End of Summer Updates

And with that, new eras begin.

Just two nights ago, I finished the redrawing of the comic series my friend and I are creating. Now it's time to take a break, let the beta readers mark up the PDF, and get to work once more! We're now planning for an end of October release, so please stay tuned.

I have 13 songs planned for my next album! Now, I don't want to give a timeline on this, because I need to focus on the comic, so the best projection I can estimate is probably summer 2025. I'm excited for this one -- it'll be the first album I release with voice. Bridgewater was an EP and a great first step, so I'm excited to keep going. Hopefully the songs on this one will catch the interest of others!

I have a couple different commissions and trades that I'm in the process of working on... I just finished another art trade with my friend Sorcha. They're super talented and are also constantly working on projects of their own... check them out here! I'm also drafting some ideas for a friend's podcast... will drop a link in the future when that happens.

I'm still doing studio assistance while at my new job -- I've kept certain maintenance tasks and then plan to put in more hours during breaks. My fulltime position is a 9-month position as it's in education, so the balance feels perfect.

And I will say, I was concerned about taking on a full time job. The worry of work becoming my life was strong. While I care deeply about my job and strive everyday to make sure I'm putting in my best effort, my purpose for living will always lie in my creative pursuits. I don't ever want to give that up. Luckily, the balance so far hasn't been concerning! The routine of a reliable schedule actually helps me to get more things done, surprisingly. I take advantage of my free time more. I'm excited to slowly start adding more things to my plate as I see fit (exercise being a big one, and more spiritual routines).

I saw online the quote of "of course your life is falling apart. Your new life will cost you your old one." I don't know if I agree with that. I liked many things about my "old" life. There are many things I didn't want to give up, and feel angry that they have gone. Part of me wonders if there was a way to fight harder to get them to stay.

I have to remind myself that the concrete items in my life are not the only items that bring an abstract feeling. My pet is not the only thing that gives me happiness. When she died, I grieved. I bought a bouquet and watched it live. I made new projects with friends and watched them grow. That feeling does not go away, only the forms in which it comes.

I could've kept her alive longer, I could've fought harder to get her to stay. But she would've been in pain. It wouldn't have been fair to make her stay.

My old life is my new life is my life. Sometimes I am a corpse of yesterday, rotting with could-have-beens. But better, I breathe life into myself again and find the dead was simply skin to shed. I am always alive underneath it all. I am always alive through it all. I am alive again, and again, emerging from ash, from concrete, from dirt.