WOW GOD, WHY!!!!!!! Can I just end my recap of 2022 there? Okay see you guys in 2023 ✌✨
But no, I do want to acknowledge this year and everything that happened, as hard and traumatic as it's been. I know for many it was a stressful year, and I was no exception. I did everything I could to keep afloat - networked to get freelance projects, stuck with my Etsy and Threadless shops, worked full time at my sea turtle job again, picked up side work, applied and interviewed for dozens (and DOZENS) of jobs and art projects, but I just couldn't keep up, and had to make the decision to move out of my place.
While I've always been on hyper-speed mode in my career doing a million things at once, the stress of living really broke my spirit this year. When I started my journey in art and science, I always thought that if I sacrificed enough of my life (my home, social life, dating, having any nice thing ever lol), that my career would be successful in time. But almost a decade later, I feel like all the running and wishing and hoping has caught up with me, leaving me feeling burnt out and defeated.
This is the side of pursuing arts and conservation I try to avoid talking about, but it's the harsh reality. Jobs like these require so much of our bodies, time, energy, emotions, and our lives, and on top of it all we have to have two degrees and still fight for a livable wage. It's dehumanizing, and it has broken too many caring and passionate people in this world. And because of this, these incredibly valuable fields of work also suffer greatly. I'm not sure what, when, or even if this issue will ever be fixed, but despite all the pain and frustration my career has put me through, I wouldn't change it for anything. I still encourage anyone who dreams of creating art and protecting our wild spaces to do it without hesitation. The world needs your personal expression in it, the planet needs us to fight for her, and if you never try to do what you love full time, you'll never know if it could happen.
Even though this year has been challenging, it made me realize I need to separate my self-worth from my work (which is the hardest thing my Aries moon in the 10th house could EVER accept). It's made me realize that even though I want to fix all the problems I see, I'm not a failure just because I can't fix them. I'm not a failure because I can't compete in this capitalist nightmare. And I'm not a failure because of all the rejections I've encountered. I am so proud of everything I've done, and I'm learning now that I need to take a break, and give a little of that passion I've been pouring into the world back into myself for a bit.
On this final day of 2022, I'm still uncertain of what I will be doing of where I'll be in 2023, but I can feel the pit in my stomach starting to fade. Brighter days are ahead, and for anyone else struggling, you are worthy of ALL the love, pride, and kindness, even if you are the only source you can get it from for now💛
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Ironically, after all of that, this year was actually one of the best years of my art business, with many commissions, shop profits, and even several murals✨ I saw huge growth in my business in 2022, and while I'm taking a break from it for the time being, it certainly won't be forever. I'm just going to start making art for me again💛
Here's a look at all the art I made this year, including a look at some of the art I made over the past two years for applications/projects I was ghosted on that never came to fruition. If you're in the freelance world, you understand 😅
Commissions
Etsy and Threadless
Murals
Art Made for Applications
Nature
In order to destress this year, I definitely took advantage of the peaceful outdoors more than I ever have before. I visited 29 unique preserves, state/national parks, and manmade nature spaces in 2022, and revisited some of the same places many many times💛 I tried to keep a nature blog for every month, but had zero time for it after July 😅 If you'd like to read more about the places I saw in the first half of the year, check out my posts for January, February, March, April, May, June, and July here. Otherwise, here is a lil collection of my favorite nature moments💚
Sea Turtles
I know I say this every year (this time it might actually be true), but I completed my 8th and final turtle season in 2022🐢🐢🐢 Working five days a week on the beach hits a LOT different when you're 32 compared to when you're 25 lolll, but all the pain, sweat, and migraines are always worth it to be in the presence of these endangered species again. 2022 brought on an intense hurricane season, record breaking nesting numbers, and new stranding events I've never seen before, like a loggerhead mama who accidentally crawled 1500 ft into the dunes that we had to carry out on a UTV, and a green mama who got stuck upright when a dune collapsed on her😱 If there's one thing I've learned about field work in the past eight years, it's that you should ALWAYS expect the unexpected.
