Hi there, friends! If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been unusually inactive as of late. I thought today I’d write a little rambly post about where I’ve been, what’s been going on in my life, and where I hope to go from here!

To start, as you know I moved to Nashville in February and it’s been… a little rocky, to say the least. I found a great job when I first moved down here only to lose it a month later due to circumstances beyond my control. This knocked me down a few pegs and also left me in a tricky financial spot – I’m living with my parents for the moment so I didn’t have to worry about paying rent, but I couldn’t do much at all with no money coming in!

I finally found a new job on a temporary basis and fell in love with it. I also upped my freelance work to try and make up for the financial setback that came with not having a job for an entire month, but this turned out to be a terrible idea. I was exhausted, burned out, stressed, and had no energy whatsoever left over for any of my hobbies. I felt lost, like everything that made me “me” was gone and like I was a massive failure for not even being able to keep up with the things that made me happy. At the same time, though, I felt like my work gave me purpose and I was unwilling to give it up.

This month I finally put my workaholic self in her place and dropped 90% of my freelance writing. I’m still grappling with the ways in which capitalism has made me equate my worth with my level of productivity. I’m trying to embrace the downtime and tend to my own needs instead of forcing myself to constantly create output.

Last week, my temporary position turned into a full-time job, which makes me SO happy. This job is not what I went to school for nor is it something I would have ever thought I’d do, but it makes me feel so fulfilled and doesn’t drain me, so I still have energy to work on my passion projects (like this blog!) Sometimes you really just have to go with the flow and see where you end up.

I feel like I’ve been treading water for months and now, even though the shore is still so far away, I have hope for the first time in a long time that things are going to be okay. I’m writing a bunch of blog posts in advance so I can keep up with my weekly posting schedule, I’m working on a fantasy novel just for fun, I’m devoting more time to reading literature I admire so that I can become a better writer, and I’m making small steps towards breathing new life into my spiritual practice. I’m eating better than I have in a while (I actually went vegetarian in April – would you want to see a non-preachy blog post about that?) and I finally feel like I have some control instead of just getting swept along by the current.

I’m hoping I can move out of my parents’ house and into my own place before Samhain. I’m trying to make time for exercise again and I’m making a conscious effort to spend more time in nature, which always makes me feel better.

I’m not going to lie – there have been many “day ones” since coming to Nashville. So many times I promised myself things would be different, so many times I’ve made a “fresh start,” so many times I’ve failed over and over again at the same small goals. I have no guarantee that this time will be any different, but I feel like my improved circumstances are finally allowing me to give it a real try.

Summer is always a tough season for me, but fall is just around the corner – and isn’t fall when witches feel most alive, anyway? I’m looking forward to what the coming months have to bring, and I hope you’ll stick along for the ride <3

Are there any posts you’d like to see from me? What are you interested in learning more about? Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!