A Year of Growth

We are now a few days into 2024, and I am hopeful for a better year. If I’m honest, 2023 wasn’t my best year. It was rough from January to October. From being on a paid work leave to getting COVID, from work issues and mental health struggles to being terminated, and figuring out my place in the world, 2023 was draining. I want to share my story. God put it on my heart to share it with the world, naming my struggles. I believe God’s grace, mercy, and glory will be seen throughout my testimony. I hope you can also take something away.

The first six weeks of 2023 took place when I was on paid administrative leave. “Why were you on leave, Marc?” In December 2022, I was the victim of a sextortion case. What is that? I sent an inappropriate picture to a girl I was chatting with online, who used it against me to extort money out of me. They threatened to send the image to my place of work, so I confessed what I did wrong, and it led to me being put on an eight-week paid administrative leave to sort things out, recover from the trauma, and learn from my mistake. Through the guidance I received, I got the police involved to investigate the case and a lawyer in case something went further. Thankfully, nothing went beyond the threat, and things have been quiet since December 19, 2022. I thank God every time the event goes through my head, or I see something that triggers it that nothing ever came from this. Yet, little did I know what would lie before me because I confessed. 

Being on leave, I was required to attend therapy to review the event, understand my mistake and what led to my decision-making, and learn how to not give into this temptation again. My place of work was deciding on my return-to-work policy or even if I could return. The process took eight weeks, and I’ll get to that decision later. First, I want to share my brain capacity over those eight weeks. 

I was depressed to start with. While going through the mental anguish of the sextortion incident, I am now placed on administrative leave to sort all this out and determine whether I am still employed. This took place over 48 hours, and the leave wasn’t discussed until it happened. I told them that I would be as cooperative and transparent as possible, but I also felt that the reaction was both understandable and overreactive. I understood why they took the stance the way they did, but I didn’t understand the hyper-protective nature of their stance. It became serious for me when my boss hand-delivered my Christmas bonus and explained that this wouldn’t be a quick process. The HR team would look hard at this situation and determine whether or not I would stay employed. I was made aware that this situation could take up to eight weeks. I forgot to tell you I could not talk with coworkers or people in my work community during this time. I felt alone. I felt beaten up. I felt hurt, confused, and frustrated. I was also now isolated and cut off from the community that could have and would have supported me throughout this process. So, needless to say, my joy for Christmas was at a minimum. Either way, I was home for the holidays and had to figure out what my future had in store.

I finally got into therapy and through the heavier parts of my depression, and I was ready to grow from this. I even chose “growth” as my word for 2023. How true this word became. I knew I had to grow from this. As a better leader, friend, and person, I had to grow from this immature decision and learn how to manage those desires healthily. My therapist’s view was to recognize that I was both the victim and cause of this situation and to understand why I did what I did and how to manage the urge to not do that again. Realistically, I was scared straight from ever doing that again. I recognized how dumb that was, especially with someone I met online and have never met in person. I knew that moment was a weakness when my emotions and desires overtook my logic and rationale. With all that being said, it was time to move forward. I needed community again. I needed to be around a community of believers instead of being isolated at home. Thankfully, I had a church family to go to.

I attended the Baptist church in town for the first six weeks of 2023. This was a church I attended when I was working through some struggles with the UMC and walking through the grief surrounding my grandpa. This was a church that welcomed me with open arms in 2014/2015 and welcomed me again in 2023. I enjoyed every minute of it. It was refreshing to be a part of church again as a congregant rather than a church worker. I loved my job, don’t get me wrong. The feeling of being able to walk into church on a Sunday just to attend service is a feeling I hadn’t experienced since early 2015. It refreshed my soul in every way possible. I also ensured I got out of the house for a couple hours a day, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. I walked for two hours daily, listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and resources that helped me through this situation. On one of these walks, I talked to God about my future. I heard him clearly: “You are approaching a decade of work in this field. We talked long ago that you move on when this decade is here. It’s time.” I responded, “But God, there’s someone I need to see graduate. They’ve been a part of my ministry since I started. I want to see them graduate. Plus, I’ve been doing a lot of work preparing for VBS. It wouldn’t be fair to them to do the work of preparing and leave them high and dry.” He said, “Then, after VBS. It’s time.” I said, “Okay.” I felt at peace, excited, nervous, and scared. Yet, I’ve learned that when God speaks. You listen. 

