Danaye Reinhardt

It feels like a year within reach.

Last year, for me, saw a lot of false starts and frustration, but also the completion of a project I had worked on for months and years (not my novel, to clarify). And it was fleeting, that feeling of pride, partly because the project is still unfolding and partly because I haven’t let myself be satisfied with it.

I know I can do better. I’d like to see myself pointed in a direction and actually take the steps to get where I’d like to be.

All of this is vague and unfocused because I can’t see the outcome. It’s behind a mountain I have to hike around, a door I have to enter through. To my friends, I’ve described my career as “veiled,” this unknown that I’m shuffling through with my hands out in front of me. It feels the same for my personal life.

This year, I can see a few feet in front of me. The fog hasn’t lifted, but I can squint and feel more confident in the steps I’m taking. In my personal life, I think there will be upcoming clarity. In my writing, I see this project completed and alive. And I am months or weeks away from finishing the second draft of my novel (beta readers, get ready!).

I have a feeling, a hopeful one, that things will come to fruition this year—not a blind optimism, but anticipation preceding action.

I like to talk and write about doing things, but it’s a different story to actually do the things. So this is my call to action. To keep facing that direction and taking those steps. To see it through.