Happy New Year!

It’s that time of year again, time to reflect on all that has happened and look forward to all that’s coming after that ball drops tonight. 2014 was a good year for After the DD-214 and for me personally. A few of the highlights:

• After the DD-214 finally made it onto Facebook and Twitter.
• A Task & Purpose editor discovered After the DD-214 and liked my posts enough to invite me to becoming a contributing writer. I’ve had three articles published so far: “5 Common Mistakes Troops Makes When Transitioning”, “How to Get the Most Out of Your College Experience”, and “The 4 Things I Learned at My First Appointment with the VA.”
• Those publications gave me the courage to submit a poem I’d written to Line of Advance, which was published recently in their third volume, and to reach out to Military Experience & the Arts to volunteer as an Associate Editor.
• And I had the opportunity to connect with and interview some pretty incredible vets, including Lady Brigade’s Nadine Noky, SuccessVets’ Byron Chen, Red Bull Rising’s “Charlie Sherpa”, Dog Tag Brewing’s Seth Jordan, Ms Veteran America 2013 Allaina N. Guitron, and University of Central Florida RESTORES’s Dr. Deborah Beidel.

Success doesn’t happen in a vacuum and I have received a lot of support this year from friends, family, and fellow veterans. I’d like to take a moment to thank a few: Thank you to Scott Fussell, from Command Your Business, and Byron Chen, from Success Vets, for your support of After the DD-214 and for jumping in without hesitation when I needed a small favor for a friend. Thank you to Randy Brown aka “Charlie Sherpa”, from Red Bull Rising, and Tim Hsia, from Service to School, for your generosity and encouragement. Thank you to Nadine Noky, from Lady Brigade, for being such a bright soul and generating new opportunities for women veterans. Thank you to Lauren Katzenberg for discovering After the DD-214 and giving me the opportunity to write for Task & Purpose. Thank you to the staff of MEA for the opportunity to be a part your team. Thank you to Chris Lyke and the guys of LOA for publishing my work. Thank you to Lee M-K N for always passing on leads and being the blog’s most enthusiastic supporter. Thank you to my friends and family for being equal part cheerleader and kick in the pants. And thank you to all of you who keep coming back to read my posts!

2015 is already shaping up to be an exciting and challenging year, including a trip to Europe for my final required MFA residency (plus a little extra time to visit with old friends), a speaking engagement at a veterans’ conference, and the probable return to the land of full-time employment. After the DD-214 will also, with your support, continue to grow and search out the information important to vets.

Thank you all and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

© 2014, Sarah Maples LLC. All rights reserved.