Free Thoughts: 2021 Win Session
The blog is back. Das a win.
And guess what we’re talking about today? Wins.
My last full-length blog post was penned in May 2020. I’m super proud of it because it was a labor of love and I had a ton of fun writing it. I did a few posts shorter posts here and on Ko-Fi but by June I stopped. I think it was around that time that I (and the rest of the world) realized that COVID-19 was here to stay after the lockdown (which lasted roughly 2 months in my area).
Despite that, AD (writer turned podcast co-host) pushed me to launch our podcast. So I threw myself into learning how to navigate and manage that for the rest of the year. Once I got my feet wet, I dedicated the beginning of 2021 to bring the rest of BINACT up to speed.
The full year of 2021 brought along some eye-opening, incredible wins. Allow me to list some highlights and wax poetic about why they’re so important to me:
I found my critical voice and shifted my creative mindset.
This is HUGE for me. I’ve always been one of those Type A/Type B people. Let me explain. For the most part, I’m very Type A. I like plans and schedules (so my planner and cell phone calendar are nice and tidy), I'm skilled in math, and I create and refine processes for a living. However, I have a very active Type B part of my makeup as well. I have a strong passion for the arts (music, fiction novels, theater) and I picked up writing in middle school. Sometimes my Type A and Type B sides conflict and Type A can be really loud and critical. In turn, I struggled with having a ton of negative thoughts about the Type B side. Whenever I would have a creative idea, Type A voice would come in with something to tear down the Type B side. Through lots of introspection with my creative consultant, Nora, my therapist, and the BINACT team, I learned how to find harmony between Type A and Type B voices to create my critical voice. I am overjoyed!
I trusted myself to invest in BINACT.
If you know me well, you’ll look at this win and say, “Girl, you’ve invested in BINACT the entire time.” And you’re completely right. From booking one of the largest live music venues in Columbia, SC 3 years in a row (2017 - 2019) to monthly independent artist showcases (2018), I’ve spent a pretty penny on BINACT. And I’m not mad at it. 2021 was the year that I trusted myself and my investments. Previously, I threw money at BINACT to buy its affection (and others’ affections) instead of fully trusting myself. Don’t get me wrong, back then I thought I was doing the right thing. This is more of a “hindsight is always 20/20” type reflection. Still glad I’m here.
BINACT became fun for me again.
This ties into the previous win slightly. In the throws of trying to make everyone else happy with BINACT, I lost sight of making myself happy with BINACT. After the last live show in 2019, I took Summer and Fall off in hopes of coming back harder in Winter 2020. That worked…sort of. After that break and the cultural reset that was lockdown, I made a point to find joy in making BINACT content. I got out of my comfort zone. I started podcasting (we 1 year strong, babyyyyy). I MADE A VLOG AND A SCRIPTED VIDEO Y’ALL. And I had fun doing all of those things.