With this newfound peace of mind, I could focus on myself throughout this leave. I had great sessions with my therapist, got more involved with my blog than ever before (as you can tell), and learned much about myself regarding why I am the way I am. I was ready to return to work, too! I was chomping to get back into the swing of things. I felt good that the situation was dead. My conversations with the police officer revealed that this was a scam from the start, the lines of communication were spoofed, and that what they told me was a lie. The lawyer said that there was nothing I needed to worry about unless the picture was released. I finally felt like I could put this thing past me. Yet, my conversations with my workplace never felt like I could move past it. 

There were stipulations in my return-to-work policy that felt uncomfortable. Granted, this is a new situation for me. There’s no precedent for how this should go properly, but I still didn’t get a good feeling. I had to meet with my boss weekly to check in and prepare myself for the week ahead (which was something we talked about doing before the incident.) They wanted all the information from my therapist, they required more volunteers than required by the higher-ups, and they added more to my job than expected (this one was an ongoing conversation before this incident, but some parts didn’t feel like it connected). I had to sign a social media waiver that the other employees were to sign, but none of them did in hindsight. There were tight stipulations to follow (for example, having volunteers scheduled a month in advance or being at risk of losing my job). With all this information in front of me, I had to think. Was it worth it? Is this going to be manageable? I talked with my family and friends to get their take on it, and they felt it was a lot, given my situation. Yet, I remembered what God and I talked about on that walk and knew I wanted to return. I signed all the needed forms and prepared for my return at the end of February. Then, COVID invaded my home. 

It’s 2023. Vaccinations are common. The number of cases was low. None of my family has caught it before. The odds of getting COVID at this point should’ve been small to none, right? WRONG. My mom and sister went to a hockey game and were lucky enough to sit near someone sneezing and coughing the entire time. My mom was struck with the symptoms a couple of days later. A positive test came from it. Now, COVID has turned me into a hypochondriac. I’m panicking and trying to figure out the proper procedures to minimize transmission and lower the risk of me and my dad getting sick. We masked and double-masked at times, wore gloves, stayed distant, minimized interaction when possible, and disinfected everything all the time. After a few days passed, I thought I was lucky and in the clear, but my throat got a little scratchy. Then, my sinuses were congested. I lost my voice (which was new compared to the symptoms I’ve read). I took my test and passed with flying colors. The week I was supposed to return, I had COVID. What a welcome-back gift! Thankfully, it didn’t last long after a week of rest, hydration, and medicine. I felt good and could return to my office after being gone for 67 days. 

I returned on Monday morning and attended my first meeting with my boss. It was surreal and overwhelming. I assumed the church world would stop since I wasn’t there, but I was wrong. I had three additional meetings that week and was caught up on everything I had missed over the previous two months. I felt ready and motivated. 

Getting back into a rhythm was difficult, especially with some of the new responsibilities and priorities that were set before me. Trying to figure out a time management balance, deadlines, priority organization, and how to get everything done was a constant struggle. How I was being taught to manage all this didn’t feel right either. I couldn’t tell if it was because it was new or didn’t align with my morals and ethics regarding my role. It felt like a cloud kept hovering over my head that fogged my brain and didn’t clarify what I should do. I thought it was just my anxiety, so I pushed it to the back of my head. That cloud never disappeared, though. Even as time passed, that cloud seemed to hover and get bigger and thicker at times. What was going on?

That question was something I wrestled with over the next 102 days of my employment. Some experiences left a bad taste in my mouth. When I asked to have HR representation at these meetings because I felt like I wasn’t being heard and was being criticized for doing things I didn’t know I shouldn’t or not asking questions about things I didn’t realize should be asking questions about, my boss met with this representative ahead of our weekly meetings. It felt like they were using them to double-team me rather than letting them be an impartial third party. I was never offered (or asked, to be transparent) the opportunity to meet with them, nor was I aware that they would meet beforehand. This situation ticked up as a red flag. Shortly after I started, I was in a meeting talking about an ongoing project we did. After the meeting was over, I went and talked with the coordinator of the project to catch up on information, share ideas, etc. When I returned, I got scolded in front of other coworkers for asking questions and talking about ideas that would overwhelm the person and, therefore, detract from the overall mission of this project. I was scolded for not being expected to rush off and have that conversation so quickly. There was another red flag. I was also scolded twice for unintentionally having and asking questions prepared in my lessons for the kids and youth that could have opened wounds and caused a public scene. When I shared this with my therapist, they said the odds of that happening were low to nothing and that the church should be a safe place to share information like that. This raised yet another red flag. Even when we reviewed my job description before I returned and asked if I would be getting a pay raise due to the additional responsibilities, they said there wouldn’t be one because this was a shift in what I was doing versus what I’ll be doing now. It didn’t reduce much, if anything. There’s another red flag. There was another situation where I developed a curriculum that my leaders needed clarification on and that I should have offered more promptly. It led to an emailed response regarding how unprofessional that was and how they would’ve declined the volunteer opportunity had they read everything first. I own that mistake. I rushed in preparing the curriculum and forced the curriculum to work in a situation that wouldn’t have worked all that well. There were a lot of miscommunications on my part regarding that, but it led to even more disdain that was growing.

