My 2019 Word of the Year

It’s February already, the second month of the year. I’ve been a little slower moving in 2019, taking more time to sit with my hopes + dreams for the year. It doesn’t help that we had a whirlwind January that included moving apartments, plus a quick weekend trip to Chicago. One of the things I knew I wanted for 2019, however, was more opportunities to rekindle my love of film as a medium and practice new skills, hence embarking on a new Project 365. And it’s all wrapped up beautifully with what I’ve decided is my 2019 word of the year.

I completed a Project 365 in 2016, which you can check out in this past blog post (with ideas to start your own). Watching a year pass before your eyes in 6 minutes is pretty extraordinary! To complete the project, taking one second of video every day, I had to let go of a degree of perfectionism. Sometimes getting the shot for the day was more important than setting up the PERFECT shot. Project 365 wasn’t an Instagram look at my life; it was the ordinary, unstyled moments. Because let’s face it: we all have more ordinary moments than picture-perfect ones.

I chose Curiosity as my word of the year for 2019 because I feel perfectionism breathing down my neck again, coupled with a hefty dose of anxiety. To me, the opposite of perfectionism is curiosity. It’s that carefree, childlike excitement with which young ones see the world. No expectations, merely opportunities to play.

This is why I want to lean into Curiosity over the next 12 months. Running a business is hard work. When you build a business from your art, it can take a little bit of the magic away and replace it with the pressure to perform. So, this year’s Project 365 is going to be a little bit different. I wanted a project that was solely for my creative pleasure.

My plan for 2019

This year, I’m going to create a monthly recap video in the same way that I did in 2016. Instead of a strict one second of video a day, I’m going to allow myself to capture my favorite parts and turn them into art. This video, summarizing my January, is the first monthly installment.

I’ve been wanting to play with animation, and I really pushed myself to work quickly, learn on the fly, and hit export before it was perfect so that I can look back and see how much I’ve grown.

I hope it encourages you if you’re also feeling a slower start to the new year, or feeling burdened by expectations during this season.

And if one of your goals is to capture more of the magic of your everyday moments on video this year but you’re not sure what the next step is, I’ve just launched a new offering. It’s called the Cedar package, a family video editing service. It’s designed to ensure that the moments most important to you get enjoyed over and over, instead of ending up on a hard drive to collect virtual dust. Contact me to find out more!