Going into 2023, I had no idea what my life had in store for me. At that point, I hadn’t really published anything yet and was still growing as a novice writer. A lot of the advancements, in terms of accomplishments and actual growth, happened over the course of just this year.

• Published my first poem (ignoring youth magazines)

• Published ~10 or more poems

• (In the process of) publishing my first chapbook

• Published my first short story

At the start of the year, I set a few goals for myself that I would like to see myself reach in the near future. In just this year, I have accomplished ALL of them. I am incredibly happy that I was able to pull this off, and it just goes to show that you can do anything you put your mind to. Recently, I have started to study other poets as well. Just to name a few, I have read some A. E., William Blake, and Alexander Pushkin. I have also had some thoughts about gearing myself towards poetry academically. Here are my goals for 2024:

• Every month, pick at least one poet to do some major research and reading on

• (Officially) publish my chapbook

• Publish 20 or more poems

• Publish another short story

• Win a poetry competition

• Be listed on pw.org as a Poet.

• Get my journal listed on pw.org.

I am also planning on doing a Minor in Creative Writing at Cornell University. I have done 1/5 required courses. Four to go.

We will see how this coming year goes, but I hope it is just as prosperous as this year has been. Thanks to those who have been watching me grow, onto bigger and better things!

C. Walker