An Introduction

Hello!

Hi. I'm Becca.

It is 60 days to Christmas 2017, and my name is Becca. I really like Christmas, but I'll tell you more about that later.

I'm a writer (mostly of musicals and plays) living in New York City. I was born and raised in rural Arkansas, had amazing parents and siblings, took a lot of music and dance lessons as a kid, and had a short-lived career in the Miss America pageant circuit. When I was seventeen, I moved to New York with plans of becoming an actress. Life had different [better] plans for me, though.

I have always enjoyed writing, and while pursuing an acting career, I wound up spending a good portion of my free time writing either plays, sketches, stories, or lyrics. After what was probably far too long, I realized my subconscious was telling me that I am not an actress, but a writer. I finally took my gut's advice and decided to pursue this new career field instead of continuing to hustle from audition to audition. I got an MFA in musical theatre writing, partnered up with two amazing collaborators, and now I write musicals and plays. I have also spent some time writing comic books for a now-defunct comic book imprint, ghostwriting jokes for people who are better at telling them than I am, doctoring other people's scripts to "punch them up," and writing a modestly successful blog on nerd culture.

I won't get too into it, but the nerd culture blog ended due to some survival job demands and a nasty taste left in my mouth by the sexism and horrible behavior I dealt with in my short-lived comic book writing stint.* While I have no desire to jump back into the world of nerd culture in a public setting again, I do miss having a regular public outlet for writing about things I love, so I thought I'd try blogging again. I put a call out on my social media networks asking friends and families what subjects they think of when they think of me. Many suggesting writing about writing, which may be too meta for my tastes at this stage in my life. Several others suggested I write about musical theatre, which I love and know fairly well. However, there are plenty of people who have more knowledge on the subject than I do, and they're already sharing their thoughts concisely and with pleasing style through books, podcasts, and blogs.

The subject the majority of my friends and family members suggested I write about, though, was Christmas.

My dog Parsley also loves Christmas

My heart melted when I learned that when people I love think of me, they think of Christmas. It is my favorite holiday, and I count down to it year-round. I don't skip the random Christmas songs that pop up on shuffle in March or August. I pick out Christmas gifts for my loved ones throughout the year. I bake treats and share them as the holidays inch closer. I design and order my cards in October and make sure they're in the mail before the first week of December wraps up. I get giddy when I smell pine needles or blazing fireplaces. I love Christmas, and, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I'm good at it.

However, my love of Christmas doesn't blind me to the fact that it is, indeed, seasonal. Could the subject of Christmas sustain a blog I write posts for all year long? Would anyone want to read a Christmas blog in the heat of summer or while dying Easter eggs? Is there all that much to even talk about when it comes to Christmas?

These questions made me ponder why I love Christmas so much in the first place. I'll dive deeper as the blog progresses, but the ultra-simplified list is below:

• togetherness
• the thrill of giving
• receiving is pretty fun, too
• a deeper appreciation of coziness and time just for getting cozy
• incredible meals
• and those baked goods
• listening to Christmas music
• singing Christmas music/caroling
• sending mail that means something
• getting mail that means something
• holiday movies
• warm beverages
• snow
• decorations
• bringing nature indoors
• parties
• special events in the community like concerts and tree lightings

All of these things feel heightened at Christmastime, to me, but there are plenty of things on this list
that can bring joy and help spread cheer throughout the entire year, and the thought of feeling that holiday happiness all year long through some of these wonderful things (sending cards, baking, making time for coziness and togetherness) excites me. I want those feelings all year, and I can explore how to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in my own life whether it's December or July. Realizing this has inspired me to move forward with blogging about the subject my friends suggested. If it winds up not working out, it's not the end of the world, and I'll surely have fun along the way.

Thanks for finding your way here. Let's get Christmasy. Let's get cozy. There's plenty of room in the sleigh.

*the comic book company I worked at is no longer in business, and it was not one of the big publishers like Marvel or DC telling the stories of the superheroes we all know and love.