Here we are again, which is funny to say this because I basically never do these. 2023 is over and here we are at 2024. What did my 2023 entail? Somehow it feels like a lot and a little at the same time.

The bulk of it

I worked, a lot, I feel like I always working on something. Either on a design, a program, a bug, etc. I spent the first part of the year working on scritchworks mostly, I started building a new site at the end of 2022 to host art and somewhere along the way it became the idea to try and host my art independently from myself. After that, I tried going all in to really focus on art and while I don't think I did "great", I am at least happy with what all I did.

I had artist alley tables at three different cons last year, FWA, AC and Furpoc, the last time I did that was 2019 and then covid had killed all of my momentum. The bad news is, it didn't really work out for me in a way? I didn't make a lot of money, most cases I spent more than I earned, and I didn't really get much of a name out there. Before Furpoc, I affirmed with myself that if I didn't at least break even, I'd give up on trying to make art work and focus on something else. I did however, technically, break even. The good news is, I definitely enjoyed being there and meeting people~!

I've always been stuck in a spot where art takes more time to do then I get back from it, but because it is often my only decent source of income, it's been a difficult thing to walk away from. Even now, I really don't want to, I just want to be realistic as to where I can possibly be going down this road. The other difficulty is that my time is usually spread out across a variety of projects, but not of the same type. Meaning, one moment I will work on art. The next, a website. After that, a mod, something that needs to be fixed either urgently or not. Because of this, I haven't really made much time this year for myself or leisurely activities. If I am not working on *something* I am wasting my time because more things will continue to pile up.

But all that said, it's been a good year. The only real downsides were unexpected dental adventures, but the really cool upside is that I got to move in with my boyfriend! It's been quite an adjustment in a whole new place, but I really love him so it's all worth it.

Ultimately, I think I'm in a good place. I am healthy and haven't felt depressed and any anxieties are totally under control these days. Don't let my ranting about art and money fool you, I am not in a bad state, just frustrated? I have outlined a lot of how I want to tackle this upcoming year better than I ever have before, which I'll post separately, but for my closure, here is a fun tl;dr list.

TL;DR

- Moved in with fraeven <3
- Started scritchworks and separated my art into its own thing so I could keep my main self focused on other things
- Attending FWA, AC and Furpoc, did the artist alley at all 3!
- Been healthier, lost weight, better shape, etc
- Been happier, more myself, felt better about myself, etc
- Got to travel a lot with / thanks to friends and family, took assorted trips / day trips to places.
- Got to spend time with friends, meet people, the good stuff~
- Worked! Work work work work work work work work work work work