MISCELLANEOUS:
My Reflections On A Year Well-Spent.
“Well-spent” might be an overstatement, but let’s run with it.
Three days ago, I turned 15. Before I go any further, let me answer some of the burning questions you have for me:
“Was the cake any good?” You bet. It was vanilla.
“Were there presents?” Yeah. This would probably be the first time I actually used a birthday present someone gave me. I’m looking at you, polka dot giraffe socks.
“Why didn’t you invite me to the party?” Sorry, but there’s a little bit of a pandemic going on right now. Maybe next year?
“Did you have fun?” 1000%.
TLDR: Aside from the fact that it reminded me of my inevitable death, and how I still can’t (legally) drive, I couldn’t complain about turning a year older.
I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of guy who only accepts that it’s a New year when my birthday comes around. So, in classic New Year’s tradition, I wanted to look back on the past 365 days of my crazy life:
For starters, I’m still alive, which I don’t know how I managed to pull off. I moved to an entirely new city and made some new friends without a hitch. That’s not too bad, either. I also learned to politely tell my teachers that they were muted before they went on five minute monologues about their taxes. Trust me — that one was a life-saver.
Oh, and that’s not even scratching the surface.
I got a job, filed a patent, and made my way into the news — for doing something good! Who would’ve thought? And how can I forget all the articles I wrote along the way? We’re past 70 right now, and still going strong.
You name it, and there’s a good chance I’ve at least tried doing it. That’s why here were a couple of nice firsts this year, too.
A few months ago, I learned how to break a board, tie a tie and cook my own food. I was also lucky enough meet a few famous people (**gasp**), who were all so much more awesome in real-life than they were on paper. I used a vending machine, dealt with level II biohazards, wrote some classical music, and tried summoning ghosts — which surprisingly didn’t work.
I’ve worked on myself, listened to others, connected my life’s dots, and saw the world a bit clearer. I’ve noticed that these things happen every year, but they never fail to amaze me:
I’d say this is the first year I started to understand people, take on enough responsibility to feel confident in myself, and acknowledge that no matter what I do, I’m still subject to the inescapable, unpredictable forces of life.
And if it counts for anything, this was the first year I let my hair grow out. Well, it’s more like I had no other choice, but that’s just a pesky detail. Believe me when I say that getting a haircut’s near the top of my checklist for next year. It’d be a close second to aggressively shaking people’s hands and running across the streets without wearing a certain protective face covering.
Speaking of next year — that’s something I want to go pretty well. After all, I’ll have to make up for all the people I wanted to meet and the places I wanted to visit. I’m more excited than anything for that, and I better start planning for it soon. Yeah — if you were looking for a new Year’s resolution in this post, we don’t do that here. Sorry.
Just know that there’s a LOT to do, and so much potential that I literally cannot wait. I’ve got a countdown in my computer for that, and you best bet I’ll be ready loooong before it gets to zero.
If there’s anything special I want for next year, it’s just the basics. As long as I don’t get into a car crash or something (I’m pretty accident-prone), and as long as the people in my life are doing okay, I think I’ll be fine. Of course, I’d love for more than that, but it’s gravy.
If there’s anything I don’t want to lose by then, it’s the pace I’ve kept. Maybe some people say speeds a curse. I don’t believe that for a second. In fact, I just want to keep accelerating. There’s still so much more that’s left to do and so much more that I can be, and it feels like there’s so little time. And you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way:
Does it feel any different to be a year older? I can’t say. I don’t see how one day can change anything much about me, but I think what matters more is the year that came before it. For all it’s worth, that year really was something.
I’ve gained a lot so quickly. Great people. Awesome memories. Satisfaction around every single corner. There really isn’t a whole lot more I could ask for. Thank you for a great year. You’re as much a part of it as I am.
All I can say, is thank you.
