Ode to 2021

2021 is over -- yay! And we survived. We had thought the coronavirus was going away, but then two notable mutations brought it back -- mainly among those who weren't prepared. But for me it's over, and I'm pushing ahead.

As far as blog writing is concerned, overall my output has increased slightly. 

The Econo-Mel went down in post counts after I stopped producing the weekly coronavirus updates -- and I just got bored with the whole Trump v. Biden thing. I figured my energies were better spent elsewhere (though I'll be back soon enough -- maybe some midterm coverage).

The Music of Mel got a couple more posts this year -- a 100% increase. Woot woot! I have plans to bring it back even more this next year.

The Mormon Mel had its biggest year -- breaking 2020's record. I've dropped the spiritual messages to just one a month, so I expect volume to drop, but I've introduced my new short story series and will continue pushing forward on other projects.

Always Be Better is my new blog -- opening strong with 30 posts. A lot of time went into this video/blog series. The sister video series is here. (The videos start off pretty rough at the start, but they get better.) This next year will see 20 more installments.

Last but not least, The Word of Mel had an increase (all reviews) -- but nowhere near what I used to do a decade ago.

My favorite posts from 2021:

The Adventures of Elder Elder and Elder Benjamin: The Lonely Man: the first of my new fiction stories based over 90% on actual experiences from my mission in South Korea. In this episode, I meet my new companion as we start five months of adventure together.

We Like Sheep: amidst the name calling -- sheep and sheeple, doesn't Christ ask us to be like sheep? And how can we be good sheep instead of following blindly?

The Drake Equation: If there are other civilizations in the universe, why have we not seen them? Could it be that most of them destroy themselves before they can be seen? And can we survive?

Changer Book: Gödel, Escher, Bach: This book on strange loops, brain maps, music, art, and Zen changed my life for good.

My Fifteen Minutes of Fame: A true story of how I beat the odds and experienced a real 15 minutes of fame.

Can the Republican Party Survive?: The Party appears to be showing signs of dying. Can they turn things around and remain a force? (Written in early February 2021, but still pertinent today.)

Now that 2022 is here -- it's onward and forward. This year I'm going to be working on wiser decision making. I can take the momentum that I built in 2021, focus it with better prioritization and execution to make more of a dent -- become more of an influence, and get that much closer to changing the world.

How did you do in 2021, and what do you see going forward?