Hey everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since my last update! Things are well personally, as the pandemic has allowed me to spend more time at home with my family, which I’ve cherished.

On the creative side, things haven’t been so good. Outside of home, 2020 was awful, and parts of this year haven’t been so great either. Honestly, it’s taken the wind out of my sails creatively.

Early 2020, of course, saw the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. Though it was first identified in 2019, 2020 was when we really began to be affected greatly by it.

On a personal note, in April 2020 came news of the tragic death of a close friend. I’ve had a year to grieve, but that hole will always be there.

As the year went on, all of us were affected by the coronavirus, whether through jobs closing down, the loss of loved ones to the disease, and other negative effects on daily life.

For me, and many of you, one of the worst parts of the year was the division in the US. Note: this is not a political statement, rather my own feelings on the world around me. As the covid-19 related death toll rose (as of this writing it stands at 586,545 in the United States and 3,392,840 worldwide), so did the unkindness to people who took the disease seriously. Many people called the scientifically backed crisis as some conspiracy, criticizing and belittling others for following health guidelines such as social distancing and wearing a mask.

In general, it seemed to me that unkindness on the internet continued to grow worse, as people while safe behind a screen spewed more and more hate. It was not only for those following health guidelines, but for people of different colors and races, different genders or lifestyles, and more.

I was brought to tears at the events that led up to the Black Lives Matter movement, and more so at the backlash against it. To see people on my own friends lists (now formerly) making awful comments at a time when we should be loving, was truly disheartening.

For a number of years I felt like there was a good vibe here in the US, that being kind to and accepting of everyone was thought of by the majority as the acceptable way to be. Events over recent years, especially 2020, however, have revealed a deep-seated rift that was present all along. Now it merely has a voice. To see people who proudly claim to love God not only turning a blind eye to major issues (even insisting they themselves are the ones being mistreated despite their obvious privilege), embracing violence, and being intolerant to anyone unlike themselves has been more cause for depression than inspiration.

So, what should have been months with plenty of time for creation proved unproductive over all, for me at least. I have gotten a few important and challenging chapters finished over this time though, which is something, and recently I’ve been able to come out of it a bit, for reasons I’ll get into in my next entry (since this one has grown so long), focusing on finding the good parts of the previous year and getting inspired to create!

-Clint