It is a common fallacy among writers, or so I am told, to see our own lives as a narrative arc. I am more guilty of this than most. I know that it is a fallacy. I know that real life is, for better and worse, much, much stranger than fiction. I know that mortal lives are always messier than that. And yet … the arc of a story remains the chief frame through which I experience the world.
The last chapter of my life began when, upon graduating college, I moved back to Kansas City. I returned to the mall jewelry store where I had spent the previous six years, off and on. I volunteered with the organization that puts on the festival that had been the highlight of my year since 1999. I got involved in a relationship with someone who, though the romance didn’t last, has proved one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I buckled down and finished my first novel, and successfully ran a Kickstarter to start a publishing company to print that novel. I started producing jewelry of my own design, mostly for myself and my closest friends, but solid work that I’m proud of. I took up a whole new art, photography, which I grow better at each time I pick up my camera.
In December of this year, I formally resigned from all my positions and responsibilities within the festival organization. In February, I released my novel into the world. In March I taught one of my energy work classes at the Witches’ Meet-Up, my first class hosted outside the HSA. All this to say, I believe that these events mark the start of a new chapter in my life. I don’t know, precisely, what the road will look like, but it is my hope that it ends with me as a full time professional Pagan. I’m already working in a Pagan jewelry store. I have just released a Pagan novel. I am building a small repertoire of workshops on magical technical skills.
In the last chapter of my life, I took on too much responsibility, too quickly, without adequately vetting the people I was working with. In this next chapter of my life, I hope to deepen my personal practice, to deepen the relationships that survived the previous chapter, and to make more art.
Thank you everyone who’s been along for the ride.