2023 in Review, 2024 in Preview

It’s the end of another year, which is as anti-climactic as it is hard to believe. It’s funny, I’ve been so worn out from Christmas that I really haven’t been able to ramp myself up for New Year’s Eve – I’ve just kind of fizzled down slowly, and now, here we are at the end of the year!

I want to take a look back at the things I’ve achieved in the past year, the progress I’ve made and the things I’m proud of. I feel like I’ve truly moved forward this year, I’ve come into my own. I was speaking to my therapist about it, and she said it’s all falling into place because I’m being my true self. I think that has a lot to do with it.

I have been dedicated in pursuing my music. I’ve been busking regularly in my town, almost every week. Even on days when I don’t really feel like it, I’ve pushed forward. It’s been good to practice a good work ethic and focus, make a bit of extra income, and also get a bit of local recognition. I’m becoming a bit of a known figure around town, which it strange, but nice. Sometimes I’ll be busking, and someone will stop by and say they were listening to my stuff on Facebook just the other day. I’m practically famous!

I’ve also been playing quite a few market gigs, too. I’ve learned to be proactive about them, reaching out to organisers to see when they can fit me in, and showing them that I’m interested. It helps to make those connections with the market regulars, those are the real movers and shakers.

A huge step forward that I made in my music is that I started sharing my original songs online. Over the past two months, I’ve been sharing an original song each week on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. They’ve seen the most response on TikTok, getting at least a thousand views. ‘The NDIS Song’ made the biggest splash, sitting at about 54 thousand views! It’s also encouraged a lot of discussion about the NDIS, which has been interesting, but also heart-breaking, to see.

This led me to finally get around to meeting with a recording studio. I had worked with one to put together recordings of a few of my songs, because I really wanted to have some recordings to share and they were ones I couldn’t do at home. However, I wasn’t sure how I could afford to record an entire album in the future. My Support Coordinator started looking at possible funding opportunities.

Then she came across another recording studio in town that is NDIS-registered, who would be able to record music with me using my NDIS funding, as it would be a skill-building activity, as well as a career-related activity. I met with the producer, and he’s passionate about advocacy as well, so our personal goals match. He loved my demos and is excited about working with me next year!

Some personal things that I achieved this year happened with my partner. He got me hooked on Warhammer – I’d never heard of it, but he’d played it as a kid, and got his paints out again this year, and I became very curious in the painting side of things. Then we learned how to play Kill Team together. We thought it would be fun to play with other people, but we couldn’t find a group in our local area.

So we thought, why don’t we start one? Both of us are pretty shy, introverted people with a healthy dose of social anxiety, and neither of us had much of a social life. We just work from home and hang out with each other all the time. Having something to get us out of the house and talking to other people would be amazing.

I reached out on Facebook to see if anyone would be interested in joining a Warhammer group, and we had a fair bit of positive feedback. We started the group roughly in the middle of the year, and we’ve steadily grown to about a dozen regulars. It’s a nice, close-knit group of wonderful people. We’ve also helped a local hobby store get set up as the only Warhammer supplier on the Mid North Coast, and now people can actually see and buy Warhammer products in person without driving for two hours!

It’s been so wonderful on so many levels. It’s been great for us socially, to have something to do and somewhere to go each week, to chat with people, some familiar, some new. It’s felt good to run something, and for my partner it’s been great to see him in a role of authority, where he’s the go-to guy for Warhammer knowledge. It’s also just lovely to see this wonderful little community and safe space being created, where so many people are blossoming and feeling like they can be themselves and just have a good time.

And the year ended with the most amazing Christmas present we could have asked for – our van was delivered! We knew they were set to be finished sometime in December, and then it would have to be transported home. We got news in the middle of December that the work was done, and that it would be transported back, which could take up to fifteen business days. So we still didn’t expect it back until the end of December. Then we got a phone call two days later asking us to meet the transport truck driver in Taree to do the exchange! I was thanking God for provision, because not only did that car take two days to arrive, but we also managed to book in an inspection the following week, so we were able to get it inspected and registered within a week of it’s delivery (registration had lapsed while it was being modified).

Next year is set to continue the excitement in both my personal and professional life. My partner and I have plans to expand our Warhammer group, with two days in January booked to do demonstrations in our local shopping centre. We’ll set up a couple of gaming boards with our models and be there all day to answer people’s questions, and we’ll hand out flyers with information about when we meet. We’ll also be pointing people in the direction of the local hobby store that stocks Warhammer products, so they know where to start their Warhammer journey (or addiction?).

I’ve already booked three paid market gigs for next year, including two at a location I haven’t played before but which is larger and better paid than the ones I’ve done before. It’s further out of town as well, which means I won’t be able to be dropped off and picked up like I usually am. So my partner and I are thinking of making the most of being at these markets by having him run a stall, selling my hand-sewn gifts and toys, and possibly some CDs of his music and audio work if the markets allow it.

I’ll be finally recording my music in full. This has been a goal of mine for years, and it’s finally coming together. I have a small album’s worth of songs and the goal is to record them all, and possibly do a music video or two. Then we’ll make them available on streaming services, as well as having the album made onto physical CDs I can sell. I’ll then be able to do live performances of my original music, as I’ll have solid backing tracks to perform to and I’ll be able to sell CDs at these performances. I’m hoping the small platform I’ve been building on social media will mean there’ll be some people interested in this project!

I’ll be continuing on with my YouTube channel, where I’ve been uploading for four years now (!!!). I switched to fortnightly uploads this year, which is much more manageable. Next year I’m aiming to have more informative, investigative videos that contain more research, as well as more videos about current disability news, especially Australian disability news. I want to show off more of my hobby interests, too, and maybe do some video game play-throughs, where I add a mental health perspective.

I’m thinking of starting a new channel where I share readings of public domain poetry. I have quite a collection, and I love reading it, and I’d love to share it as something people could listen to while they’re relaxing, driving, crafting or trying to get to sleep.

All in all, there is a lot I have planned for next year, and a lot I’m looking forward to. I feel as though I’ve laid the foundations for a lot of things this year, and I’ll be able to build on those next year. I hope you will follow me on my journey, and I hope I can be more diligent in keeping you updated!

Bless.