Year End Wrap-Up: Taking a Step Back to Pallet Town

Well, it’s the end of the year and time for another reflections post… but, honestly, 2017 was a shit show from start to finish and I’m glad to see the bitch die… I mean, fuck 2017… wait, that’s not right either, *ahem* let’s try this again…

With 2017 winding down, it’s time for me to look back on the year, and reflect on all the things I learned these past 12 months. (Nailed it) I’ve been running Nice Job Breaking It, Hero for a little over two years now and in that time I have seen many changes in my life, both personally and professionally. Of course not all of these changes were positive, I had quite a few setbacks this year, but I still managed to come out relatively unscathed.

Last year, I dubbed 2017 my Mt. Silver Year and at the time I wasn’t aware of what an uphill battle it was going to be. Much like the Mt. Silver from the games, this was my toughest challenge yet, but through pluck and sheer determination, I made it to the summit and honestly, there’s still so much more out there to explore and do! But, in order to reach the next summit, I first have to take a step back and start anew, that was one of the hardest lessons to learn this year. You can’t just keep adding paint to an already full canvas, in order to gain some prospective a fresh approach is needed. And so, I dub 2018 my Pallet Town Year….

These past few years I spent my time building my foundation, experimenting with various colors and hues, some worked, others, not so much. I’ve learned from those experiences and now I think I’m finally ready to create something new, not for likes or views, but for me. Not saying that that wasn’t what I was doing before, but somewhere along the way, I lost sight of what I wanted and now I mean to reclaim that “spark”. But, before I can start in on that new blank canvas, I have to take a step back and evaluate all the wonderful things that happened this year.

2017 Kinda Sucked Balls, But It Got Better Towards the End

So, the circus Presidential Election and Inaguration aside, 2017 was just not my year. It was like everything that could go wrong did and in spectacular fashion I might add. I’ll save you guys the details and just give you all the cliffnotes version:

• Ended a serious long-term relationship… so 6 years down the drain, but ultimately it was for the best
• Unemployment, though granted I should have seen that one coming
• Housing issues, almost had to move back home…
• My dad had not one but, three different health scares that put him in the hospital
• Dating Russian Roulette (no explanation on this one… just know there were a lot of weirdos)
• Funimation hit me with a DMCA for my Yuri On Ice dolls, but I sold one of them anyway, so I kinda count that as a win.

But, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and all these setbacks pushed me to do two things I’d been putting off because I was a bit too complacent: 1) Start writing for MANGA.TOKYO and 2) Start selling my crochet stuff. Now, I’m not gonna pretend like I started these for wholly altruistic reasons, because I didn’t, I needed cash and jobs in my field weren’t exactly biting, so I did what I had to to pay my bills. But, I still quite enjoy doing both.

I started writing for MANGA.TOKYO back in March, but like most things it kind of fell to the wayside when RL stuff started getting in the way. But, I don’t regret applying, it was one of the best decisions I made all year. Ya’ll I get burned out on writing game reviews, sometimes I literally just want to play a game and not review it, so anime reviews were a welcome and much needed change. It’s a lowkey site, and the editors, bless them, are super understanding and work with my schedule, which is perfect for a serial procrastinator like me. Plus, it helped me rediscover my love of anime, something I was dangerously close to giving up… so win win!

On the flip side, crocheting dolls, is just plain fun! I get to do what I love and strangely enough people like what I create. As with anything you put on the internet, I was afraid folks would drag me through the mud, but everyone has been so supportive and helpful, especially my Ace Crochet Buddy, April. I don’t usually do shoutouts like this but, that girl has really held me down during my crafting journey and I can’t thank her enough for putting up with the work-in-progress spam on Line! Because of everyone’s support I’m going to continue selling and making doll, I’m even going to do another special giveaway as well, so be on the lookout for that.

Out With the Old, In With the New: Blog Plans for 2018

Right so like I said earlier, I am quite alright with forgetting 2017 even happened, so let’s just tuck it away in a box under the bed where it belongs and move on to all the great things to come in 2018!!

