Checking Back In...

So, I have a confession to make; I kinda abandoned ship for a minute there. Oh, and by a minute, I mean just over five months. Back in January, I came on Wix, made a cute little website, and then once I realized I had to pay to have a personalized domain, I threw in the towel.

Thankfully, something you'll learn about me rather quickly is that if I do throw in the towel, it typically isn't a forever thing. Once I have a goal or a dream, I make it happen. Maybe not immediately, and I may struggle along the way, but it'll happen eventually.

I read through my previous blog post on this website and it almost felt like I was reading someone else's writing. The way that I read it, it came across as bubbly and more optimistic than I am most of the time. Not to sound cocky or anything, but I have to say, I was kinda impressed, but not as impressed as I was after I really sat and thought about it.

In the post, I mentioned always dreaming of starting a YouTube channel. Did that. I had my book's synopsis on the website. Finished that. There was no release date for the book. Yep, you guessed it, took care of that, too.

Now, I won't bore you with an ongoing list of what I've achieved this year, that's what late December is for! However, I did want to share with you that the feelings that I've been going through lately have been amazing. I started a company which has admittedly been a lot of legal work and that's not my favorite thing to do, but being able to come on here and publicly state that I started a company? That feels pretty freakin' good. Having written a whole book and sent it off to the editor feels so good.

Being that Camp NaNoWriMo starts up again in two days, I just want to leave you with this general message. Be gentle with yourself and speak to yourself in only kind, patient words. There have been countless times that I have been insistent on doing things my way and not asking for help. There have also been times where I've run myself straight through the ground while I was trying to conquer my wildest dreams.

Learning how to look and ask for help has been one of the hardest, but also one of the most valuable lessons of my life. Camp NaNo isn't as strict as NaNoWriMo is, but I'm going to say this regardless and I will repeat it as many times as I need to: Don't allow one silly, little goal to push you into hating something that you're passionate about.

In November of 2019, I won NaNoWriMo. I did it. I wrote every single one of the necessary 50,000 words, but here's the catch: I didn't write a single new word for months after that. I was creatively exhausted from forcing these ideas to come. Mind you, I was also working part time at a law firm and going to college as a full time student.

Exhaustion and over-exertion both come in so many different forms, so I think it's infinitely important that you learn your personal cues. You know how sometimes if you exercise too much you get dizzy or start feeling off? Nobody knows you better than you do. Listen to your body and listen to your thoughts and check in with yourself every couple of days. Sit in a nice quiet room by yourself and try to really grasp how you're feeling and why. Get to the root of your emotions so that any necessary adjustments can be made.

Taking care of yourself is something extremely overrated and underdone. Practice it more.

On a lighter note, I will also be participating in Camp NaNo, so I wish you the best of luck and I can't wait to see your progress! Tag me on Instagram when you post about your progress! @alyssalastella

With Love and Appreciation,

Alyssa