My new year's resolution: an illustrated diary

A belated happy new year to everyone here on Steemit. I was away on a trip for the past two weeks, and only just returned home yesterday. I'd like to share a few thoughts and some pen and pencil sketches I made.

I'm sure everyone has had an adventurous and exciting past year. The price charts for so many cryptocurrencies currently resemble the left side of the Eiffel Tower. It was truly amazing to watch this explosive growth unfold before my very eyes, and I'm grateful to be able to participate in some small way in all the buzz surrounding cryptos and blockchain tech.

Even though each day passes fluidly into the next without any true distinction, the marking of the new year has refreshed my mind, and I feel as though my energy has been replenished. I rarely ever made promises to myself in the past, but that was because I knew I would only let myself down. This year, I am feeling strangely optimistic. The future may not be as grim as I once believed it would be.

On my way home, driving through the mountains, I passed through silent forests of snow-laden conifers. The trees on either side of the road were like sleeping giants. Their branches drooped with the heavy snow that had gently accumulated over time. I thought of all the past burdens and grudges I held, and felt a deep longing to be free of all of it.

In the past, the more I brooded over something, the darker my thoughts would become. But, that day, as I ruminated over the mistakes I had made and the people I had wronged or been wronged by, I realized that even though the pain would never fully dissipate, I was not hopeless. Each day now feels like the starting line of a new race, and the losses I experienced no longer paralyze me, but burn at the back of my heels, urging me to continue sprinting.

It's strange, but I don't think I could have found myself thinking this way last new year's day. Something had happened over the course of the year that seemingly drastically altered the person I am today, and I am still trying to identify this catalyst. It might be the case that I'll never be able to convey it in words, even if I do figure it out. At any rate, I plan on keeping more documentation about my progress, so my new year's resolution is that I would like to keep an illustrated diary.

I bought these index cards to doodle on before I left for my trip, but I hardly had a moment to myself to actually get any drawing done, so I did these sketches from memory when I got home. They don't quite capture the stark silence of the snowy forest, but I'll keep them anyway.

I hope to be able to create and share more of my artwork on here this year, and also to contribute more to the curation of original art. I'm sure there are many talented people on here who have yet to reach a wide audience. I might just be one tiny minnow, but if you're an artist and you want me to check out your blog, leave a comment below and I'd be more than happy to!

~Mel.