Getting Better All the Time

Here are some things I want to get better at this coming “schoolyear”. Alot of this stuff is probably unrealistic but oh well….shoot for the stars as they say.

1. Piano and singing. There has been talk of getting me a voice teacher. I had one in middle school and she was very helpful with breath work and projection. I get frustrated now because my medication makes my voice tremble and it’s hard to sustain notes and hit high ones. I also want to get better at transposing songs (particularly songs sung by bands like Fall Out Boy and Shinedown) into my key since they are usually sung by men.

2. ASL. I kept realizing I have forgotten stuff including the basic alphabet and phrases like”how are you” and “what is your name?” I do retain some information like “salt” and “funeral” (no idea why) but I feel like maybe I could expand this knowledge and then actually have a a conversation. My friend sent me a link to a sign language group that meets every week so on a day when i am not drugged from extra medication I plan on going.

3. Knitting. I have several projects going at a time because inevitably I mess up on one and have to wait for the Wednesday group so my knitting instructor can help me. Right now I’m on my mom’s last cutlery holder (I knit four, one for each member of our family) and a hat for my cousin Amanda (she’s getting married and hats are kind of my thing). I’m slowly making my way through fingerless gloves for my best friend (that will be a Christmas present). I have to knit another hat for my dad for Christmas. And then I want to knit a flower on a handkerchief for another friend who is getting married. Knitting (when I don’t make mistakes) is insanely relaxing watching the needle maneuver its way through the thread at your command. The power is a little scary.

4. Poetry slams. I am an organizer first, competitor second which means if they need me to do door or host I will do that instead of competing. Still, I’m eager to compete with the new “no repeat” rule. Our old rules were that you couldn’t repeat poems from one slam to the next one and then you could again. New rule (effective in the September slam) is that your first poem has to be  completely new. You can’t have recited it anywhere at all. This proves advantageous to me because I write a lot of new poems, even if they aren’t always good. I haven’t won in a while and I really would like that honor again, at least cracking the top three. Some poets are so good I don’t mind losing to them, they are just so talented. But I think if I work really hard I could give a good performance,

5. Saving money. I’ve gotten so much better at this already. Mostly because I’m eating out less and also because I have started asking myself the age old question “do I really need this?” when I am at stores like Barnes and Nobles. I h ave a huge influx of presents in September coming and I am also buying myself a Nintendo Switch Lite with up to three games. I also might do a spa day with some friends. Those are all expenses I’ve been saving up for and are “birthday treats” for myself. 

There are alot of other things I want to do. Work on my weight (I need to get a handle on it before I get diabetes), read more, do more self-care (bubble bath, light candles, wear my aromatherapy bracelet), fighting my OCD but a girl can only do so much at once so that will be for another day.