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Word for the Year // 2015

January 1, 2015August 25, 2015 Crystal // Dreams, etc. 1 comment
Word for the Year // 2015

Happy 2015! Who is excited for the new year? I know that I am!

2014 was a great year. I didn’t accomplish all that I had hoped to, but I also did something that was completely unexpected by taking a new job and leaving the company that I had worked with for almost nine years. I’ve been so blessed by that move and I’m thankful that it happened. And now I’m ready to finish a few of the projects that I didn’t get to in 2014 and start working on some new ones!
I’ll be sharing my goals for 2015 next week, so keep an eye out for those. Today I want to share my word for 2015. I’ve been contemplating my word for a little over a month now and I’ve thrown around plenty of options. Most of them have been “directives” for the year, but eventually I settled on a reminder:

imperfect

I don’t think I’d call myself a perfectionist, because I don’t try to be perfect in all aspects of my life. I realize that I am far, far from perfect. (Let’s be honest, who is?) But I still expect a level of perfection from myself in certain areas of my life: writing and art.

I want my first drafts of novels to be perfect, even though first drafts are never perfect. This expectation that they should be inhibits me while I try to write. My inner critic can be quite vocal as I write and it can slow down my progress. And my expectation that first drafts should be perfect can prevent me from taking risks. As I’m writing a scene I’ll think, “This is ridiculous! This won’t work and I’ll be told to take it out.” But that’s the beauty of a first draft; you can take risks and if a scene truly doesn’t work, you can find a way to make it work or take it out altogether. From past experience, some of the scenes that my inner critic screamed at became my reader’s favorite scenes. So why not try them out?


I also expect my drawings to be perfect and photographic, even though that’s not my talent as an artist (or even the kind of drawings that I’m capture my attention the most). I expect my sketchbooks to be filled with perfect sketches, even though they’re not supposed to be. I love getting glimpses of my friend Heather’s sketchbooks whenever we meet, because it reminds me that sketchbooks are there to try things out and to work on details that you need to practice, whether that’s a hand, a stingray or a mermaid tail.

In 2014 I displayed my word on the back of my bedroom door so that I saw it every day and this constant reminder kept my word on my mind at all times, so I knew I wanted to display my word for 2015 too. I plan to display my word in a frame on my nightstand so that I see it first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed. I haven’t put it in a frame yet, because I think I might have one that I can use. Time to dig through some boxes!

I can’t remember where I heard this or who was being talked about, but I heard about a writer who keeps a print of a Jackson Pollack painting by her computer to remind her that what can be seen as chaos can also be seen as art. Ever since I heard that I thought it was a brilliant idea, so I wanted to incorporate this idea of paint splatter chaos as art into my display for my word. I made the painting in the photo above, but realized when it was finished that it would be too dark to write my word over. I still plan to frame this one and keep it on my desk.

I redid the painting with lighter colors and wrote my word over the paint. I chose the French version of the word, because I think it’s prettier and because I’d like to brush up on my French throughout 2015. I have this in a frame on my nightstand so that I see it morning and night.

What’s your word for 2015?

I will have the book club discussion post for Landline up later tonight. The past few days have been pretty busy and I haven’t had a chance to put it together yet.

 

Happy New Year!

 

 
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About Crystal

About Crystal

Hi! I'm Crystal, a millennial learning how to live slowly and sustainably, while still seeking adventure and following my dreams, etc.

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One comment

  1. Loyal RUN says:
    January 3, 2015 at 10:51 pm

    Love this! My word would have to be "explore". I'm so tire of being stuck in this stand still that I am in. Time to get out of my comfort zone and try new things šŸ™‚
    I would love to frame a piece of your work and put it in my home! You are outstanding!

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hi!

I'm Crystal, the storyteller behind Dreams, etc. I'm all about learning how to live slowly & sustainably, while also seeking adventure as we follow our dreams, etc.

Hello, friends! šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Swipe through for a few g Hello, friends! šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Swipe through for a few glimpses from January. As 2022 came to an end I had this feeling that I was preparing to hibernate and I guess, in a way, I have. I’ve been slowly easing into the new year, focused on getting back into a few routines after Iceland and the holidays. And it’s been a great month. I can’t believe it’s almost over. What have your favorite moments of January been?
2022. Looking back on this year it was the year of 2022. Looking back on this year it was the year of so many dreams experiences. Whales. Cape Cod/Nantucket. Iceland. I saw musicals that have I’ve been dreaming of with Moulin Rouge, Wicked, and Six. 

It wasn’t without its stresses and rough moments but I’m grateful for the good that can be found, even when it’s hard.
Let’s journey back to November for the second we Let’s journey back to November for the second weekly dam walk of the month. My dad joined me for this one and we made it somewhat fast because it was a chilly day. ā€œThe water looks cold,ā€ I said when we back to the car.

Between Iceland and the below zero, windy, and snowy weather we had last week (which came with requests from my parents not to go) it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been to the dam and I miss it!
Years ago I celebrated Christmas and New Years in Years ago I celebrated Christmas and New Years in Vienna and it still lives in my memory today as such a special time. I know December in Reykjavik will be the same—and not just because I came home with a little over $100 worth of ornaments of all 13 Yule Lads AND their mom AND the Christmas cat. (There was a little bit of miscommunication between my mom and me on that shopping trip. šŸ˜‚)

It might have been cold (and when that wind hits you don’t want to be outside or by the harbour…I speak from windswept, breath-stolen experience and will forever be grateful for the library we eventually found respite in) and we only saw the sun a few hours each day, but seeing this already charming city decked out in Christmas lights with a skating rink and the prettiest tree secured it’s place in my heart.

Reykjavik, I hope to see you again one day. Soon. Probably not in December, but I’m glad I got to see you in December once.
Last year my niece and I visited New York at Chris Last year my niece and I visited New York at Christmastime and it was fun to see the city decked out in lights. I can also now say that I’ve seen the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and skating rink and the Saks Christmas lights, but I’ve also seen the crowds they draw.

It was completely different in Reykjavik this year. You actually had a chance to skate on the ice rink if you wanted (and I never did the conversation, but I think it’s cheaper) and you could actually walk up to the Christmas tree. Two very different Christmas in the city experiences.
Iceland, Day 2, Part 2. We ended the Golden Circle Iceland, Day 2, Part 2. We ended the Golden Circle tour with a stop at Thingvellir National Park. My fingers froze as I took these photos but it was worth it to capture this view. šŸ˜ PS - the last photo is from a lake we stopped at on our way from Geysir to Thingvellir.
Iceland, Day 2, Part 1. We went on a rather unvent Iceland, Day 2, Part 1. We went on a rather unventful Northern Lights tour the night before and slipped in a few hours of sleep before meeting our bus for the Golden Circle tour. Our tour guide was @busdriver_annie and she was amazing! Pictured: Faxi (the small waterfall) Gullfoss (the big waterfall), a wool market where we also saw some animals, and Geysir (the hot springs area). Geysir is actually the most famous geyser in the world but it doesn’t erupt anymore. However, Strokkur erupts every 5 - 10 minutes. I’ll share more photos from the tour soon!
Iceland, Day 1. We landed bright and early at 6:30 Iceland, Day 1. We landed bright and early at 6:30 am, dropped off our bags at the hotel, and went exploring. We saw HallgrĆ­mskirkja, the amazing view from the bell tower, the rainbow street, and walked down Laugavegur. Swipe to the end to see the view from our apartment!
Scenes from November, which were mostly at the dam Scenes from November, which were mostly at the dam apparently.
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