I Turned 24 Yesterday (and I’m Happier than I’ve Ever Been)

I know, not the most scintillating headline ever. Similarly to the way people say Taylor Swift’s newer music isn’t as great as her older stuff because her whole marketing scheme is built on heartache, this newest era of my life is looking really promising even if it’s lacking in the tabloid department.

Drama is so overrated, and I’m so thrilled that I’ve finally started to manage the complications in my life in stride. For my birthday yesterday, I got to spend the day at my cousins’ house, and amidst a lot of yummy food, bakery cookies, and a delicious homemade strawberry mascarpone cake – I felt so loved.

Life is what you make it.

Aside from the cheesy Hannah Montana reference, this sentiment is still really true. For my 24th year, I’m dedicating myself to trusting God over anything else. So much of my life (scratch that – most of my life is pretty unknown at this point, but that’s okay because I know He has a plan for me). And in the meantime, I’m gonna take it easy. Let life happen as it comes, stop overthinking, and let energy in any kind of relationship expand and develop as it should. Anxiety no longer has a hold on me, because I’ve become very mindful of my bad patterns and I do my best to re-route whenever I feel myself slipping again. Not that it’s easy – but it’s an important skill to develop. I literally can’t say enough about how mindfulness is such a game changer.

No – that’s not my motorcycle. I just took a picture on my uncle’s just for fun!

Family is the most important thing.

Not necessarily people you share genetics with (although it often can be). Family refers to anyone who unconditionally cares about you and supports you no matter what. As for me, I have both actual family and “found family” that add so much to my life.

Me and my cousins who made my day so special yesterday 🙂

But on the flip side of my life, I’ve also given myself permission to cut ties with people that don’t contribute to my life or my peace any more. No bad blood here though – but in my 24th year and beyond, I’ve decided that I simply no longer can afford to expel energy where it’s not returned. Something else I’ve learned with this, is that sometimes you miss that person even after making the right decision – but that doesn’t mean you were wrong. Your gut is king here, and honing that skill will only serve you as well as you let it.

Self-Care Matters.

This isn’t a revelation by any means, but I’m including it here anyway. If you’re anything like me – a chronic workaholic – then you know this is something that’s all-too-easy to avoid. But this is me starting my 24th year better. I’m committed to listening to my body and mind, letting my energy and mindset dictate how hard I push myself in my freelance work, as well as my author work.

Yes, the cake was exactly as good as it looks!

And yes, I know you’re probably wondering when you can expect to read the sequel to Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember (Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change) – but I swear it’s coming! I’ve hit the 90k mark, and I fully intend to have it ready for a summer release. If you’ve read the first book, you’ll probably get why that’s a hilarious marketing opportunity. Or, if you haven’t yet, you can take a peek at it on Amazon HERE. This book, and its sequel, are a major part of the reason I’ve been able to kick my more unhealthy mindsets and set my past to rest.

As you may know, I was bullied and ignored by my peers a lot as a kid, and that’s something I had to come to terms with the only way I knew how: through my writing. So that’s why I wrote a whole time-travel concept about my current self going back in time to revisit old bullies (while navigating the pitfalls of twenty-something romance). It’s been a tricky challenge but the more I publish about it, I feel lighter and clearer. There’s no better therapy then writing how you feel and launching it out into the world (or maybe I’m just weird that way, LOL).

Anyway, thank you so much for following my author blog! There’s so much I’m looking forward to sharing with you soon. Up next is Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change, and after that… will be a rockstar romance I have brewing. And I can promise you, it’s nothing like you might expect.

At 22, I dyed my hair pink. At 23, I got my nose pierced. So there’s no telling what 24 will bring. But I’m so ready – bring it on.

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Good Things That Happened to Me in 2020

It’s safe to say this year was collectively a turd sandwich for just about everyone, at least in one way or another. So I was thinking back on my year as we’re about to welcome in 2021 later this week, and along with it, a fresh start. And I realized something interesting, that I honestly didn’t expect: this year was actually pretty lucrative for me.

Sure, all my in-person book signings and concerts were cancelled (of course) and I do really miss all those things. But something I didn’t expect was how the creativity in my mind didn’t stop moving – not at all! It just leaked out in new and innovative ways that I probably wouldn’t have discovered had 2020 not happened the way it did.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m upset and frustrated at the craziness of the world right now, and praying that it improves soon, but through it all, I realized I still have so much to be grateful for. So, as we move into 2021 which is hopefully a significantly better year than the preceding one, I’ve outlined below some cool things that happened to me this year. My hope is that by reading the good things that happened to me, you’ll be able to reflect on your own year too, and get pumped for what’s up next!

1. My social media following grew.

Seeing as how everyone has been stuck at home on their TV and devices, I’ve been able to capitalize on my reach. The biggest example of this might be my Boston Sports Desk music article gig, which has seen a good handful of my article get like 80k views (seriously, I’m shocked too). My Instagram page @ angelinasingerauthor also just hit 900 followers today, so I’m pretty psyched about that! Additionally, this blog is pushing almost 100 followers, not even counting my Facebook and Twitter following. I’m so grateful for everyone who’s taken an interest in my work! I’ve also met more amazing new friends through social media, and I’m so grateful for them as well.