This all culminated with a meeting, including my HR representative, my boss, and me, as we reviewed how well we thought I was doing. They had me rate many of my job areas on a scale of 1 to 10. I did my self-review and thought I was doing well. They didn’t agree because of my previous mistakes, both mentioned above and not mentioned. They held my previous mistakes against me even though I moved past them and learned from them. It felt like they wanted me to admit my mistakes and call out how awful of a person I was in my role. It wasn’t comfortable. I also came to that meeting from a very rough, personal weekend. This is important because it was also mentioned that my energy didn’t seem suitable for my position. I felt like what happened in my personal life didn’t matter and that I needed to wear my mask 24/7, which felt unhealthy. It was what it was.

Then, the fatal day came. June 8, 2023. I still remember it so vividly six months later. After lunch, at about 1:15 p.m., my boss and HR representative entered my office and closed the door. They handed me a letter and told me that I had been terminated from my position as of today. I was to exit the facility as soon as possible. All the emotions hit me at once. Frustration, rage, anger, anxiousness, sadness, grief, depression, and more. They explained that I wouldn’t be allowed to attend church or any church-related service for six months. They explained that they would pay me for the current and subsequent cycles if I remained respectful of the situation. They wanted me to pack up my office and off the property in a few hours. It hurt more that they didn’t give me until Sunday because it was our Graduate recognition service. I had the one graduate I wanted to see off and couldn’t. I was lucky enough to watch them walk across the stage at their graduation (which was awesome), but I didn’t get to see them get honored one last time. They asked what was upcoming that they needed to be made aware of. Given my emotional state, I relayed as much information as possible and began packing. While all this was happening, other HR team members talked with my coworkers down the hall and explained the situation to them. I handed my keys over, turned in my church credit card, and began packing all my stuff. You never truly realize how much stuff you accumulate until you have to pack it all up. My coworker came down in tears, shock, and frustration at what was happening. This took about two hours. When everything was done, we took one last tour through the church and reviewed any additional things, and I gathered any remnants left of my tenure. After that, they called everyone in the building to my office and did one last prayer. I made the phone calls I needed, loaded the vehicle with all my stuff, and went off. By 3:30/4 p.m., I was no longer an employee. My emotions were high and fragile as I tried to wrap my mind around what had happened. The person taking me hope, a member of the HR team, asked me, “You alright?” I wasn’t sure. The tears continued to stream down my face the whole way home. I couldn’t comprehend how we got to this space in such a short time. We pulled in front of my house, unloaded, hugged each other, exchanged pleasantries, and moved ahead. They pulled away, and here I am. I was in my living room, surrounded by the variety of things I had in my office, and crying. 

Reflecting on how things went during my return, I often question: “Was it worth it?” The answer is still yes. Some people might think I’m crazy, and some thought I was at that time, but I set out to do something in faith that God would see good in it. It’s one of the few times I can say, with confidence, that I stepped out in faith to do what God was calling me to do. The time I spent doing my work during this time was enriching, healing, and fun despite all the chaos. While I spent my job attempting to protect our kids, youth, and adults from the chaos of the outside world, I actually protected myself in the process. When I was in the middle of a ministry event or gathering, I didn’t have to think about the administrative side or the polity. I got to think about the ministry and the good that came from it. There were times when it felt like I was being treated as a pedophile and a criminal, and I still walked away with that feeling of this being worth it. If that isn’t God, I’m not sure what is. People who knew my story even said, “How are you not angry at this?” The truth was that I was, but anger wouldn’t solve things. I don’t fight fire with more fire. As Jesus said, I turned the other cheek. Granted, I only have so many cheeks to turn, but still. This mindset brought me peace and comfort. I had my moments when emotions got the better of me for sure, but those moments were in private and happened with God. God forgave me for what I did. “Forgiven and forgotten,” as the Skit Guys would say. My situation haunted me for months, and I even feel some PTSD to this day from it and the resulting consequences. Yet, I know that God is stronger than this. God overcomes all battles. There’s nothing too big that God can’t handle. When it felt like I was drowning, God pulled my hand out of the water, strengthening my faith and focus on him. 

