Life Updates and Possible Changes Coming to "Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time"

(Written May 15 & 16, 2016. :P)

It seems that my blog posts lately basically consist of me giving you updates about my life and explaining why I haven't been posting new pieces instead of actually delivering fresh material.

Well, this is going to be another one of those posts! :P

I'll start by updating you briefly and then tell you what is next for this blog.

Okay. So what have I been up to?

1) Dance lessons. From January through early April I was taking dance lessons. Dance lessons are something that I have been wanting to do and I'm excited that I took the chance to finally do it and learn something new. It's a nice addition to my cardio and weightlifting workout regime. It got me wanting to take classes in other areas, such as acting, which I hope to do soon. I dabbled in different genres, my favorite being Hip Hop. :) I'm finished with them for now because my 10-Class punch card has received its final punch, but I hope to resume them in the summer or something. I even made a bunch of vlogs during this experience that I hope to put together and put on my YouTube channel.

2) Reading. I'm always trying to read more, but I often get distracted. This year I am attempting the Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge. Goodreads is a fun way to keep yourself accountable and watch your literacy progress. I completed Immortals by Gillian Shields from January 11 through February 24. Great book! It's the first of a series of four and I want to read the other three, but for my second book this year I wanted to switch it up. I am getting into memoirs lately and am currently reading and more than halfway done with It's Hard Not to Hate You by Valerie Frankel. It is hilarious, fiercely honest, and is inspiring me to write memoirs of my own. In fact, I was just reading it when it motivated me to write this blog post.

3) Working at Mighty Quinn's. I'm still working there part time and enjoying it! May 13 marks 10 months since I started working there! :)

4) Freelancing. Of course, this goes without saying. This is a huge priority.*

5) Started an all-women writers group. This one I am very excited to announce. Back in January I started an all-girl writers group with fellow Montclair State University alum fellow female writers, called Literally!. It was named by my co-member/founder and friend Lindsay Kramer. There is a lot I want to do with this group and am looking forward to the prospects! Check us out at Literally!

6) Songwriting. Starting the writers group has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Sometimes I find myself in a funk regarding my writing, but these women have gotten me excited about it again! Our meetings eventually got me to try songwriting, and...a part of me thinks I have finally found my calling. My friend and writers group founding member Kacie is a lyricist, singer, and musician, so she has been an influence on me. The music that usually plays in Mighty Quinn's also plays a factor. Sure, I still want to do journalism, playwriting, and screenwriting as well, but lately I have found my knack for telling a story through song. I've written songs before as a youngster, but this is the first time I am taking it more seriously and I have never before considered this as possibly my thing. It's invigorating. I've found that different things I want to write sound better in alternate mediums. For example, when I was trying to write something as a screenplay, I found that it was better as a novel. Recently I wanted to write something as a monologue, but then thought that it would sound better as a song and is perfect song material. I like that I have this as a creative writing activity along with my professional freelancing.

7) See theater. Well, duh. ;) So yes, I saw some theater at both Montclair State and Paper Mill Playhouse. In fact, the most recent musical at PMP, "Pump Boys and Dinettes", inspired a "Reflections about..." blog post, which I hope to write and publish.

8) Missing Women's History Month blog posts. If you remember my last blog post, I said that I got ill and couldn't focus on my "Real Influential Women Role Models (Real and Fictitious)" series so I would just publish them in due time. Well, I might still do that, but since so much time has gone by now, I might just hold off on them until next March anyway or something. We'll see.

*Okay, now for the more serious stuff. When I created "Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time", I was a young college kid looking for a creative writing outlet. However, now that I am a professional freelancer getting more and more writing work as I get further into the field, I may not have as much time and vigor for this blog, especially on the enormous in-depth essays that I normally share on here. As you know I want to produce at least one blog post monthly due to consistency and perfectionism, but my freelancing is a first priority. The reason why I was so late with this blog post is because I was placing more of my energy and effort on freelancing articles. My blog is something that was more constant back when I was unemployed with minimal writing work and it filled a void. I had more time on my hands. I've also been thinking about taking on more hours at Mighty Quinn's, which are slim already because I chose to leave a sizable chunk of space aside for my writing work and other life business.

This all being said, I need us all to prepare for me possibly not coming through every month with a blog post like tradition. I still will be writing on here, of course, but I don't want to stress myself out if I find that I might need to skip a month. I'll try not to, but this is where we stand. I have a bunch of blog posts in mind and in my drafts, so I will do my best to get them to you for your reading pleasure. :) Even if they're not my huge analytical essays, I'll try to at least post something, which is what I have been doing anyway. People make time for their recreational writing along with their professional writing and other work all the time, so I will attempt the same.

So, life has been pretty good. I like keeping myself busy and productive and building my confidence. I want to take on more in my schedule and I also have other writing projects in mind. Something I have been brainstorming is Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time: The Movie or TV/Web Series. ;)

Anyway, this has been fun! Let's do it again sometimes! :D