I’m officially logged out of the @sicktember blog and no longer serving as an admin.
It feels-- nice, relieving, and admittedly a bit sad.
Working with @obsessionoftheday to create and co-run this event was a true pleasure. Narrowing down the prompt lists together was my favorite part. I loved ensuring we had prompts that catered to all kinds of fandoms. Answering prompt clarification questions and suggesting creative ways to interpret the prompts was a huge highlight for me. Watching the collection numbers grow and reading all the tags on the various Sicktember posts will be things I miss deeply.
What I won't miss is the hectic scramble that follows the prompt selection process—the mad dash to double-check our choices to ensure none of the prompts are too similar to one another, comparing the new list with past ones to avoid repeats, and quickly updating the graphic for posting by the promised date. We may have stumbled a bit with the text prompts matching the graphic this year, but we made it work despite our busy lives. I consider that a win!
I also won’t miss the guilt that came from not checking the inbox often enough, not responding to asks quickly enough, or failing to meet everyone’s expectations.
And I certainly will not miss, the occasional negative, passive-aggressive, and downright angry interactions we've been subjected to over the years. Those were especially hard because my General Anxiety Disorder makes confrontations like those, particularly distressing. But if running this event has taught me anything, it's how to prioritize my mental health by minimizing conversations with difficult individuals. Even if there is so much I want to say! Knowing when to back off is a skill I can admit took me longer to learn than I’d like.
All of that being said, creating and co-managing Sicktember has been an incredible learning experience that connected me with a amazing community of writers. It has inspired my own writing and sparked so many creative ideas.
If my life weren't so chaotic, stressful, and overwhelmingly busy, I would have loved to continue moderating the event. However, I have complete faith that @itsmechara426 will guide Sicktember in a positive direction.
Thanks to all of my followers and mutuals for your abundant support! I can't wait for next years event. Participating solely as a creator and not a curator will be a brand-new experience!
