A 2025 Reflection

Every December, it's been a tradition of mine to reflect on all the events of the past year. This is something that I've always done, even in childhood when goals weren't as important. I'm a nostalgic person at heart, and reflection brings me a sense of comfort. It's an opportunity to live and learn. I've certainly learned a lot from 2025.

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal. That goal was to write and illustrate a children's book, and to get my foot in the door with a publisher. That second part is important to me. Many people self-publish which is fine, but for me, I'd love to work with the right publishing company for my stories. I wrote a few manuscripts, chose my favorite one, created some concept art, and sent it off to one publisher, unsolicited. It's been a couple of months, and quite honestly, I don't know if I'm going to hear back about it. I hesitated sending manuscripts to other publishers because many of them prefer if you have an agent first.

It's easy to look at the overall goal, the big picture really, and say to yourself, "Well, I failed that one." Truthfully, that's how I've felt. Even a week after sending my submission, I psyched myself out with the idea of failure. The reason being that we often expect to hear back on things immediately, yet that's not the case in the book publishing world. In fact, I found out how intense it can be to get your manuscript and portfolio in front of the right eyes. In a world full of instant gratification and FOMO, to change up your approach (like updating your portfolio, finding an agent, sending to different publishers) and wait is easier said than done.

I hit a low point this December, one where I questioned whether or not I wanted to keep pursuing art in the way that I have been. Having two young children at home has made this a challenge, where I have to make time and effort to work on my art, the business that surrounds it, and the goals that I want to achieve. I couldn't help wonder if I was, perhaps, rushing towards my goals too quick. Yet, I can't help but ask myself, if not now, then when?

Admittedly, the person who I was at the beginning of the year, isn't the same now. I mean that in a positive way. When I look back at my art and how much my style has evolved in a year, I'm actually impressed. To home in on my illustrations, creating pieces that make me feel good, pieces that my children love, and others admire as well, has been rewarding. I've sold original art, prints, cards, tea towels, and more. What once felt like a dream is starting to seep into my reality.

Although I didn't reach my goal this year, I realized that the idea of failure wasn't fair to me. Art itself is a process, and making a career out of it is too. I have the time to experiment, learn more, and make the right connections, in a way that will prove sustainable in a few short years if not less.

Going into 2026, I'll be approaching art in a different way, and I'm feeling really good about it.