Welcome to the last month of 2023. No matter how your year is going, I hope you can finish off strong. Take a look back at those resolutions we made in January and see what we can cross off the list. I managed to check off half of my dreams for this year. As for the rest, some of them were halfway completed, so I’ll take that as a win.
Honestly, it’s been a pretty insane year. So much has happened. There’s been a lot of tears and a lot of causes for joy. So, similar to what I did last year, I wanted to make a list of the highs and the lows of this year. Coming into the last month, I think it’s important to see how the year’s gone, so you help push yourself into finishing strong. Feel good about what you’ve accomplished or achieved even if it’s accomplishing a little relaxation. Whatever you need to help make the end of the year a good one.
Feel free to share any of your highs and lows. Here’s mine:
January
High — Hired an editor for my novel
Low — Rejected by an agent I was really hoping for
February
High — Had a lot of fun enrichment days for the zoo animals
Low — Lost two of our zoo animals to old age
March
High — Hand fed a cheetah for the first time. Offered a full time zookeeper position!
Low — One of our cheetah’s passed away to renal failure
April
High — Start training cheetahs
Low — Got into a phone game app I thought was really cool only to quit because paying players buried my rookie butt into the ground
May
High — First time cheetah painting. Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom released!
Low — Another zoo animal lost to age
June
High — Attended a writing workshop!
Low — Go through the five stages of grief with editor’s feedback
July
High — New animals arrive at the zoo
Low — My best friend, the best cat in the world, passes away
August
High — Baby duiker born
Low — I totally forgot our cheetah’s birthday
September
High — Paid off my car loan. New animals arrive at the zoo!
Low — Felt very overloaded with stuff happening during the month
October
High — Things I can’t talk about!
Low — Other things I can’t talk about!
November
High — Finally killed a King Gleeok in Tears of the Kingdom
Low — The best dog in the world, my Boo Bear, passes away.
December is hopeful.
nikki diekemper 