2020 Yearly Review

biggest accomplishments/highlights from the past year

• read 133 books
• joyful movement more regularly with virtual burlesque classes
• started learning piano
• learned to knit
• late night animal visitors to the compost pile
• did my first burlesque show when live shows were possible
• reading parties (when it was possible to do them live)
• finished my second year of my doctorate in inclusive science communication
• gave a keynote at ComSciCon Houston
• performed in Frontera Fest for the first time
• Transmissions from 2050 Climate Change Drama Pilot
• did my first twitch stream
• trained EPA toxicologists in strategic science communication
• attended BurlyCon virtually
• attended two Odyssey Works workshops virtually
• attended a drop in dramatic improv jam with Momentum Theatre
• Trip to Wimberly
• created virtual museum theater Handle Me with Care (Afrofuturistic exploration of past harm to Black bodies by medical systems and visioning better futures)
• Intimacy Directors International 3 day intensive in Houston
• started working with an anti-racist study group every other week
• played a lot of RPGs with friends (Brindlewood Bay, Lady Blackbird, Masks)
• virtual burlesque dance as often as possible
• bought roller skates
• bought a stripper pole for the house
• planting plants and learning to garden by making mistakes
• learned to make lots of new foods (marzipan, pad thai, meatballs, fried tofu, tikka masla, ricotta, fancy ramen)
• meditated daily ish
• joyful movement almost every day
• better routines, deep work and shut down time for no plans
• finished rough draft of lit review for race evasive racism in science communication fellowships paper
• finished rough draft of inclusive science communication for graduate students class
• wrote my first policy brief on the effects of high stakes testing on the arts
• learned about film history and watched a lot of great films
• prepped for interviews with STEM graduate students on their engagement and sense of belonging
• weekly bike rides social distanced
• missing traveling
• missing coffee dates with friends
• took a couple of camping trips to get out in nature
• missing live theater
• sitting out in the hammocks in the backyard
• grilling outside
• did an interactive, experimental online show for Vortex Theater called Pierce the Veil
• adapted both my Intro to Python and Machine Learning with Python for Biologists courses to online and taught them several times
• taught a storytelling for scientists course online with Transmitting Science
• led a part of the Planet Texas 2050 retreat
• working with lovely collaborators (Diane, Evelyn, Ti’Era, Yasmiyn, Anthony, Nicole, Katie)
• developed better routines gently
• carved out more “no plans” time and added a “stop time” to my work
• took a month off of social media and realized how little it adds to my life, still trying to decide what to do with that information
• gave a talk to scientists in Tamil, Nadu, India virtually about science communication
• Reclaiming STEM talk for conference: narrative and counter narrative

biggest lessons learned in the past year

• time for deep work
• weekly and daily writing goals
• slowing down
• being gentler with myself
• begin again mindset
• be open to change
• resilience (love, hope, creativity, awe)
• you already have enough
• standing in the whirlpool
• maybe this is the miracle
• sit with discomfort
• rest is resistance
• resist categories
• the need to name my theory of change
• the need to focus my research/activism/art topic