I’d love to say I feel like 2016 will be my year, but I don’t want to jinx it or set those kinds of expectations. I’m focusing on self-growth, which I feel is a great thing for me, considering it’s following my year of self-love.

I have a few concrete plans I’ve already been working on, so I’m gonna share those instead of talking up a storm about how I want this year to be…like I did for last year. I only loved myself. I’m not disappointed, but I’m really not going to share a lot of plans for myself, because then they create expectations and disappointments.

Obviously, 6birds has some changes ahead, but moreover…

I know a few people are interested in what I’m cooking up, so this is what I’ll be working on a lot that I’ll probably talk about here and there, but won’t go into too much detail for.

Learn ASL/study more Spanish

American Sign Language is really beautiful. Furthermore, talking feels a lot like a chore. I feel like my life would be easier if I knew sign language, and I think I might need it in the future. I don’t hear well out of one ear due to a traumatic event and numerous ear infections… If I signed, I’d be able to hire an interpreter to take with me for certain events I’d really like to attend, wherein I struggle with hearing what the person is saying. I’m quite fascinated in Deaf culture and am not a fan of the whole “curing deafness” thing. I’ve also no interest in using hearing aids.

I’d love to study more Spanish so I can write more in it. I’m not sure if I really want to manage multiple blogs for A Dash of Jane, but I know I want to make its content available to at least one other language of people. Spanish/Latino/Mexican culture fascinates me, and I took two years of Spanish, so I figured it’d be a great one to go with.

After, if I feel it won’t be too much, I may start to learn to read and write Swedish, because I know a little of it from when I was a massive Play fan. I love the original group—not the later additions to the group. They were really good to their fans, too. >.<

My top priority is ASL, though. Some days, I just feel nonverbal (it’s called selective mutism)…nonverbal autistics can and do still communicate with people; parents just need to realise this and teach them to sign. If I learned to sign, I would still be able to communicate with people…I just might need to find some friends who also sign.

I also don’t translate language well when it’s verbal, because I have to repeat it in my head at least once, maybe twice, and I’ve noticed allistic people process information extremely quickly [compared to myself] and needn’t always think about things—thus they hardly give me a chance to respond sometimes.

It may not make my life much easier, but it might make it a little easier…and that would be helpful.

Web series

I’ve wanted to make a web series ever since I was a teen.

I’m basically creating my own TV network, but on the web. XD I’d eventually love to learn how to create animated works.

I decided to keep janeafterdark.com and make it into a web series instead of just dropping the domain name. :3 I’ve been working on a web series for approximately the past half year. 😀

I’m making three, the first of which I’m working on first. I’ve been working on it for the past six months at least and am writing the scripts for each episode for up to five seasons, as it’s rather serial instead of episodic and works better for me in terms of developing the characters and the story. Whilst I would love to somehow start filming this year, I’m not sure if I will be able to move into an apartment late 2016 or have to wait until early 2017. I need my own space to film, because you can’t really move things about when you clone yourself on film. XD

The gist of this series (Series A) is that everyone has thoughts in their head that probably shouldn’t be said, but they come to light anyway by one of the title characters. It’s hard to explain without giving everything away.

I mostly decided to write the scripts for it in advance, because it peeves me when network television improvises a fact, or whatever, and “retcon” happens and is ignored, as if they don’t know what the fans are talking about. I like facts to be straight, thank you!

The other two will be mentioned later, and likely throughout the year. I’ve been wanting a web series of my own for several years now and now can’t stop—and I realised the only thing really holding me back was myself and feeling like I had to have all this fancy knowledge to create one…but I don’t. Thus far, I’ve decided the themes for each season and for the promotional photoshoots for the first and fifth seasons, and created plots summaries for the majority of the episodes (fifty-seven).

(I want to do promotional photoshoots, because TV series usually have them and use them for things, and I thought it’d be cool to have some official pictures I could use for things, if desired. c:)

Other

I’m going to try to be myself and stop pretending to be someone else.

If you’ve read some of my stories, you’ll most likely enjoy Series A. It’s [hopefully] hilarious and entertaining, and I’m really excited for it. I’m trying to focus on doing things because they make me happy and I want to. 🙂

These aren’t concrete; they’re pretty loose. I’m also not calling them goals.

I’m also going to be gardening. I read from a few places it’s better especially for people with mold, pollen and other airborne allergies to grow their own herbs, so I’m gonna give it a try! I’m aiming to be more allergy-friendly so I can adhere to a rotation diet more routinely, rather than sparingly. I also miss gardening, so this will be good for me [hopefully]. I’d love to start with peppermint. <3 It makes its area smell like peppermint when it’s watered… some people also grow it in their rooms because it’s a natural air freshener. XD

Lastly, I’d love to participate in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap this year. I thought I wouldn’t be able to due to my allergies, but it turns out they try to pair allergic people with each other!

Is there anything you’d like to do for 2016? How does it look for you?