Wow, it’s been a while! It feels refreshing to be back on Substack, typing away on my little laptop when it is not work-related brings me so much joy. I was gone for so long because throughout the end of 2024 up until now, I have been struggling with an intense sensation of decision paralysis. My idea of having a running Substack went into hibernation because I could not make up my mind on what to write. I have too many ideas, but as I explained to my therapist, they pass me by like cars on the freeway, never being able to sit with an idea. This paralyzing state has made me realize I am floating through life, not enjoying it the way God intended (probably). It also does not help that I have been self diagnosed with Climate-Doom-World-Ending-America-is-Fucked Syndrome, and it dissuades me from completing anything meaningful in my life because what IS THE POINT!
However, while listening to the Wild Geese Podcast Episode, the life design process that changed my art (& actually, changed everything), I came to the conclusion that although we are living in a late-stage capitalism dystopian reality, I am still a living breathing human and these things (unfortunately) are not mutually exclusive, and it would be better for my health and for everyone around me, to try and participate in my community by showing up for myself. Anyways, I decided to use Anna’s framework from the podcast and make some quarterly goals for myself. I broke it down into career, hobbies, and passions so here it goes.
Career
This is most definitely the hardest section because, like most people around me, finding your career niche, is very daunting to me. If you have been a long-time subscriber, you know that I wanted a role in sustainability, but literally what the fuck does that mean. In this section, I want to make small, yet tangible goals so that finding my niche in sustainability is not so daunting. As I am writing this section, I can feel the anxiety bubbling up inside of me, but I am at least grateful to way that I have a role in my company where sustainability is incorporated, yet I know I am still not doing enough, so let me break down what goals I have in mind.
I am in charge of my team’s newsletter, so it is all things Downtown Denver, and I want to incorporate a “sustainability spotlight” in this newsletter, where every month I will highlight one business/ building/ public space in downtown that I believe is doing right with what they have. An example would be the Populus Hotel, which is operated on 100% renewable energy and was entirely made from recycled materials, so cool!
I was in grad school for urban planning… still technically enrolled… uncertain if this is the right idea though. Something about it feels wrong, so within the next month I am going to make an appointment with a career coach to see if she can help me figure out what feels right.
Hobbies
Guitar! I love playing the guitar, yet I only pick it up a few times a month. Instead of scrolling, I could be strumming lol! I have decided my goal is to finish learning the song Evergreen by Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners because it is a short, yet perfect song, and I feel like I am on a road trip every time I play it. I also want to make it to Grade 3 within Justin Guitar’s *free courses on YouTube. Learning technique is not as cool as learning a new riff, but ultimately transforms you from a mid guitar player to a badass guitar player
Substack! Why did I leave this platform? It feels so good to write, my thoughts are flowing, but instead of cars on the freeway, it is more like leaves in a stream. I can pick them up and look and them then place them on their merry way. I want to commit to one Substack post a week for the next month and see how it makes me feel.
Passions
I guess this section could be intertwined with hobbies, but these are ideas I cannot stop thinking about, and truly bring light into my life
Native gardens- the best part about undergrad was being able to explore gardens and prairies for school. I literally had a botany class where every other week we would tour a native garden and take notes. Throughout this summer, I have been helping my neighbors with gardening needs, by weeding and planting native perennials. This has been such a fun task, but I want to take it up a notch. I have this idea to document all of the vacant green spaces in Denver and do some sort of guerilla gardening act, it’s a real thing! Plant natives there because the space is not being used anyways! I want to make a future Substack post about this.
Outdoor Advocacy- my strongest rage bait has been following the defunding of federal workers, specifically agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Forest Service, National Parks Service, FEMA, National Weather Service, and any other service I failed to mention that works to protect our lands and the people that inhabit them. As a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife tech, I feel like these cuts have a personal sentiment. The work I completed was laborious- cutting down dead trees for 10 hours a day for wildfire mitigation, walking upstream on the Oregon Coast to survey an endangered trout species, creating trails on wildlife refuge land, etc. A few months back, my boss told me about this volunteer group, the Colorado 14ers Initiative, which works to educate the public and restore trails that lead to 56 of Colorado’s 14ers (mountain peaks that are above 14,000 feet). I have signed up to volunteer with them because National Forest Service workers will no longer be occupying and maintaining these trails this summer. This is an opportunity to continue to advocate for conservation workers and a big F U to our government.
These are my ideas and goals that will be on my mind for the next few months. I won’t continue to make new goals, but rather bridge off of former goals and see where the projects lead me. If you found yourself resonating with this quarterly check in, I suggest you make one for yourself as well. I want to continue to do this quarterly check in every few months or so, I do not want to have a rigid timeline because I have never been one to complete things on time. I enjoy being able to conceptualize my goals and diluting the feeling of life passing me by.
Have a great Thursday!