Opportunities.
Sometimes they come and hit us in the back of the head, and other times we have to find our own, other times more so, we have to BUILD our own, and for 2022 that’s what I am doing.
I made a list of the last four years and my initial thoughts when it came to LMBG during each new year of doing this blog:
2017-2018: Trauma Release.
I was all about releasing the trauma and focusing on letting it out, that was my ONLY focus because I’d been holding it in too damned long and I needed to let it out so that I could move forward in a healthier direction. My only intention during that first year was to see what could happen if I told the truth.
2018-2019: Taking Chances on My Writing
I remember thinking that year “well, let’s see what we get this year,” because I was afraid to make plans. I was afraid to promise myself that I would keep doing this blog, so in case I stopped, in case I failed, at least this way I wasn’t preparing for success, but I wasn’t preparing for ultimate failure either.
2019-2020: Oh so…We’re doing this? Okay then.
Refocusing on creating a portfolio. At this point, I knew that I wanted Loud Mouth Brown Girl to matter, and I had all these thoughts in my head that were not mine. I started writing love letters, because of the former gangsters in my life.
They had all these things they weren’t saying, that they WANTED to say but didn’t have the strength to say, and putting them down on paper and putting them out there, felt like something that “I” could do, that ironically, helped them start speaking for themselves. It was a cool project, and I look forward to making MANY more with my Ohana.
2020-2021: Pandemic…Fuck…Let’s Get to Work
This year was fucking weird.
I made not one dollar. I mean it seriously, through the shop I made exactly $0.00. Last year I made more than $800 which was spent on buying Hoodies for the Homeless, and we were able to buy 8 LMBG Branded hoodies, this year, however? Denada. And that breaks my heart a lot because this year was supposed to be the year that I was able to say “hey I can earn an income doing this.” Thank you very much, Universe.
In the scheme of things, with millions around the world due to the pandemic, I am not overly worried about how little money I made, because there are things that are FAR more important, like human lives, but this year I will admit did push me quite a bit. Between my mental health issues, and trying to focus on work, while simultaneously being emotionally eviscerated by the world’s problems, it’s been fucking ROUGH.
2021 was the year that I was able to experiment, to see what works, what doesn’t, and where my passions lie. A Lot of things didn’t work, but a lot of things did, and so I had to take breaks in some areas like the podcast, and I had to really stop and think about my purpose.
If I’d been at the job I’d had in the past, I’d be on the front lines, but since I wasn’t working for anyone else this year I was able to focus on figuring out what I want LMBG to be, and I have more then a dozen notebooks that have helped me figure it out.
Every year I have a different purpose, but the path remains the same. My future will be defined by what I am able to build with Loud Mouth Brown Girl by my side, this website is never going away, but I need help. So here’s my plan for twenty-twenty-two.
Twenty Twenty Two: We’re Moving Forward and Creating Opportunities for Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual Growth and Wellbeing. Whether you like it or not.
Just as a reminder to folks who haven’t heard the song before, I want to include a piece from an artist known only as Roman from Atlanta. I heard this song for the first time when I was sixteen, and I spent what felt like a lifetime looking for it. J Pharrell produced this track had it on his website, and I admit I stole it, so if you’d like me to take it down, send an email. Tell Roman if he wants me to take it down he has to call me himself. (Not joking.)
This is PRECISELY what started this website, and here’s where we’re headed:
The number 2 on its own, means couple, pair, more than one, not alone. It means that I no longer have to worry about being by myself. That’s the most important part of 2022. Many of my plans include collaborating with other people, and I am excited about that, because not only do I get to work with my Krisya Ohana in a more intense way than ever before, but we also get to add new people to our Loud Mouth family and that makes me more than thrilled.
The Goddess Sessions:
The Goddess Sessions are going to be a once-a-month live-stream hosted by Allison Gaines and myself Devon J Hall. We’re going to be talking to people who have found ways to empower themselves, and are using that newfound power to help guide and teach others. I’m excited about this because I get to do it with Ally and she is a truly amazing warrior woman.
Stay Lifted Sis – The Monthly Magazine
I am excited about this project because I’ve always wanted to put together a magazine and I am excited about what it will do for the tree that I am growing. I am excited to see who I can find to help me build this dream into a reality and what it will become. It probably won’t be released until late in 2022, very, very late, but that’s okay. The idea that I get to collaborate with other women, of all walks of life, on this project, is the most exciting part.
I am really thrilled about how I’ll be able to connect my essay writing, with article writing about topics other than mental health and trauma. So look for that in your inbox, if you want to sign up please make sure to hit the newsletter signup below this post. All new members of the newsletter list will have free access to the magazine for life.
Stay Lifted Sis the Podcast:
I had planned to release the recorded episodes of the show in 2021, but unfortunately life got the best of me. It wasn’t that I had too much going on, it was that the weight of what I am dealing with is a lot, and I didn’t ask for help this year, not really. So because of that I got caught up and fell behind and the episodes never got released. But I have them, and they are in pre-production now. Once I take the winter break off I’ll have time to work on them.
This reminds me and brings me to the last of the things that I am going to be focusing on in 2022.
There are a lot of collaborations going on, from the magazine to the Goddess sessions as well as the podcast even. I couldn’t have done ANY prep-work for 2022 if it weren’t for literally hundreds of people helping me out, educating me, reminding me, and being there to catch me on days when I fell.
When we’re living in trauma we constantly feel like we’re alone, but this year was so hectic, so weird, and majickally uneven, on so many different life-altering levels, that if I didn’t have my friends, my family, and my Krisya Ohana, I legit wouldn’t have survived.
I am really proud of the work that I’ve done on this site up to this point. I am really thrilled by the fact that I made it through another year and on this day of all days I am taking a break. I am taking the winter off. From December 15th to January 15th you can see me on the social media apps, but you probably won’t find me on the blog. I might be writing stuff for next year, but I won’t be posting it.
I just wanted to give you a heads up. I am about right where I suspected I would be, a minute amount of time spent worrying because of money issues, BUT, given the pandemic, I am not surprised at the distance that I’ve made since starting this website. But I still have a long way to go before I can say that I am healed.
So balance is something that I need to work on. Another life lesson from Sharmane Auntie Mane, Fury. Thank you for that, even when you’re busy you’re still teaching us youngins. (I am so kidding I love you!), The world is going to get even weirder in 2021, if we stop and recognize that every year since 1999 has been “the weirdest fucking year ever.”
I need to prepare for the amount of work that I’ve signed myself up for…and also I’m working on a friggen book too, Jesus, who the hell am I?!
PLUS I have to clean my house, go collect on all those debts, and spend time with my family, and there’s only so much of me to go around.
What are you excited about for in 2022? If ever you are going to set intentions, now would be the time, because now about now is when you start manifesting the realities that you want for your future. They take time to get here, but you always get what you want when the time comes for you to really need it.
THAT is the way of the universe. Shawn said that to me once, used to love that guy.
Sending all my love,
Devon J Hall
Loud Mouth Brown Girl 