Weekly Roundup: Chapter 1
I'm going to start streaking.
Here’s What I’m Thinking:
I’m Going to Start Streaking
Have y’all seen the whole 75 hard challenge that’s been going around? It’s nothing new, but I’ve been seeing it a lot more recently. Basically, you go 75 days straight doing something that requires ample discipline (working out, eating healthily, reading, etc.) to prove that you can do hard things and ideally start some new habits.
I’m very weird with challenges like this. My typical excuse reason to not doing something like this is simply that I’m tired—physically, emotionally, and just generally plain exhausted. Not to be dramatic, but my life has felt like a continuous 365-day hard challenge, so why add more difficulty?
This line of thinking, while flawed, made sense to me until I realized how much damage has been done over time. When I was younger I took pride in my ability to persevere, have hope, and keep going no matter how depressed or fatigued I may be. My unrequited lust for life kept me going, and I’m happy it did, but there’s only so long you can keep doing that before burnout ruins your life. I started finding shortcuts to make life easier, but eventually, those shortcuts slipped into complete dysfunction and an inability to do anything that didn’t directly impact my bills, relationships, or livelihood.
Additionally, I don’t like challenges because of the “pass or fail” dynamic that’s inherently associated with them. I have a very toxic relationship with failure that I’m working on, but it’s the same toxic failure that also keeps me away from doing things that I know I am just too tired to do well. Why sign up for a losing battle?
Don’t get me wrong—I can do hard things. I just prefer not to. That’s why the idea of a 75-hard feels like too much.
That being said…I lowkey hate the current version of me. This iteration of Brittany isn’t one that I’m super proud of. Professionally I’m killing it, but personally I feel so drab and dead. I don’t feel like me anymore.
Horrible, traumatic events stole a lot of my ✨sparkle✨. I used to dress up and take pleasure in being extra. I showed up every single day for myself no matter how tough it was, and I took pride in not doing the bare minimum. As I adjusted to adulthood, bills, life, grief, the list goes on, all these little parts of me that I love chipped away. People who knew me loved how larger-than-life my attitude and personality were, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them that wasn’t who I was anymore, so I pretended for years that nothing had changed. I became a caricature of myself to hide how exhausted and fatigued I really was. People said all the time “They knew me,” and I let them believe it because deep down I wanted to be the person they still believed me to be, but I wasn’t, and I hated it.
I haven’t been “me” for five years, and it feels like no one even realizes it and it’s no one’s fault but my own.
I’ve long accepted that version of myself is gone, and I don’t care to try to be who people think I am or show them who I am now. But, I’m tired of missing certain parts of me that I’ve let fall to the wayside. I’ll forever love my younger self, so who says I can’t pick the parts of her that made life whimsical and free, age it up a bit, and incorporate her into the current interaction of Brittany?
So, I want to try my own version of the 75 hard challenge, but the Brittany-ified version so I stick to it. No pass or fail. No hard time constraints. Something that’ll gel with me and my life, and get me personalized results that get me that much closer to my goal.
Introducing my “Streak” Challenge
My life has changed a lot in 2025 alone. I’ve faced numerous job losses, life changes, and health challenges that have left my routine-less and tired. So the goal of this “streak” challenge is to help create new, better routines all geared towards my “dream” life while modifying some of my favorite things I used to do for me so I can get back to it.
The areas I’m streak-ing (I need to find a better way to say this):
Reading
Watching TV
Writing
Fitness
Content creation
And of course…Substack
Every weekday I try to continue this streak where I fit in the things I always say I want to do, but I struggle to make time for. I’m attacking this bullet journal style where every day I do succeed I get to continue my streak. If I break the streak, I start from day one the next day and try again. There’s no “failing,” which makes my brain happy.
And since I mentioned it—part of my “streak” challenge is being more consistent on Substack.
Thanks for being here. I’m excited to make some magic happen,
B
What I’m Listening to:
Dreamboy by Lil Nas X
Love in Paradise from EPIC: The Musical
Find Your Way Back by Beyoncé
Where I Wanna Be by Jasmine Amy Rodgers
What I’m Reading:
BREWED WITH LOVE by Shelly Page
HOUSE OF MARRIONE by J. Elle
What I’m Watching:
Inuyasha: I’m showing my partner my favorite anime for the first time! So you’ll see this here for a bit. We just finished episode 56 and are about to watch the first movie.
I’m looking for suggestions! I’m so behind. What are y’all watching? Comment below and let me know!
My Favorites:
I tried this spinach and goat cheese egg muffin recipe that I enjoy! This is the second one I tried and I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one as much as the first, but I really did. I might add sausage next time, but I’m hoping this helps me stay consistent with breakfast while also helping out my time management.
My partner just dropped a new YouTube video The Androgyny of Evil and while it’s full of amazing tips and facts for writing androgynous characters, I think it’s worth a watch just to hear him say “Yassified”
See ya’ next Thursday!