Reflections on Inspirations and Aspirations

I was planning to title this piece “My Aspiration for 2024 Is to Bug the Living Daylights Outta Vocal Until They Kick Me Off the Platform.”

Why would I consider such a ridiculous title, you may wonder. Well, if you were to see my 2023 reverb, you’d notice that my most popular piece of the year is “Math is Hard”, ahem, a haiku in which I trolled Vocal for not being able to count.

Obviously, it was a joke, as would have been the above-mentioned title, had I chosen it. But that’s not why I’m here, at least not all of it. Truth be told, my most popular (by leaps and bounds) piece last year was “Heaven’s Curtain,” a haiku about mourning and finding peace while looking at the moon. It didn’t make the reverb list because it was actually written in December of 2022.

2023 was a good year for me on Vocal. I won first place in the Blue Haiku challenge for the aforementioned “Heaven’s Curtain.” I also placed second in a fiction challenge, and recently, was awarded a runner up in another poetry challenge. I have had numerous top stories, built a following inside the Vocal community, and reached over 15k reads.

But all of that is just numbers. What I’ve really gained this past year on Vocal is a stronger appreciation of community support and more confidence in my writing overall. Those two go hand in hand.

When I first joined in 2021, I wrestled with every piece I published. I questioned whether they were good enough, whether I was good enough, and whether anyone would see any merit whatsoever in my writing. I like to think that I’ve improved dramatically since then. The numbers I’ve referenced above, while still just numbers, help me to believe in myself more, and to have a greater confidence that, just maybe, my writing does hold some merit after all.

Those who follow me on Vocal, are aware that I do have a goofy sense of humour, and I will continue to showcase that in 2024. I will continue to make light of darkness and make fun of myself and my cat Abigail and yes, I will poke fun at Vocal every chance I get.

I think being able to see the humour in difficult situations can make this crazy thing we call life a little easier to navigate. I intend to remind myself of that in 2024 – in my writing and in my outside world.

Life can be hard. Life can be a complete bitch at times, in fact. Sometimes you’ll think she’s your best friend, and she’ll blindside you with a swift kick in the teeth and smile at you while you’re down. You can choose to cry over your broken incisors, or you can pick them up and try to reconstruct some degree of sanity, and maybe even a tidbit of happiness along the way. And maybe, just maybe, a little humour will help you when you need it most. I intend to find the humour in the darkness and make it a little bit brighter this year. Or at least I aspire to.

*

There once was a silly old Newfie

Twas said was really quite goofy

When she challenged life

To a fifteen-round fight

Her smile was a little less toothy.

*

Sometimes it’s hard to do, I know. Sometimes, life doesn’t simply kick you in the teeth, it runs you over with a steamroller. It leaves you burnt, broken, and dislocated from any sense of positivity. And it’s not funny. Sometimes it hurts, and the words that fall out hurt. They are mournful, dramatic, introspective, or just downright depressing.

Sometimes there’s nothing good to be said and those are the times when you need to say it anyway. I intend to do that as well this year. I will vent, I will purge, I will cleanse. I will do whatever it takes, and I will write what needs to be written to grasp that tiniest sliver of inspiration peering through the enveloping anguish.

*

A warm acceptance

Shines rays of sweet memories

Then storms brew anew

*

I will look for inspiration in all that I see. In the past, I have found it in both the happiest and saddest of moments. I have found inspiration in life events, world events, celebratory events, and I have expressed outrage in social injustice events. I have found inspiration in the simplest of things – like my cat, or the floors that ground me, or a tea kettle, or even a vacuum cleaner.

I have found it in you, fellow Vocalites. I have smiled. I have laughed. I’ve cried and I’ve screamed. I’ve been humoured, shocked, mesmerized and angered while reading your stories. I’ve found a sense of peace and moments of chaos. Mostly though, I have found inspiration; not just in the stories you write, but in the friends you have become.

You challenge me. With the words you write in your stories, you challenge me to aspire to improve my own craft. With the supportive comments you write on my stories, you challenge me to be even more supportive to others and to genuinely appreciate the community we have built.

I want to continue with and to expand on that 2024. There have been numerous challenges, both official and unofficial, that I chose not to enter last year. My reasons varied from “too busy” to “nah, I’m not feeling it” to “that’s too hard,” and everything in between.

I aspire to change that. I want to find the time. I want to make myself feel it. I want to shut “that’s too hard” in the back of a closet, never to be seen again. I want to remind myself that it wouldn’t be called a “challenge” if it was easy, and I want to do it anyway. I’ll never guarantee that I will enter every one I see, because as we all know, sometimes life just gets in the way. I will, however, challenge myself to be more involved than before, and more supportive than I already am. And if all else fails, I’ll just get Abigail to do it.

Good luck in 2024. May all our inspirations fulfill our aspirations and may we all find success in the coming year. Because we deserve it. Because we can do it. But mostly, because……

she’s judging all of us.