First, taking a step back doesn’t mean I’m quitting, but I will be moving around some of the old content while throwing some new stuff into the mix, because *ahem* it’s my prerogative~ Second, I’m gonna try my best to be more interactive with you guys on WordPress, I’ve been slacking on that lately and I need to get back into the habit of commenting and whatnot. I’ll also try to add some polls and giveaways back into the mix, since ya’ll stuck with me through all the hiatuses, a thank you from me to you, but that won’t be for a bit. There are going to be a few changes, nothing drastic, just a few things here and there to make things easier on me, so without further ado, the new stuff:

2018 Roster and Schedule

Ya’ll know how I feel about schedules, but with MANGA.TOKYO, Etsy, and a full time job, I’ve kind of outgrown the write when the hell I feel like it method of blogging. I need a schedule, but one that I can actually stick to this time around… So, I’ll be transitioning to a bi-weekly posting schedule. Yeah, this is more for my sanity than anything else, I just can’t keep up with a weekly schedule anymore, but, I will stagger my posts so there will still be new content each week. Most of my old content will be back in 2018, with the addition of three new post series, two of which will be short-term. I WILL START THE NEW SCHEDULE ON JAN. 7th!

New Content

• Otome Debates (bi-weekly Tuesday)– It’s all in the title with this one, it’s a post series about some of the topics that have been dividing many gamers in the otome community. From localization to otome heroines, every other week I’ll spotlight “controversial” otome topics.
• Rules for Dating… (bi-weekly Wednesday)– There are all kinds of characters out there, each with their own likes and dislikes. In this series I’ll be listing off some important tips for romancing folks who fall into specific character archetypes. This isn’t meant to be taken seriously, so your mileage may vary.
• Otome Game Recommendations for Beginners  (bi-weekly Thursday)– A list of 10 otome game recommendations for newbies, by genre.

Old Content

• Last Week Today (bi-weekly Sunday)– Yes, my weekly recap series is back, but as a bi-weekly series (doing such a massive post every week was killing my soul).
• Melanin Monday (bi-weekly Monday)– I originally started this for Black History Month 2017, but you guys liked the idea so much I kept it going. This series focuses on the portrayals of people of color in nerdy media.
• Thrifty Gamer (bi-weekly Thursday)– Three games for gamers on a budget. Each game will be $10 or less (not including sales)! I’m expanding this to include more non-otome options… since you guys asked ever so nicely for it…
• Fangirl Moments (every Friday)– A weekly series where I fangirl about various media that I came across. Covers a wide range of subject matter.

There are some blank spaces in the above schedule, which I will fill with reviews and other content that I’ve been working on: more game reviews, ramblings, opinion pieces, top 10 lists, first impressions posts, and a few discussion posts too! As always, I am always open to suggestion, so if you want to see a particular post or topic here on Nice Job Breaking It, Hero, tell me about it!

Alright, this post is long enough as it is, and I’m about to get on a bus back to DC, so I’ll keep this bit short. 2017 has been a shit year for me, but there were a few bright spots that got me through the rough times. I don’t do personal shoutouts, because the folks that matter the most, know just how much I appreciate them without me having to tag them in a silly Year End Review post. But, for everyone that has stuck with me as I worked to get my shit together, I can’t thank you enough! Your love and support has gotten me through some tough times, and I sincerely hope we can continue this journey long into the future, whether that is here on WordPress or elsewhere.

I am ready to give it my best shot in the new year, even if I sometimes make things worse, I’ll keep pushing ahead, ‘cus, that’s what heroes do…So here’s to breaking it in 2018, and every year to come…Sometimes you have to break it to make it…

Share with me some of your 2017 successes! What are your plans for the new year? Any resolutions? Let me know what you think in the comments section. If you like what you see, like this post or follow Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! As always THANK YOU FOR READING!!