With that entire story being said, I want to point out some things. This is only my side of the story, told from my perspectives and emotions. I know that an ENTIRE side of the story is not being told here. Throughout the story, I have made sure to be transparent and honest about how I remember the story. I wanted to ensure that I honored both parties to the best of my ability. This may sound like I’m bashing, spreading toxicity, and trying to paint my former workplace as an overall negative environment. This is far from accurate. While this was a rough and treacherous time of my tenure here, many positive memories trump this moment. Being there for eight years, the entirety of my twenties, taught me a lot about who I am, how the organization works, how to care and love for one another, and the joy of having a loving community surround and support you. If it weren’t for the rough moments, I wouldn’t be able to recognize and acknowledge how good they truly were. I recognize that the workplace didn’t do this to me. I caused the situation to occur. I cannot control how others react to it. While I wish things ended differently, I am at peace with things. I have moved forward in life, which I’ll talk about next, and I am excited about the direction God is taking me. I am thankful for the people who have reached out to check on me through all of this. I am thankful for my friends and family who have supported me through this transition. God blessed me with a beautiful community of people. Anyway, this whole section of the blog was to share that the intention of sharing my story isn’t to come across as negative, toxic, or attacking. It is meant to be an intentional, transparent, and connective story that others might relate to and for God to show them that they are not alone. If you have comments or questions about my story, please comment or contact me privately. I am happy to continue the conversation. 

After a couple days, I was ready to return to the job market. I touched up my resume and started applying anywhere and everywhere. Well, not everywhere, but you know what I mean. I was struggling, though, to get responses. I tried places that I knew would both help people and was something that I could do comfortably. I tried multiple customer service positions, positions within my school district, and positions slightly outside my norm, but nothing. I was feeling defeated and dejected. Then, God did his thing. 

Out of the blue, I got a call from my parent’s Pastor asking if I was interested in their Administrative Assistant/Treasurer position. I said yes but was hesitant. I just left a church job and was afraid of what it would mean mentally to get back into it. I enjoyed the freedom and being a church attendee for the longest time. I went and did the interview and had an anxiety attack. I sat in their lobby, panicking, worried about my past coming to haunt me, but my worries were for nothing. They offered me the position, which I accepted, and it’s been great ever since. This was a church I grew up in, so it felt like I was coming home. The treasurer side has given me the experience I needed to enter finance. Given some of what I did at my previous church, the administrative assistant side was familiar. After two weeks, I started getting into a rhythm after training and making the position my own. It felt nice. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s okay. At this point, I thought, “This will hold me over until my career job is ready.” I’m still there as of writing this. 

I talked with some friends about what was happening, and they asked me if I was free on an upcoming weekend. Confused, I asked why, but they wouldn’t let on. All they said was it was to celebrate my birthday. I was excited. It was my first bright spot after all the chaos that happened. My friends struggled to contain the surprise and revealed they were throwing me a party full of people I worked with at my workplace. I was shocked, touched, and overjoyed. They asked, “Who do you want there?” They wanted to be sure they honored any boundaries I had set with people and that I couldn’t be uncomfortable around anyone. I appreciated the gesture immensely and felt like a kid again regarding this party.

The days were approaching, and my excitement was becoming more and more apparent. Then, the party day was here. My friend came and picked me up, and off we went. It was so lovely to see them again and enjoy the fun that came with it. We arrived at the hostess’s house and started preparing for the guests. After a little bit, the first of twenty guests showed up. I had even had a longtime friend join, which I never expected. Being around them and being in community with them was fantastic. We caught up on what was happening in each other’s lives. I got to share my side of the situation that led to my termination. Above all, we laughed. We enjoyed each other’s company and friendship that grew over my eight years there. It was hard to say goodbye, but I also knew it was a see you later. We were there for almost five hours, but it felt like it had blown by. Time flies when you’re having fun. Words to this day are not enough to express my gratitude, love, and appreciation for that day. It was the medicine I needed to mend the heartbreak and grief I was experiencing. To those that read this and were there, thank you. 

