I struggled a lot this year. I worked really hard and have come so close – if not crossed over – to burnout on a number of occasions. I have been depressed and exhausted, anxious and upset more than is healthy, and it’s possible I have been this way for longer than I am comfortable acknowledging right now. But 2013 is a new year, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like a proper new start. So in the interests of saying goodbye to this year on a positive note, I made a list of ten things I achieved in 2012. Things I’m proud of; things that feel like steps forward.
- I finished and submitted my PhD thesis.
- I signed with a wonderful literary agent.
- I moved out of a sharehouse and into an apartment of my own.
- My PhD thesis passed with flying colours.
- I ran a half-marathon.
- I graduated as Dr Convery and left university behind – after a full 9 years.
- I appeared on a Wheeler Centre panel.
- I helped organise a pro-choice feminist protest.
- I created a political group.*
- I started writing a new book.
*Could not have done either 8 or 9 if I hadn’t done them with my friend/colleague/fellow runner/reading group associate Jacinda Woodhead.
Steph, you’re awesome, and those are amazing achievements. I do hope 2013 is happier (in a way that is genuine to you), calmer, fulfilling. x
congrats on the PhD – not sure if I knew you’d finished, but I sure know how much goes into it!
Wow, you’ve had a bloody busy year and done a hell of a lot more than I have. I hope 2013 is a great year for you.
Dr Convery? I must say, I never thought when I first met you that you would come so far, and I feel like a fool for not realising that of course you would.