Green Phoenix - 2021 in Review

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

And what a shit year we are leaving, huh? In some ways, it was much better than 2020 and yet...in other ways.

Anywho, I don't I really want to go into much detail about the ways in which this year was terrible. I'd much rather focus upon the supreme amounts of change and transformation that this year represented for myself and my body of work. Because 2021 was truly a transformative year for me. A year of many firsts and returns to normal.

I say this because as I write this article, I am in the process of moving my furniture and property into my very first apartment. From 2022 onward, I will be living on my own and dependent upon my own needs. I will speak further about my intentions for the new year in the conclusions segment but rest assured, I have many plans.

This year also saw the return of live meetups for conventions and the likes, at least in terms of my capacity to attend TrotCon in person, with hopes that next July will be in person as well. I can certainly hope so.

2021 saw a slow shift back into a world vaguely similar to our own pre-COVID, yet forever transformed by the experience. I know that the stresses of this past year have been shown in my writing and it is analyzing that writing that brings us to the main point of this beginning of year editorial.

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General Statistics

In 2021, I wrote a total of 36 articles over 52 weeks (accounting for the summer and December vacations). This is slightly less than the 40 articles that I wrote in 2020. Much like in 2020, I started the year with my article on a then recently released film (albeit on Disney+) Soul. That article has over the course of the year received (as of the 1st of January, 2021) 89 views.

 

As of writing this article, my 2021 articles have received 2194 views in total, with an average view per article of 61, both slightly higher than my 2020 performance, despite writing fewer articles. My total views for all articles (now 105 in total, including my update articles) since my very first in 2019 is 15,212 views, with the average now rising to 145 views per article.

Much like in 2020, the COVID pandemic limited the potential for new releases to be discussed. I didn't watch too many films in theatres, though I already have two reviews of new releases planned for the beginning of next year. Hopefully with the advent of streaming releases for new films, the chance for new films will only grow. This year was also the advent of my Patreon account, where I attempted my first serious efforts to promote my content on that platform. With any luck, my change in living conditions will enable more content for Patreon and YouTube in the future.

Of the 36 articles I wrote:

• 16 were film reviews (Including both animated and live-action),
• 5 were reviews of television shows or anime,
• 3 were book recommendations,
• 1  was a general editorial as I began shifting more towards Let's Talk... as my editorial format,
  
• 4 were countdown articles, 
• 3 were reviews of computer or video games, and;
• 5 were Let's Talk... editorials.

While I was able to maintain my reputation for consistent article releases, the year started off incredibly rough for my mental health as almost the week after writing my 2020 in Review article, the United States government suffered an attempted coup that I watched on live television. This an the succeeding fallout, alongside difficulties at work with COVID crippled my mental health and forced me to take serious precautions regarding Mental Health weeks for myself alongside my two vacation months of June and December.

With any luck, these mental health breaks alongside my new living conditions will help stabilize my anxiety and stress.

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The Best and Worst

My best performing article of 2021, as of January 1st is, my Thunderball review at 101 views. This implies that my James Bond reviews were quite highly read and enjoyed and suggests that I should continue the series.

My best performing article of all time, as of January 1st, remains to be my 2019 review of The Lion King (1994) with a nice 571 views. This indicates that my older articles are still receiving regular readership and aren't simply plateauing as I might have feared.

My worst performing article, as usual, is my most recent article as of January 1st, Let's Talk...Lifetime/Hallmark Christmas Tropes at only 9 views. Unfortunately, my reviews tend to be very slow going unless the subject at hand is incredibly exciting or tapped into the cultural zeitgeist.

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Conclusions

All in all, 2021 has been a year eerily similar to 2020 in terms of overall productivity. I have noticed the importance and need for mental heath care regarding my workload and have planned for 2022 to better deal with and overcome the failings that stem from them.

In addition, my new living arrangements have given me a great deal of confidence to potentially restart my film-making hobby, which I had to withhold due to issues with my previous living arrangements. I am still in the planning phase for much of my 2022 year in terms of reviews, and I may alter them with new releases and TV shows, but I am incredibly excited for the possibilities ahead of me.

2022 is looking to be a year of tremendous change and transformation and I truly hope that all of you will join me on this ride.