Updated October 28, 2024, from my home in Massachusetts, USA. The sun is now going down before 7PM.

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

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.

Composing

This is similar to but slightly different than writing songs. One of my classes, Lydian Chromatic Concepts, has us composing a new piece each week. They’re short - for now. I intend to turn them into fully realized songs/pieces over the winter.

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 880 subscribers! One of my videos has almost 7,000 views and is about triads. Why did that one do so well compared to the others? I don’t know. But I know I’ll keep doing my Internet thing, including these videos and writing online.

Cheers,
Amy