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Why I’m Still a Goal Digger

I have plenty of reasons to not be a goal digger right now.

We’re still in the midst of a global health pandemic. Young people across the country are putting their lives on the line for justice. And I’m battling breast cancer.

The picture on the left is one my husband took of me 5 years ago. It was just a few moments before I was getting ready to kick off a See Jane Write event at DISCO. The event — as you may have guessed from my t-shirt — was all about helping attendees set goals for the upcoming year and develop a plan for achieving them.

The picture on the right is one my husband took of me just a few days ago. You’ll notice my curly tresses are gone – a casualty of chemotherapy. I’m in my home office.  With all that’s going on, who knows when I’ll be able to host an in-person See Jane Write event again. But thanks to the Internet, just before this picture was taken, I was able to go live in the See Jane Write Network Facebook group to discuss the importance of setting weekly goals.

In spite of everything, I am still a goal digger. And you should be, too.

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Lessons Learned from My First Year as a Full-Time Freelancer

One year ago, I did the unthinkable.

I left a job I absolutely loved to take a leap into the unknown. One year ago, I began my journey as a full-time freelance writer.

May 24, 2019 was my last day as an English teacher at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. So, today marks my one-year anniversary as a full-time writerpreneur.

Here’s what I’ve learned along the way.

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Writing My Way Through Cancer

Things could be worse. I could have cancer.

That was always my go-to, my retort and my refrain when I got bad news. When I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me. When I found out I was broke and my checking account was overdrawn. Even when I found out I had lupus.

But on January 24, 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I had no mantra to make me feel better.

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My Quarantine Bucket List

Last month I turned 39 and was so excited to share and get started on my 40 Before List. Then COVID-19 canceled EVERYTHING. Many of the items on my list were travel goals and events I wanted to host and group fitness classes I wanted to attend. To make matters worse, I’m also dealing with a tough health issue that has nothing to Coronavirus but that could also make travel and being in large groups impossible for me this year.

After pouting about this for several days I decided to replace my 40 Before 40 List with a Quarantine Bucket List, a list of things to do while I shelter in place and practice social distancing.

I got this idea from StyleBlueprint, one of the publications I write for. So, be sure to check out the StyleBlueprint Quarantine Bucket List for inspiration for your own list.

Here’s my Quarantine Bucket List:

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