When I made my Bingo card back in January, I was a full-time employee. As April’s do in my life, April changed everything. April always forces me to grow, whether I want to or not (thanks, universe). Being a middle child and only girl, I’m always being forced to build the energy in the room. Looking back at the Bingo Board, I’m well on my way to making things happen. Here are a few accomplishment highlights:

• Attend a Concert: FKA Twigs was awesome. Hopping on a bus to Boston was an experience. We took the bus because the TSA Agents weren’t coming to work. We made a whole girls’ trip out of it.
• Write 8 Blog Posts: It’s easy peasy to write more than eight blog posts when you have a bit of time on your hands to reflect.
• Host a Tea Party: I got a free tea set from the Buy Nothing Group, and the rest was history
• Support a New Small Business: I go out of my way to support a new business quite often. It’s exciting to be a part of someone’s journey in the smallest ways, like being a customer.
• Do a No Spend Month: This was child’s play after April, because beyond the essentials, I kept my budget tight.
• Go on Vacation: Boston counted as a vacation even though Greyhound was an absolute nightmare and the bus broke down halfway to Pittsburgh, and we had to backtrack to get on another bus, causing us to miss our connection. We ended up staying on the initial bus as it was making its way to Pittsburgh.
• Fail at Something New: Between the production of the documentary, being a councilwoman, interviewing for jobs, and volunteering, I had no way to focus on the CompTIA A+ Class I was in. It was free. I learned some things, but I learned it’s hard to focus on extracurriculars when you’re still trying to get your core studies together.
• Acquired an Accounta-bestie: Every week me and a girlfriend meet to talk about our goals (and sometimes drink) and how to accomplish them. We check in on the previous week’s goals and hold each other accountable. Everyone needs someone like that.

I’m an optimist running on caffeine and optimism, so one might say that losing my job gave me opportunities to do other community-oriented amazing things.

I volunteered at Babesburgh, and every Friday you can find me picking up food donated to the Holliday Memorial AME Zion Church from Trader Joe’s and refilling the free fridges to bridge the gap and pour into the community.

Every second Friday, you can find me coordinating an art crawl in Braddock in the name of art and economic development. Pouring into people and leveraging the people skills that I have helps feed my spirit, even if it’s not putting food on my plate.

I don’t complain where I’m at even if I don’t want to be there because I know it’s where the universe needs me to be in the moment.

What do I want to accomplish in the next 77 days?

• Find a way to throw myself into meaningful work centered in tech
• Finish/Publish my vampire romance novel
• Take a tech free day
• Help grow the Braddock Art Crawl
• Sew a Dress (Patterns trip me up unless I made them)
• Relax

Heavy on that last one. Wednesday, I told my accounta-bestie that I wish that I could do more, and she said, “we are two of the most productive people and you’re here saying you wish you did more.” Lazy people don’t want to do more. I am in competition with myself, and sometimes I set impossible standards for myself that I don’t set for others. I don’t give myself the grace to relax enough (getting comfortable scares me) and/or make mistakes (that’s where growth lives).

At least I’m self-aware and learning to be flexible with myself. In 2027, I promise to myself to give myself the “what if it all goes right,” grace that I give everyone else and to lean into more “do nothing days.” Even if it’s just writing or playing The Sims 4 for 12 hours straight. I remind myself daily that social media is a highlight reel and people are only announcing their successes and not their failures.