Wow, I’m almost a bit is shock that 2014 is over since the year went by so fast. I’m also stunned by what all happened last year. To really understand the impact, I want to go back to my New Year’s post from last year.
“I cannot think about what I plan for 2014, without going back to 2004. 2004 was the year that changed everything and sent me down the path to bring me to today. My gratefulness for 2004 is beyond words.
In 2004, I decided not to pursue a PhD, completed my masters, packed my bags and moved to California, started to work at SAP on TechEd and SCN, and threw off all the small town girl projections to overcome all the fears of making it on my own!
In the last decade, I have thrown away so much baggage just to become a world traveler. I don’t do resolutions, but I’m so excited about what I will make 2014 become!” January 2, 2014
I guess in my heart I was really expecting big things in 2014 since I had just completed a pretty mind-boggling decade in California. But it took making a ton of changes in 2004 to create that next decade of growth. Even when I wrote that post, I think I knew big changes were on their way. I just had no idea how big 2014 was going to turn out to be.
Even way back at that early point in the year, I already new my career was up in the air. I had a good sense that the team I was on had no idea what to do with my skills and talents. At first this scared the shit out of me, but really what it did was give me a lot of time to think. And thinking was exactly what I needed to explore what the next stage of my life would be.
2004 was a time that I set new goals. I was going to start a corporate career, I wanted to travel, and I wanted to live in San Francisco. By 2014 I had accomplished all quite successfully. Honestly, I’d been so busy in that decade, I really hadn’t had any time to come up with new goals. I was just living life and absolutely enjoying the ride.
But after a decade, it was probably time to come up with some new goals and life plans. Thank goodness, 2014 provided me the time to soul search and plan, so I now have new goals to help drive the next decade of my life.
Even with all that time for thinking, 2014 was a huge year for me. Most of you who’ve read my blog all ready know about the road trip, so I don’t want to spend all the time on the details. However, here is my list 2014 major life events.
Go to Germany to pass on the battalion of my old position. Get to spend time to the team I’ve spent my last 10 years working with and honor that they’ve become friends rather than just colleagues.
Start write poetry again which I hadn’t really done since I was an undergrad.
Do my first audition since high school with San Francisco Neo-Futurists.
I did my first live poetry reading.
Explore southern Utah National Parks Bryce Canyon and Zion with my Dad.
Go flyfishing twice on the Madison River in Montana and visit Yellowstone National Park. Also fall in love with Ennis, Montana.
Rediscover my love of painting and drawing at a wine and painting class at a farewell for my colleague Erica
I traveled and spent time with the people I love that don’t live near.
After living in San Francisco for three years, I’ve satisfied my dream of living in San Francisco and it’s time to say goodbye. I move to Oakland and my cost of living drops significantly, which was a huge blessing for what was about to come.
I get laid off from SAP after 10 years. It’s the only job I’ve had since I finished my masters and moved to California. So absolutely guaranteed, big changes are happening. This is a blessing in disguise and I’m not really unsettled by it, since I already had plenty of time to think and plan 🙂
Within 2 days of being laid off, I know for sure that I am going on a cross-country road trip.
Linda and I go on our freedom camping trip to Yosemite. But I extend and do my first ever solo camping trip in Mammouth Mountain.
I keep painting and drawing and writing.
I prep for the cross-country road trip, which includes planning how I’m going to use the trip as a creative journey.
I start my blog crellim.com
I drive by myself across Nevada to get to my parents house to start the road trip.
The Road Trip – Crellim’s Cross-Country Adventure: 3 months of traveling across the country. 47 days camping in the car, 4 days in a hotel, and 22 days staying with family and friends not including my parents house.
I get home to Oakland having only been there for 2 months out of the 6 I’ve lived there. I decompress the trip by going through all my photos.
I start to look for a new job for 2015
I return to Utah to spend the holidays with my family.
Yup, I don’t ever use this word, but I definitely think 2014 was an EPIC year for me. Crazy that with such a full year, I was still able to come with the goals for the next decade of my life.
There is one thing that I really learned about myself and it will now drive my life going forward. My whole life I’ve been suppressing my creative urges and needs. I had chosen a path were I focused on spreadsheets and emails. But honestly I doubted I could be creative enough. When I was young I would always say, I love to paint and draw, but I just don’t know what I should paint and draw. I wanted to be an actor but I can’t sing, so I didn’t go after it. So it was my own mental block that kept me from going after my creative goals.
My creativity would crack through to remind me it was hiding there, but this year with all the change it just exploded out of me. I also came to the realization, that I don’t need as much material goods in my life as others. I’m not married, I don’t have kids, I don’t own a house. I don’t have others I have to take care of. So maybe I could go after my creative dreams because I don’t need as much money to survive.
So here are the goals that I’m striving for in the next stage!
- Only work in the corporate world for 2-3 more years so I can save money
- Taking acting and painting classes
- Move to Portland
- Buy a house with my parents
- Get two dogs (not random, absolutely critical to my success)
- Keep painting and writing
- Sell paintings and photography
- Become a working actor
I’m so happy of what I’ve accomplished from 2004 – 2014. I’m completely grateful that 2014 set the stage for what I want to become in the next decade of my life. I’m ready to jump right in and live this life completely!
Crellim Creative 