Ok, so 2009 wasn’t my best year. Whatever that means. I lost several people very close to me, including my dear grandmother, and regret spending too much time worrying about things that just didn’t matter. I worked extremely hard, maybe too hard, and wasn’t able to make it home for Christmas this year because of everything going on.
It wasn’t just me. A great percentage of America felt the pinnacle of economic hardship, surmountable apathy from 8 previous years of disappointing politics, and shock and sadness over the unnecessary, pre-mature deaths of MJ, DJ AM, Brittany Murphy, and countless others.
That said, every year I try to take a step back and count my blessings in a list. A silly, self-indulgent practice, I know, but I think it’s important sometimes to look at the big picture, and be happy and grateful for what we are able to accomplish in our lives.
The irony of this upcoming list is that some of these “accomplishments” could potentially be seen as failures (projects fell through or things didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped, etc)…
BUT I do believe in the mantra – “At least I tried.”
As I sip on my glass-half-full cup of coffee, here are some of my ‘achievements’ in 2009:
1. I secured my first scripted TV pilot deal (based on the web series Private High Musical). It didn’t get picked up, but it was a great experience working with David Zuckerman and MTV.
2. Signed with a wonderful group of folks at ICM. I’m grateful to have agents that get me and are just all around cool people.
3. Joined Twitter. Thanks, George. Now it’s become part of my routine.
4. Wrote a book proposal (still working on the actual book.)
5. Attempted pole dancing classes. Umm. Going once counts, right?
6. Started a new blog on EQAL - TarynToGo.com – as a place for all of my random thoughts. Unfortunately, blogging consistency is not my strong point.
7. Initiated a breast cancer campaign called Tit For Tat, which we hope to continue next year during October Awareness Month.
8. Got my own iPhone App - http://bit.ly/taryntogo (even though I don’t have an iPhone.)
9. Acted in a few one-off YouTube videos and web series that earned more than 30 million hits (Wrong Hole, Woke Up Dead, Zombiez, The Temp Life, Lashes to Riches contest).
10. Started hosting a live web show for fun - The Taryn Ten – just three weeks ago. Hoping it will grow next year :)
11. Acted in three movies (Pound of Flesh, Frankenstein Brothers, Battle Los Angeles) and a cool short (Dewana’s Bridal).
12. Moved into my own place. First time living alone!
Beyond this, in 2009 I met some amazing new friends in LA, had a lot of fun with my girlfriends, attended Sundance and Comicon, traveled to Denver, Lousiana, Santa Barbara, Catalina, San Diego and NY (frequently), and dramatically reduced my daily Starbucks coffee habit.
So maybe 2009 was a pretty darn good year :-) Hmm.
Cheers everyone. Happy New Years Eve :)
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