Updated January 1, 2025, from my home in Massachusetts, USA. We took our Christmas decorations down today. It was bittersweet.

We had a wonderful season but now it’s time to turn the page.

Staying off Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter until February 23, 2025

I signed a contract with myself and had my partner sign it as a witness. I wasn’t receiving any value from those platforms - especially Instagram and Facebook - and with my master’s program coming up, I want to make sure my ability to focus is stronger than ever.

I need a break from that part of the Internet. I’ve been on social media in some capacity since 2003 or 2004. And it finally got to a point where I got fed up with it. I’m active on YouTube and LinkedIn.

I know I’m leaving money on the table with this endeavor but right now I don’t care. I might care later, but that’s for later.

Going to school full-time (Currently on Winter Break!)

My two-year program at Longy is well underway. I love it. It’s challenging, eye-opening, and inspiring. Everything I was looking for. You can read about it here.

Writing songs

If I had to pick just one thing to be, I’d pick being a songwriter. I haven’t been writing as much as I would like to, and I’ve missed it. Writing songs is a core part of who I am and I know I’m a better person when I’ve been writing. So it’s as much a benefit to you as it is to me that I resume my songwriting ways.

Trying the “12 Week Year” Method

In short, it’s quarterly goals. But people swear by it so I bought the book, read the book, followed all the steps, and made this notebook into my 12 Week Year journal. Will update with progress every now and then.

Creating guitar videos on YouTube

For years, I’ve haphazardly spent time making videos and gained a surprising number of subscribers. Recently I finally took the thought of “what would happen if I put more effort into YouTube?” seriously and it’s been a fun experiment! As of today, I have 1508 subscribers! One video has over 27,000 views and I didn’t even edit it. My goal is to post one video per week for the next 12 weeks

Cheers,
Amy