I recently realized that this blog post is its own personal holiday (of sorts).  It's a harvest festival, of sorts, where I look back on the year and try to figure out what the big themes of this year were. 

Last year I re-defined this post as: It's my annual holiday to celebrate my badass self, doing the work I want to do.

When I think of my badass self, doing the work I want to do, I think of:

• writing a lot
• having a positive impact on the world
• being a good, happy person.

This year I mostly want to talk about writing. I've had a big year in my professional life, but I'm on the downhill slope of a job search and I want to let things settle.

It's time for the fifth annual Big Shit Tara Learned This Year post.

Which means, YIKES, it's been five years! That's longer than I was in college.

1. Having a job is okay.

The fact of having a job has made this anniversary feel fraught in a strange way. *Why am I marking this anniversary if it's not about self-employment? Did I really hate my old job so much?*