I also published my sixth novel, the sequel of which will be available for purchase hopefully mid-2021. In the meantime though, you can read the first book, Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember available on Amazon HERE.

2. Freelancing became my main hustle.

And I’ve never been happier. I spent the majority of the year and a half or so since graduating from college looking for corporate jobs, padding my resume, and just generally pulling my hair out trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to be doing. But as it turns out, I’ve been doing the thing I’m meant to do all along. And that thing is: writing. Through this gig, I’ve connected with some pretty high-profile people, like Tree Paine (Taylor Swift’s general manager) since I provided some media coverage on her latest two surprise albums Folklore and Evermore.

3. My diet got healthier.

Despite the temptation to binge on sugary carbs all the time since I’m home and there isn’t much else to do, I’m determined to cut down on my intake because I feel better when I eat more proteins and healthy fats. Don’t get me wrong – I still love a good late night bag of chips, but I try to only do that occasionally at most. Taking care of yourself, including amping up on vitamins, was critical to get through this year without getting sick. I’ll definitely be carrying those habits into 2021 too!

I guess this wasn’t really part of the diet thing, but I also got my nose pierced this year finally! I’ve been wanting to since high school honestly and I feel so much more confident with it than I did without it. And most importantly, it’s a promise to myself to be happier with my appearance and love myself a lot more than I used to. Overall, a win-win. Still figuring out why it’s taking months to heal, but I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles!

4. My faith in Jesus got stronger.

When everything is crashing down around you, turning to Jesus is the only thing that truly brings me comfort. He even helped me with frustrations about the pacing of my life, and how I worry that I’m so far behind everyone else. I’m 23, but it literally took most of my life to realize that it actually doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. The only thing that matters is doing what God has for you the best you can. I know for a fact that I’m meant to write, and that’s exactly what God has me doing – and I’ve never been happier!

5. My author association voted me onto the board!

This is very possibly one of the coolest things on this list, but I was so humbled and blessed by the opportunity! My main responsibility as a board member in the Association of Rhode Island Authors is to recruit more young adult authors to join up, so if you live in or around Rhode Island, reach out to me for more info! I’ll be setting up an Instagram (and possibly Twitter) account for them too so that everything will be more accessible to younger writers as well.

6. Landed a weekly blogging gig.

Semi-related to the author’s association above, one of my good friends invited me to join her writing team for the Inkitt Writer’s Blog. It’s a really cool platform where writers can share stories and ideas about writing. It’s a nice little paid gig, and I love doing it! Stuff like this is super productive and helps me fill my time post-grad. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone looking for something similar.

7. My music journalism expanded into a magazine.

Yet another plug through my author association, I met someone at an expo event a year or two ago who manages Rhode Island-based Motif Magazine. Then earlier this August, I reached out to them to ask if they had any writing positions open, and they said yes – freelancing. So now I do the bulk of their music critiquing for local artists and bands. It’s super fun to network this way, and I love that I get paid for my articles to be included in a printed magazine!

8. Finally met a long-distance friend in person!

This one, was probably the most incredible of the whole year. Still not over it, to be honest. When his family went on vacation within driving distance of where I live, he invited me to spend a few days with them. So I did, and it was just so surreal and amazing. I’m grateful for the time we got to spend together, and hopefully it’ll happen again sometime in the near future.

https://angelinasingerauthor.wordpress.com/2020/08/25/when-writers-meet-closing-the-distance-from-800-miles-apart/

9. Got out of my music learning funk.

As the pandemic wore on, my music teacher wasn’t as available for lessons, so I lost my rhythm (no pun intended, LOL). But that time away from more structured lessons gave me time to reflect and take a little breather from my in-depth music theory studies and guitar training. I’ve been learning guitar for over 12 years, and now I’m training to teach part time. Although it was a bit uncertain switching to an instructor who was more available (as I really admired my other teacher), I’m actually excited about a fresh perspective and new ideas. Very 2020 of me to say that, right? Like how life surprises us sometimes, but it’s what we do with it that matters. And I’m absolutely making the most of the opportunities I’ve been given to learn all I can!

10. Enjoyed more family time.

With nothing to do outside of the house, my parents and I found ourselves hanging out with the small group of just my aunt, uncle, and their two kids (my cousins) on weekends. We’re all feeling totally fine, and spending time together in a safe, home environment every week. We play games, eat a big dinner, and laugh a lot. It’s made my 2020 a lot brighter, and I’m so grateful for them.

I hope this little list of things I actually enjoyed in 2020 brought you to some of your own realizations. That maybe after all, this tough year had some good lessons in it. And that after we get through 2021 and everything turns back around, you’ll see that you’re more resilient than ever before. And in some ways, that makes the struggles (almost) worth it!

Happy new year, my friends! Here’s to a bigger and even better 2021.

P.S. – Keep an eye out for my next book, Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change, coming in (hopefully) mid-2021!!!