Tomorrow I'm going English country dancing (don't ask me what that is) with my best friend and her family, so I'm writing my end of year reflections now.
A lot of good stuff-a lot of wonderful stuff- has happened this year, and...certain things that were markedly less so. I've changed and grown to the point that I kind of want to go back in time to December 30th of last year and slap myself across the face. But that would kind of create a time paradox that I don't really feel like dealing with. It's been interesting, it's been enlightening, and I've learned more than I could possibly ever put into words, much less write down in a single blog post.
I couldn't come up with a single quote to describe the year as a whole in more specific terms- a theme, if you will, but now I want to share with you some of the best/most poignant/interesting things I've heard this year.
First, the most helpful piece of writing advice I've ever received, from my friend rock4ever95: "If you want to spit out brilliance, try spitting things out."
I have a joint problem of perfectionism mixed with the strange notion that people will stop liking me as a person if I produce something less than awesome, so I think about this at least once a week.
Also, The Mountain Goats on mistakes, forgiveness, and hope: "People say friends don't destroy one another. What do they know about friends?"
Something I find important enough to include in my email signature: "Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
How I feel on my better days, in the words of Douglas Adams: "The world is a thing of utter inordinate complexity and richness and strangeness that is absolutely awesome." (The quote for the worse ones comes directly from me, namely "I hate the world.")
Next, I want to give a shout-out to my friends. All of them. Hi. Thank you. Thank you so, so much. And I know that seems kind of undeserved in some cases, but I mean it. The only things I regret this year are specific words- not actions. I owe the vast majority of my happiness, and the person I am as I type this, to you. You guys are what make life worth living. You, and chocolate.
Also, it's been a year now so it's well past time I told you guys and if the people involved meant to keep it under wraps, I'm sorry: I was asked to write a short story for each song on the album Erase This from DFTBA Records, to be published in a sheet music/lyrics/behind-the-scenes book thing at...some point. It's still on, as far as I'm aware, but I have no idea when things are going to progress on that front.
As for New Year's resolutions, I'm not going with anything specific. I wrote in my journal as preparation for this post a few sentences about the essential theme of each month this past year.
December's entry is my simple yet worthy goal: "Being strong, being somewhat rational, and being me. Or trying, anyway."
Best of fortune to you all. Prepare yourselves for being a day older and a day wiser than you were the day before. :)
