Sara Ann O'Sullivan

2026 has already revealed itself as a year of one life lesson: Carrying On.

It is almost March, but it feels like several years have passed within these first two months. There has been a struggle to balance everything inside those days.

My family has faced a few losses. Two of our furry friends moved on to their next big adventures within weeks of each other.

While the losses themselves were painful, what felt even stranger was realizing those two animals were part of the core of my childhood. So with their loss also came a loss of childhood. Combined, that was a hard pill to swallow. To move back into your childhood space and find a piece of it missing carries a slightly hollow emotion. I am grateful they no longer have to suffer — I would never wish that on any creature. But grief is its own strange creature, one you have to learn how to carry.

What feels even stranger is how it impacts your art when you are an artist.

I have been working hard on The Loud Voice of Love to be published this year. I’ve been trying to balance it — to show all sides of love, because sometimes love is not an easy emotion to hold. Sometimes it clings to you and feels like drowning.

After the loss, my writing shifted into a tougher tone. It became more of a demand of love than a whisper of it. Some of the poems I’ve written in the last month will, I think, touch readers in a way that makes them feel connected — because sometimes Love is bared teeth and harshness. A demand to stand tall and be seen. To carry on despite it all.

So whatever 2026 is handing you, I hope you carry on despite it.

I know that sometimes when you tune into the rest of the world, it feels like there is so much happening — and so much of it is out of your control. If the world feels like too much, here is your gentle reminder to close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it for a moment, and then release it. We may not always control what is happening around us, but we can control how we respond to it.

I am thankful for everyone who follows me, reads my books, and supports this blog and my other platforms. One day, once school is finished, I will have the space to expand and publish more. But everyone who supports me now — I appreciate you more than you know.

Last thing: remember, we can all carry on and push forward.