As I wrote my 2017 word of the year recap a majority of my brain focused on reflecting over the past year and the way my choice of the word connections influenced and impacted my actions. Both 2016 and 2017 were tough for me. Not in a sense that they were quote, unquote, bad… but, they were work. My life has seemed to lack flow and ease.

I knew ahead of time that the choices we were making as a family… that the commitments we were making as a family would be… work. I knew that balancing and juggling all of our responsibilities and still managing to hold the humans and dreams we loved close to us, would be demanding. But I also knew that the challenging road we laid out before ourselves would not stretch on forever. I knew that this land-of-in-between would eventually morph into a landscape that would be more manageable, a terrain that was less formidable.

As I move into 2018, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I don’t think that I will arrive in my new reality and instantly shout out that I’ve made it. (Although there are a few momentous milestones I’m planning to celebrate heartily!) I do believe, however, that there will be a morning in 2018 in which I wake up and think about the day ahead and realize in a quiet sort of way that everything I’ve worked for, all the plans I’ve made, and the schemes I’ve schemed and dreams I’ve dreamed… have paid off. And even in that moment, I know life won’t be perfect. It would be silly to think so. There will be new challenges to face and new beasts to slay, but I will be ready to face them head on. Because I’ve made it this far.

For all of these reasons I’ve decided that my word for 2018 is EVOLVE. I tossed around and tried on several other words before committing to this one. Words like: transform, change, clarity, ignite, becoming, expansion, pioneer and transition. But evolve, felt right in a way that these others did not.

Evolve means to develop gradually from a simple to a more complex form.

In 2018 I hope to evolve

· my writing habits

· my work and success on Teachers Pay Teachers, an online educational marketplace

· the way I manage my family’s schedule

· my work with my writing communities both in person and online

· my writing financial stability

· and more!

I hope to slowly evolve from an over worked, scattered, writer, mother and wife to a present, productive and fulfilled writer, mother and wife.

I know this won’t be easy… but I’m looking forward to the journey and the process. I’m looking forward to the evolution of me… and to sharing that process with you.

The process of selecting a word to guide my intentions, reactions, plans and thoughts for the year has been a great exercise for me. If you decide to choose a word for yourself and your year ahead, I’d love to hear what it is. Drop it in the comments below, or send me an email at: wordnerd@amandazieba.com.

Happy New Year to you! I hope that 2018 is your best year yet!