Word of the Year - 2016 Edition!

Each year, the ladies of the Rockville 8 dig deep to find a guiding word to shepherd us through the coming months. It's one of my favorite posts we do and this year I'm blown away once again by the results. Read on, then let us know what word calls to you for 2016! ~ Keely 

J. Keely Thrall
WORD: Release

WHY THIS ONE: I actually had a different word in mind - phoenix - for several weeks, as the need for rebirth and renewal in the wake of a difficult year called to me. But on Sunday I was pacing in my condo to get my step count up and I passed my deck of Angel cards. Each card has a different word printed on it that can be used for reflection and meditation. I guess I hadn't really noticed it when I picked it out before leaving for Christmas, beyond thinking the word fit in with the phoenix concept, but that moment, Release jumped into my bones and settled into place.

WHY THIS YEAR: Why Release? Because this year I'll be published - and have a real, true, "release" to share. Because this year, I'm releasing my stranglehold on some habits that no longer work for me. Because to make room for the new, I need to let go of the old. 

Because the Kraken of my creativity deserves to be unleashed upon the world. 

Evie Owens

WORD: Fling

WHY THIS ONE: Because it strikes me as off the cuff. The work of a moment. Not something that takes great thought. I live in my head and overthink the way I overthink. Take a shot. Give it a whirl. Just fling it out there and see what happens.  

WHY THIS YEAR: Why not?

Mackenzie Lucas
WORD: Core

WHY THIS ONE: Core Values. Remember what's important and build into it. Core Identity. Figure out who I am today, going into a new season of life, and embrace it. Core Strength. Build the strongest me possible to withstand the storms and celebrations life sends my way this year. 

WHY THIS YEAR: It's been a challenging year, with more challenges ahead. It's important that I focus on what's important to me, who I am in the midst of it all, and how to remain strong in order to be more than just a survivor, but a conqueror. 

Misha Crews
WORD: Wow.

WHY THIS ONE: I looked back over my words for the past few years: Forward (2012), Persist (2013), Do (2014), and Create (2015). And in each of those years, the word really did summarize my thoughts and actions for those 12 months: in 2012, I was moving forward after losing my dad so suddenly. In 2013, I was persisting with the good changes that I had started making the previous year: health-wise, family-wise and creatively. In 2014, my family and I shifted gears in a major way when we moved out of the house we'd lived in for over a decade; that was, indeed, my year of DO. And in 2015, my life has been freshly created: new town, new horizons, new healthy habits, an entirely new outlook. 

Now I want to make everything come together: gather up my loose ends and fragmented pieces, and just blow the socks off this coming year. When I look back at the end of 2016, I want to say, "Wow!"

WHY THIS YEAR: Because it's time. 

Lisa McQuay
WORD: Willow

WHY THIS ONE: “The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.”

~Albert Schweitzer

I thought long and hard about my word for this year. Then I remembered the quote about the willow and the oak. In the past, there were times in my life where I locked my knees and resisted changes that I didn’t want. I am learning to bend with them and adapt so I can align my attitude and my actions to the situation. I don’t think that you need a “light and frivolous spirit” to do this. It can also be a conscious decision to let go of control in some situations.

I even love the way it sounds—soft, soothing and beautiful.

WHY THIS YEAR: I’ve realized that when times are hard, sometimes you have to sway with a situation, not against it. It’s exhausting to fight everything that happens to you or to rail against the circumstance. Better to move with the issue until you get through it. It’s much easier to bend with the storm than to let yourself be uprooted and toppled over.  

Nichole Christoff

WORD: Dig

WHY THIS WORD: I love this word! It's a cool word (Can you dig it?) and a working word (I'm gonna dig in!) and a word that encourages getting real (I'm gonna dig deep!) no matter what a new year might send my way.

WHY THIS YEAR: After plenty of changes over the past two years, such as a new home, a new day job, and three new novels published, I'm ready to dig what I've done (I'm enjoying all that redecorating!), dig into more projects (There are more novels to write!), and dig deeply into  the opportunities this new year will offer.