Life started to quiet down from July to September, thankfully. I got in a rhythm. I got into a routine with my job. I started writing on a schedule for my blog. I still exercised (although not as much as I should.) I tried getting into a rhythm with taking care of myself. That has waivered good and bad, but the attempts are still there, and failure hasn’t stopped me. I got finances in order, cutting out subscriptions I didn’t need (although I still REALLY want, such as Spotify and YouTube Red) to limit my expenses. Life started to feel normal. Then, job #2 approached me. 

As part of the myriad job applications I submitted, Kroger was one of them who FINALLY responded. They said they were doing open interviews if I was interested. I applied for various positions there three times, including Cashier, Courtesy Clerk, and Online Shopper. These positions hit both criteria I mentioned earlier: I could help people and would be relatively comfortable. This sounds perfect. It also includes an extra paycheck. I prepared for the interview, and off I went. I asked for the person doing the interviews, and they took me to her, and it began. I was nervous but interested in what they had to offer. We reviewed the typical interview questions, and then they asked me what position I had applied for. I told her, and she told me what was available: meat department, deli, and cashier. I thought, “Cashier! Perfect!” I told her, and she was like, “Are you sure? The meat and deli department pay more money.” They were a dollar or two more an hour, which caught my attention, given my financial situation. If you know me, I don’t handle food situations well. I get squeamish when I deal with raw meat. It’s a texture thing. Plus, I feared my hygiene practices wouldn’t be good enough. I said no to the meat department but thought more about the deli department. The biggest red flag was that there was no job description offered, nor was anything shared during the interview. This needed to be a move of faith. I agreed. I was now the newest member of the Kroger Deli department. 

It was about a week later before I had to return for orientation. I was with a group of four people, and I definitely felt outside of my comfort zone. Orientation involved getting my smock, nametag, needed paperwork, a tour of the facility, and preparing all my needed information to ensure I get paid. After four hours, I walked out of there feeling overwhelmed, nervous, anxious, and determined. I had to return tomorrow for eight hours of classes and training. It was mind-numbing, to say the least. It was all on a computer (a rough setup), listening through speakers alongside three other people (which was distracting). I was overwhelmed with much information compared to what I saw and heard from others. I wasn’t even able to finish before I had to leave. I continued with that mindset, “I can’t do this. I’m not cut out for this. There’s no way I can handle this.” Yet, I marched forward. I FINALLY got my job description and my schedule. I read through it and felt okay with it. I wasn’t super positive, but I wasn’t wholly negative. I just had to try. 

I went in the next day after working my first job and headed to the back. I dropped my stuff off, put on my nametag and smock, and introduced myself to some people there. I told them I was working in the deli, which wasn’t met with a positive response. This department had its issues and high turnover. I’m thinking, “Great.” Then, I told them I was being trained by a specific person (leaving the name out for obvious reasons) and got a worse reaction. They were very blunt and often pushed work onto others they didn’t want to do because they didn’t want to do it. I worked with them for two days and didn’t get that vibe. They were great to work with and just an overall awesome person. Yet with that introduction, the anxiety I already had going into things was much worse, but I did it. 

I did the job. I learned the tasks. I was picking up on things quickly. I was understanding different aspects of the job with little trouble. I was soaking in a lot of it to put processes to memory because that’s how my brain works. After three days, I thought, “I think I can handle this.” Then the weekend came, which in retail is night and day different, and I was working with the department manager, which means the attitude and tone were different. I was also working a different shift than the last two days. I got hit with so much information. I was getting anxious and slightly panicked because of it. Trying to keep up with the manager, who operated faster than everyone else. The amount of things happening was more than what I was accustomed to. By the end of the day, I was drained, fatigued, tired, and done. 

While I tell you I can handle this, I couldn’t. I could physically, but not mentally. I had a continuous stress migraine for three days. I couldn’t sleep. I just felt unhappy. When God told me my plans in January, this wasn’t it. I was supposed to be working at a call center for a bank (which I later found out was being outsourced.) I was supposed to move out of my parent’s home into an apartment. I was supposed to be happier. I wasn’t. When I went in the next day, I made mistakes I hadn’t made before. My nerves were shot to the point where I was in tears six hours before my shift started. This wasn’t worth it. The extra money was nice but not a sacrifice for my health and mental well-being. At the end of my shift, I quit. 

