At the end of the year, I always take a moment to examine the ups and downs I experienced, both personally and professionally. What follows is my accounting of 2015:
* Celebrated my 25th year as a journalist (and contemplated what that means for my future).
* Produced hundreds of breaking news stories, including the battle against ISIS, the Charlie Hebdo attack, the Paris massacre, dozens of U.S. mass shootings, the crash of TransAsia Airways Flight 235 in Taiwan, the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the fighting between Israel and Hamas, the worldwide refugee crisis, the Baltimore riots, the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling, the change in U.S.-Cuba relations, the dangerous California drought, the Pope’s visit to America and the 2015 debate cycle.
* Blogged for The Obituary Forum, The Blog of Death and Afterthoughts.
* Passed the 41,000th tweet mark on my personal Twitter account (@jadewalker)
* Received the verified checkmark on Facebook (I exist!)
* Penned 58 journal entries.
* Wrote 3 poems
* Worked on my novel.
* Walked 1.11 million steps (more than 465 miles) and climbed nearly 1,000 floors.
* Read 45 books and countless magazines.
* Watched 25 films.
* Completed classes in The Most Powerful Empires in History, History’s Greatest Entrepreneurs, the Biggest Wars in History, the Most Advanced Ancient Civilizations, the Greatest Cities Throughout History, the Greatest Battles of All Time, the Most Influential Speeches in World History, Significant American Writers of the 20th Century, Great Short Stories and Beautiful Inspiration Poems.
* Updated The Written Word and The 10th Muse mailing lists.
* Participated in the The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group, the Journalism & Women Symposium and the Author’s Guild.
* Went house-hunting in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
* Traveled to Boston and New York City.
* Twice hosted vacationing friends.
* Joined a CSA.
* Saw Stephen King and Lee Child in person.
* Shot off a large cache of fireworks.
* Suffered from at least 22 migraines.
* Celebrated my 6th wedding anniversary.
* Grieved the death of my eldest cat, Buddha, and received the news that my youngest cat, Sera, has terminal cancer. My father also died.
* Turned 42.
Goals for 2016
* Save up enough money for a down payment on a house and move.
* Work on my fiction.
* Write more obits.
* Read at least 50 books.
* Complete a series of 30-day challenges.
* Win the lottery.
Some people view obituaries as morbid stories, but in truth only one line of an obit deals with death. The rest of the story focuses on the amazing lives people lead. In 2015, these 15 obituaries featured the people who most resonated with me:
