2020 sucked, so I’m spending 2021 on a year-long journey to reconnect to my artsy self. Wanna join me?

HOW IT BEGAN

2020 was a weird year for all of us. It was also the year I had a baby just after the global pandemic began, hit the proverbial wall in a big way, and was forced to confront how far I had drifted from my core, artsy self. You see, I used to be an opera singer – a career path that was just the tip of the iceberg of my life-long obsession with all things art, music, dance, and theatre. Then I sold out and became a lawyer and member of the buttoned-down corporate world, forsaking literally everything artsy that I loved.

In 2021, that’s all going to change.

odyssey (noun)

od·​ys·​sey | \ ˈä-də-sē \

1: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune

2: an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest

WHAT’S THE PLAN

I was a really artsy kid, who became a professionally artsy adult, who suddenly said “you know what? To hell with all this artsy stuff… what I really want is security, respect, and maybe some extra moolah in the ol’ bank account.” Sound familiar? I think a lot of us start out as creative kids, teens, and even young adults, then decide to hang up our ballet slippers/guitars/paintbrushes and “join the real world.” And look, I’ve got some great things to say about the “real world,” but at this very strange moment in time, what I need in my life is art, art, and more art.

More than that, I need the old me. I need the realest me. I need little 12-year-old super nerd me.

So this year, I’m doing 10 month-long projects, each aimed at reigniting an artsy love from my past. I’ll become that enthusiastically dorky music student again, listening to symphonies and picturing the worlds of the great composers. I’m gonna blast show tunes in my car and embarrass my husband. I’m going to finally get my shit together to make some art again, practice a musical instrument, and – COVID gods willing – at long last, sing with other human beings.

My goal isn’t to become particularly skilled at any of these pursuits, even the ones I used to do professionally. Instead, my goal is to take a spiritual journey back to myself. An odyssey.

I think some people might be feeling as adrift as I’ve been, so I’ll be chronicling my challenges as I go, hoping maybe some fellow artsy folks might join in. Here’s to making 2021 not suck!

PROJECT CALENDAR