all these and more will be explored with the Vocal Community and Team in the History, FYI and Interview Communities- all mentioned earlier.

Photography and ekphrastic writing abilities

2023 saw me exploring the beautiful British Columbia region, and a passion for landscape photography led to a slew of shots on the memory card -

Call this our modern-day National Geographic magazine, but I plan to share these adventures with all of you someday (though select photos have been shared as cover art recently)

Fellow creator Dana Crandell used the word ekphrastic in his challenge submission piece, which delightfully enlightened me - this was the phrase I did not realize I needed (shoutout to Google for educating me its meaning).

We really never stop learning, even through the Vocal Community!

After a quick stint of enhancing my vocabulary, I decided that my desire inside was to explore each photograph -> to create a story of each path, rather than inspire poetry as Dana’s had. Most adventures included hiking boots or a car zooming through mountainous valleys and peaks, which will bring a unique perspective to our Photography and Wander communities.

Expanding creator interaction (yes, you too!)

Receiving a Top Story in December 2023 was a gift itself indeed, but what made it extraordinary was that the piece was originally submitted for an unofficial challenge created through our very own Vocal community.

Not only was this an exciting way to interact with other writers and gain feedback on poetry, but I also experienced interacting with amazing new content creators that wouldn’t have been met without this community engagement by fellow Vocal creator and author, Poppy.

Realizing the importance of supporting others brave enough to share their stories, I look forward to supporting other creators through Facebook Groups, unofficial challenges and testing of potential publishing.

A welcoming way to interact in a personable way is through unofficial Facebook Groups dedicated to this expanding Vocal community. There are several competitive groups and Messenger topics to choose from, by simply searching and reaching out through posting. You are sure to find the right fit for you as a Vocal+ user on here!

Hidden gems among these creator-driven initiatives are the unofficial challenges shared throughout Facebook and other communities! The Top Story I bragged about earlier was actually received by posting for one of these challenges a fellow creator Poppy creatively prompted -> which I will plug again gratefully

There are many others challenge communities, and some still actively judging based on their creative scoring!

Once you get over the greed of winning money or boosting ego through publicity, these challenges become a thrilling way to expand your abilities while meeting like-minded poets and successful novelists in the making!

When you post stories on here, some creators notice and even subscribe to support you! A huge reason why I decided to pay and stay as a Vocal+ member was the people I interact with, typically daily.

Even though we’ve only communicated virtually between our various screens, I can’t help but feel a deeper meaning as we find ourselves supporting each other’s diversely changing stories.

A few names worth mentioning as they have gotten me through some unrelenting times (even if they didn’t know it - another great thing about this Vocal Community - its connection enhancing abilities) include Moe, Dharrsheena, and recently even Em, better known as Sleepy Drafts.

Their support vastly encouraging, ranging from:

• supporting me since the early days of sharing shyly
• constantly liking and commenting on stories -> no matter what the community or topic
• even meeting through freakishly creepy similarities about substances and fanged-beings 🧛

These are some fantastic ways to both motivate yourself to continue posting while feeling a LOT less lonely -> digitally...

I hope you’re not all robots & AI - because I’m just not ready for that level of virtuality!

Alluded to a bit was receiving feedback on writing pieces, and I expect this to be extremely useful as the 2024 dreams I’ll mention shortly will require mass amounts of editing.

What a joy it will be to utilize our Critique, Writers and Chapters communities for this very reason! Constructive criticism is the only way to grow abilities and expand vast knowledge of ideas, and us Vocal writers seem to offer extremely useful tips to reach success in these areas.

Speaking success, let’s dive into how I plan to receive just that!

✎ Publishing writing, competitively

Receiving 1, 2 & 3 CBC Literary Prizes

Becoming a published author is but a fantasy for me - but, as the late rapper Mac Miller famously says, ‘Follow your dreams’, which I intend to be leading with this 2024 season.

The CBC Literary Prizes page was located late last year, and disappointment washed over my face as I was late to submit in nearly all three categories - and nowhere near prepared to share writing publicly.

As intimidation settles in harshly this year - witnessing published authors and PhD’s longlisted and selected as finalists priorly - it has taken mighty courage to suit up for the task and create suitable pieces for competing -

Alas, my lack of education and writing publicity will not hinder these abilities, as I was born to believe I can do and, more importantly, create absolutely anything.

With that being said, a major goal is to submit writing into each CBC literary category for 2024, being passionate about all three:

• Non-fiction
• Poetry
• Short story

I will not spoil the submissions completely -> but prepare to see more historical writing and mental health pieces - possibly even critiquing me priorly through our Vocal Community!

✎ Binding poetry pieces for publishers

As alluded to throughout this verbal vision board presentation, mental illness has been quite the story over the past few years - for me, at least.

Instead of waiting until I can tell my ‘survivor story’, I figured it best to share the vulnerabilities of living through it, presently -

This is why another goal for 2024 is to publish a poetry book, highlighting this disability journey I’ve embarked on courageously -> throughout the last year especially.

Penguin Random House is what we are manifesting delusionally - no Jeff Bezos support around here (sorry Amazon Prime subscribers and authors!)

✎ Novels nominated for a Netflix series

This may come as a surprise to those who know me personally, as I have taken a hiatus from TV and movie streaming almost completely, but a visual series documented on the screen for enthusiasts to see is the ultimate desire to fulfill this writing destiny -

Imagine seeing a series accomplished right after 2023, the year I began writing confidently!

If I can believe along with other Vocal Creators and the Team, I sure hope the Netflix executives can see the potential in releasing this author’s dreams as a drama series.

Even better yet will be witnessing discussions throughout the BookClub Community on the stories I release - the ultimate conclusion to reaching these debut daydreams.

✎ ᨒ ✎

Following my heart got me through the tortures of 2023, and I know that 2024 will allow dreams to become a reality -> especially with the help of all of you Vocal Creators and visitors supporting pieces (which I hope to share on the daily).

Each like, comment, tip, subscription and Top Story provided are immensely cherished by me, and I look forward to attracting more readers through a range of interesting topics of discussion on Vocal consistently -

🐲 Year of the Dragon - is that what I smell burning? 🐲

Time to turn up the heat and compete - through Vocal Challenges!

~

Copyright © 2023 by Kalina Bethany. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading this piece for Vocal's #200 Challenge! Confessions utilize vunlerability, which this community has freed me to share openly.

Appreciate you leaving a tip and subscribing using the button below and also checking out some of my other work - it's FREE to subscribe and the support is sincerely appreciated ♥️