WRITING CHALLENGE/BEING THANKFUL

Thank You, Sturgy

A thank you note to someone I don’t thank enough

Photo taken by the author earlier in the month

I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a formal writing challenge prompt. I still occasionally come over to the Challenged to help out when I can and to read random stories but it’s too long since I’ve actually responded to one. I figured that right around the holiday season just after Thanksgiving was the perfect time to break my streak of not doing these and do one that really resonated with me.

I am so hard on myself a ton. I find myself doubting, second-guessing, and questioning every move I make lately. It has become harder to write, edit, and nominate for months now. I’m finally just starting to come back into my own groove and form. I’m starting to truly understand the new landscape of Medium and I really like what I’m seeing at this point.

Thanking yourself isn’t cocky or arrogant. Sometimes, it’s necessary. Especially if you’re not one who would normally want to praise yourself on a normal basis. I’ve found that I’m much more productive and happier when I talk to myself in a more positive way rather than bringing myself down. It’s taken a long time and it’s still a work in progress but it’s something that I’m finally starting to truly figure out.

Thank you, Sturgy Sturg (The Sturg) Gerry, Gerald, whatever you want to call yourself or whatever people are calling you these days. You have gone through so much this year and have done and accomplished so much. Thank you for setting out goals and finding ways to make them happen.

Thank you for achieving the goal of becoming a boost nominator. Your diligence and eye for quality are a true asset for Medium and are helping push the program forward along with the other wonderful nominators on the Boost Nomination Pilot team.

Thank you for allowing yourself to recover and take breaks when you’ve needed to. Your old pace of writing was never, ever going to be sustainable. Sure, some people can write multiple times daily but you were going through so much.

You had to find your priorities, set some plans, and take days off for your health in there. You had to be okay with writing less than once a day and have days where you just needed to focus on your goals of just making it to the next safe spot for you and your partner to park.

Now you are in a safe, secure spot for winter where you can settle very affordably. Thank you for coming up with a solution that benefits you and your partner. Also, thank you for trying to communicate with everyone and learning to be kinder to others and yourself. You’ve never been a mean person but your kindness is magnified when you’re kinder to yourself.

At the end of the day, you give so much and you can only handle so much. I am proud of you for continuing to prioritize yourself and gain and build your own strength to press forward. You have such a hard time with your health many days and you don’t need to overburden yourself with extra stressors. Thank you for being a great person and for continuing to try to impact the community, especially on Medium, in such a positive way. Your contributions do not go unnoticed.

Signed,

Your Mind, Body, and Soul

I felt weird referring to myself in the third person but I wanted to step outside of myself to truly reflect and thank myself in this instance. I never really feel comfortable referring to myself in the third person. I do it every once in a while but it still feels weird every time. I think that doing it in titles every once in a while makes the story stand out because I am the one and only Sturg, but in any other setting would just be extremely awkward.

I’m so proud and thankful for Medium as a whole being a huge part of my life since I started back in August 2021. Even though I’ve wavered on continuing a couple of times, I’ve found a good balance at this point and plan to continue writing and sharing my thoughts and ideas with all of the wonderful people on this platform.

I’d like to thank the editors and writers at the Challenged for being so supportive of the community as a whole. When we started this publication, we could never imagine what it would grow into. It’s grown into a large, wonderful, and amazing community of writers who are talented storytellers.

I’d like to thank Nancy Oglesby, Keeley Schroeder, and Randy Pulley for their contributions to making this an awesome place to write. There are so many other writers to thank but you all know who you are.