Made it to 2017

jerlynJanuary 1, 2017January 13, 2017Post a Comment

Well, barely. We were in bed before midnight and thankfully not nursing a hangover into the morning.

For the past years (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), I focused on writing a month-by-month recap of how the year went. It always gave me the opportunity to reflect on the year and celebrate the accomplishments I’ve had. The metrics have always been what I perceived as the best things for me. However, for the year of 2016, I honestly was just not feeling it. We’ve lost so many people in our lives (through broken friendships and death). It just made me reflect more on how short life is.

2016, as you realized, has been the year that made me really accept that: well, I just don’t care as much as I used to. Which isn’t exactly a terrible thing. I just have other priorities. What I DO love about the recaps though is remembering the metrics of happiness that were surprises. It’ll never be about likes (sorry Facebook and Instagram The Likes metrics is so false). I also used to take the time to design something (which always ended up being rushed and looked like shit—well, it’s true). So, instead of creating something I didn’t like here’s a bulleted list of things I really love about the year:

INTRODUCED MY PARENTS TO MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER and was extremely happy about it. I’m so proud of myself for remaining open to love all these years. This time around, the wait was worth it. He’s still “the ONLY guy I’ve dated who has made me feel the most comfortable about being myself and has been the most supportive.”
COMPLETED MY FIRST 2 OPEN WATER TRIATHLONS and bought a sweet bike that I call “Great Scott.” I did my triathlon without being clipped in and spent the preceding months learning how to become a much better cyclist. I was super motivated to learn since my father is a cyclist himself. Later that year I bought a bike case and traveled with Great Scott so show my father.
AN A-LIST CELEBRITY FINALLY OWNS A PIECE OF MY ART.
She also has a star on the hollywood walk of fame! If you’re on my friendslist, or followed me on Instagram, you’d know who. However, this year I’ve focused on my peers who have supported my work from the beginning. My art means so much to me. When I found people who genuinely wanted me to succeed in my passion I was forever indebted. I never thought that I would do anything with drawing. These days you can find some of my efforts (complete and incomplete on commuteartist). I opened a small store where I won’t have to do too much merchandising on society6. You can find this piece to the right here. I did it in honour of my brother and the Black Lives Matter movement. Hopefully one day I’ll write about what the BLM means to me. I know that so many people read it wrongly but I do appreciate that it’s a movement that highlights how people of colour are treated. I lost my brother to a senseless killing unfortunately becoming one of the statistics. All of us (black, white, yellow, etc.) should pay attention to what it represents and not just the labeling that might be misunderstood. I have other pieces of art (much like the one that’s the banner of this blog entry through that link as well).
STARTED WRITING MY MEMOIRS! I decided this is what I’d spend the next few months doing with my art, I have stories to tell. I’m so aware that not everyone should write a memoir. I’m also aware that I haven’t lived enough lifetimes to give advice (I don’t think anyone really has great ones). “Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one but they think each others stink.”―Simone Elkeles. However, I think people should be able to share their experiences. Experiences help giving others perspectives that they might not think about. I’ve read so many advice books in the early years of my 20s and it wasn’t until I started ignoring each of them that I felt much like myself.
EMBRACED MY INNER ACTIVIST. Life is nothing without purpose and this year after the results and aftermath of the election, I realized how important it was to use my voice and help others where they need. The thing is, we don’t know if Donald Trump will be the worse president in the history of the U. S. (Only years later we’ll know). However, he’s now an asterisk on my timeline. He’s an asterisk that all of us need to read the reference of. He’s meant to be omitted, but not ignored.
ATTENDED THE FIRST WEDDINGS IN MY ADULT LIFE. Somehow I’ve avoided weddings throughout the years and I’m happy that I went. I went to see my bf’s relative and I saw one of my past coworkers get married. Both weddings were incredibly different and it was very touching to see two relationships where love was celebrated. It made me change my perspective on marriage (please note: I still don’t think everyone should).
TOOK A YEAR OFF RUNNING MARATHONS! I was miserable all year because I didn’t race anything further than a half marathon. I finally gave in and signed up for a 52K for January. Wish me luck!