I wrestled with this a lot over that week. It just wasn’t a fit for me and who I am at the end of the day. I didn’t feel this way at first. I failed. I couldn’t handle the work. I had to actually do labor. I had to move quick. I was just being lazy. I am a failure. These thoughts and more were rummaging through my head consistently over the following week after I quit. I was thankful I had a great community to lean on. I got to talk with my friends and realized that I just wasn’t happy there. I wasn’t happy with where I was in life. I wasn’t in a happy work environment. I was ready and okay with that. This experience taught me something. I wanted to help people. I wasn’t getting that at Kroger. I was in the back more than I helped customers, and I just don’t like that. As much of an introvert as I claim to be, I enjoy helping and interacting with others. It confuses me about how I can be socially anxious and bad at small talk. This learning experience helped me realize areas I can work in that align with my degree and values. 

I appreciated the opportunity at Kroger and the people I got to work with. It was me that was my issue. With this in mind, I started recognizing areas I wanted to be in and found something. I initially found a position at H&R Block as an Associate Team Lead. After my conversation with the interviewer, we agreed that my talents would be most suitable as a Tax Prep. I sat on this for a few days before I did the interview. After what I went through with Kroger, I needed to ensure this was in the direction God had for me. Kroger was a part of the plan to clarify what I wanted to do. God knew I would go through what I did there and give me the clarity that I might not have heard directly. How did this happen to me? 

One of the consistent things I told myself and others after I quit Kroger was that I wanted to help people. That was the repeating phrase I kept saying. A long time ago, too, I learned that it is good to look up video testimonials of the position you’re applying for to get an idea of what the position is about. What did I keep hearing? It was all about “helping others.” It was even repeated three times, I believe. If that’s not God, I’m not sure what is. I knew that I was set to apply. I stuck with this mantra during the interview, leading me to the position switch. After the interview, I was excited. I was nervous but giddy. I know this is where God wants me. 

I’m on the next phase of the journey as I write this (October 16th) and have registered for the class. It’s an eight-week class that will prepare me for what’s expected. They will set me up for an interview if I pass the mid-term. If I pass the class overall, then I am guaranteed employment. I’m excited. The class would end in mid-December, so I can start 2024 with a new finance job. What a way to kick off the new year, right? 

So, I’m here to share a couple updates with everyone! I’m about halfway through my tax class as I write this (November 21st), and it has been a journey. A lot of new information to process and comprehend. New routines need to be developed to handle the class load, which has been almost 12 hours of homework a week plus 2 3-hour classes. I needed more patience than I didn’t think I needed with the classes because they are teeth pullers. I could go on and on, but I am picking things up. My confidence in comprehending the material is getting stronger. My ability to process the “whys” and “hows” behind the steps and information seems to improve. I passed my first test with 92%, so I must have gained something, right? On to the second half, though, and a future interview.

I also want to express my joy in November with putting up Christmas decorations at my church. It was the first time in a long time that I felt the community, joy, fun, and love of a church. I felt like I got to be myself, unmasked and all. I had great conversations and laughs with different people in the church that I don’t get to communicate with often. It was just perfect. I told my friend that I just felt jolly. I couldn’t think of any other word to share my experience, but it was medicinal.

It’s now December 15, and I want to share some good news. As long as I pass my class (everything is done except the last test, which I’ll be doing on the 16th and should pass, no problem), I have a new job! I’ll be starting on the 20th. I’m excited. I’ve done all my paperwork and almost all my onboard procedures. I’ll still have about a month of training in the office (which I’m thankful for) to get to know the system, processes, etc. I’ll also be able to work at the church. I’m excited! Nervous, anxious, and scared, but excited nonetheless. 

Now, to talk about 2024. My word for 2024 will be “confidence.” I want to become more confident in where my life will go. More confident in my decision-making. More confident in taking some risks and doing some new things. More confident in myself, my image, my style, and everything surrounding that. That’s my word for the year. 

Regarding my content, I don’t have it fully fleshed out yet, but here’s my goal: 

• Blog: 2-5 per week at Midnight (2 study blogs and 3 devotionals)
• YouTube: 2-4 uploads per month at Noon
• Podcast: 2-4 podcasts per month at Noon
• TikTok: whenever I feel like it XD

The YouTube/Podcast stuff will be centered around my job/life status by then. My class is taking 95% of my attention now, so I’ve just been focusing on writing and TikTok. It’ll be up to God. So, I hope you’re ready for a brand-new year and a brand-new me. I’m excited to see where this goes. Until next time, stay blessed!