FREEBIE: Your Word of the Year (And Mine, Too!)
(WARNING: Long, sappy post ahead. If you want to skip this and go straight to the download, scroll away! I won’t be offended. Promise.)
The new year is upon us and 2020 is coming to a close -- and I think I speak for everyone on planet Earth when I say don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. Yes, some wonderful and beautiful things happened, like the birth of my sweet little red-haired baby Opal in September. But in terms of everyday shittiness, 2020 takes the cake. The nasty, hair-covered cake.
Every year, I like to pick my “word of the year.” This word is meant to give me some focus, and help guide my decisions and actions throughout the year, like a kind of mantra. In 2020, my word was “elevate.” As in elevating the status of my business, elevating the idea of what calligraphy can be, elevating the events I held and participated in. And it was going really well. I was booking more events, selling out classes, preparing to teach a class to more than 200 students in LA, and was even selected to teach a class at the uber-cool Alt Summit. And then… well, you know what happened.
Suddenly, it wasn’t about elevating anymore. It was about surviving. It was about making it through the day, heavily pregnant in 115 degree heat with a busy toddler, no childcare and nowhere to go. It was about figuring out how to keep the business afloat now that events had dried up indefinitely and there would be no markets or art shows for the foreseeable future. It was about coming to terms with the fact that my family wouldn’t be able to meet my baby… and still haven’t. It was about finding the strength to get out of bed in the morning after spending the whole night crying.
As weeks turned into months, the idea of “elevating” was far from my mind. In part, of course, because it just wasn’t feasible -- there’s no way to work upscale events if there are literally no upscale events. But also because I realized that I only chose “elevate” as my goal because it’s what I thought I should do. I mean, it was the next logical step in my business, right? But what being stuck in the house surrounded by all this suffering made me realize is that the world needs joy. And joy doesn’t have to be high-end. It doesn’t have to be perfect and flourishy and gold. It can be simple and quiet and messy. I found my joy playing with Crayola markers. Making mail art. Painting dolls. Writing silly songs and poems for my girls. Showing my 3 year old how a sewing machine works. Baking so, so many cookies.
In a year where joy was hard to come by, I found it in those moments of making. Not just making by myself, but making with others through virtual workshops, online classes, blog tutorials and TV DIY segments. You should know that I leave each and every one of those events with renewed energy and love for creating. Joy means different things to different people at different times in their lives. For me, at this time and place, joy is homemade.
So that’s my word of the year: homemade. Using my hands, making things that didn’t exist before, failing, succeeding and everything in between. Both in my personal life AND my work life. That means you can expect lots more tutorials, videos and classes. And not just on calligraphy. If you know me personally, that means you’re probably going to be getting lots of baked goods dropped on your doorstep, and invites to craft parties the literal second we all have our vaccines.
Now you know my word of the year -- so what’s yours? Think about it. Sleep on it. Try a few words on for size. And when you find what feels right, write it down. Bonus points if you do it in calligraphy. You can keep it to yourself, but if you’d like to share it with the world, I’ve got just the thing. If you aren’t already a newsletter subscriber, join below to receive your free 2021 Word of the Year Powersheet. Once downloaded, add to your stories, fill in and share with the world! Or just use as your phone lock screen. You do you, girl! But if you do share, be sure to tag @hooplaletters so other folks know where to find theirs.
Congratulations, everyone. We made it to 2021. Now let’s make this year count.