As part of planning my life for the new year I usually take several classes and read articles on goal setting. This year was no exception. One of the classes, by Vanessa Van Edwards, threw me a curve. She suggested we look back at 2020 for all the good things.
“Good things? You’ve got to be kidding,” I thought. But, being a serious student, I gave it a try and, surprising myself, I found some good things.
Pre-COVID
During that little sliver of 2020 before COVID, three great experiences happened.
I was given the opportunity, along with some fellow Toastmasters, to judge a speech contest for students at Danforth Junior High in Wimberley. I heard some amazing speeches from an inspiring group of young people.
I’ve done photography since I was old enough to lift a camera, but I’ve never enjoyed shooting weddings that much. I had a great time, however shooting my niece Camille’s wedding in Houston.
Next, I attended the first Lake Travis Film Festival (LTFF) in the Texas towns of Lakeway and Bee Cave. It was a great experience. You would have never guessed that it was a debut event. I received some helpful feedback on a script I submitted and met some fascinating people.
Lockdown
As COVID closed in, I spent more time writing and studying. I finished a year long masters in screenwriting course. I also re-took, online, a class I had taken live in Los Angeles several years ago from one of my favorite writing teachers, Pilar Alessandra. Along the way, I finished two screenplays and published the second edition of my book on how to run a political campaign.
As life became more ZOOMified, I connected online with some other creatives and began writing for a YouTube site, Mad Circus Comedy. More people have viewed The Being Awesome with Karen show than any of the other videos I’ve written. We plan on turning the skits into a Monte Python style movie.
When I left LA in 2017, I also left behind the Veterans in Media and Entertainment (VME) group, formerly Veterans in Film and Television, to which I belonged for several years. Last year, they began doing things online. Not as much fun as hanging out at the Hollywood American Legion Post, but I was able to reconnect with people I hadn’t interacted with in a long time. That was good.
Music brings joy. The greatest discovery there was that the Grand Ole Opry had a live stream via Facebook. The Opry never missed a Saturday night show, even though for several months performers sang before an empty auditorium. The Opry hung in there.
Leia, Allen and I also went on what I called “therapy drives.” We drove around the area, enjoying the beauty and fun of the Hill Country, but not getting out of the car.
The Real World
In the real, non-virtual world (there still is one), I continued to participate in the Wimberley Toastmasters Club and the Wimberley AMVETS post. Both organizations had challenging years, but they survived. I tried to help. It was good to get out of the house, albeit, less than two miles, to attend their meetings.
The contacts I made with the Lake Travis Film Festival encouraged me to take a new step. I’ve probably attended at least 50 film festivals over the years, but never worked on one. I’m now part of the communications team for LTFF. Around Halloween, we held an outdoor screening (socially distanced, of course) of Zombieland, and have more fun events being planned.
So, Vanessa was right. You can find good things in what appears to be the darkest of times. I am looking forward to even better things to come in 2021.
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