2018, by my count, lasted about a year.
I say this because 2017 felt like it barely existed; I wrote about 4 songs, spent the majority of the year lining up a new job, got the job, and then - Whew! Look at the time! - that was that.
But so far, 2018 has been the appropriate length. Which is a relief, since it was also my last year of being in my 20s. In January, I turn 30. Some days I can say this without flinching. Others, it sounds unshakably foreign -- a phrase that other people say, sure, but why would I ever need it?
Then I take some deep breaths, and I look at my friends who have already turned 30, and I hide the clock behind a magazine. I remind myself that I'm gaining more things than I'm losing. I use that restless energy in the traditional manner: to tip the scales when I'm deciding whether or not to try something new.
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And this year did include a lot of new things. Somewhere in there, I...
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Visited Japan for the first time.
Made it onto IMDB.
Had a piece displayed in an
art show at a gallery in Tokyo.
( )
This was my entry.
Made a few
short games.
Holiday newsletters get called out as glorified excuses to brag, and I'm definitely running with that excuse here. It's a good foil to the end-of-the-year existential panic that can set in -- What do I have to show for this year? Have I "made it" yet?
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And we all become a sort of cheerful Ozymandias: Look upon my works, ye friendly, and rejoice.
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But while the awareness of time and the chill of winter can make us a little self-centered, sure, they also remind us that we are not islands. We make a point of gathering with friends and family -- the best way to get through a cold, dark period. We reach out, and we try a little harder to be kind, because we know we're all in this together.
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So whether you're rallying around a tree or a flame or the pole from Seinfeld, you are doing it right. You are making it. YOU have lasted a year... and so have I.
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See you in 2019!
Jordan