Going into 2025...

I'll be honest, I was doing a new year's bar crawl with one of my old college roommates last night and was in no state to be doing any writing when I got home, so you'll have to forgive me that nothing was scheduled for the ball drop this year. But at least this one is coming out on New Year's day, right? Buzzer beater.

Anyways, this year's state of the union won't be near as impressive as the last. To be blunt, this past year sucked. Like, really sucked.

• More job interviews than years past but still no offers. Though I have picked up private bartending and consulting as side hustles. (Mixology content on here soon, perhaps?)
• I moved into a new house with my partner only to realize that it– uh– sucks. Not the partner part, to be extremely clear. The house. It has little to no insulation, poor management, and half the square footage for 50% more rent. Whoops!
• The family matriarch passed away right before Christmas, which kinda killed the vibe for the entirety of December.
• FSU football was the butt of all jokes this year, don't even get me started. At least the Lions were good.
• American politics is truly at one of the lowest, most depraved points I've seen it in my lifetime. Its prognosis is not very comforting.

If you've read my 2022 retrospective, then you'll be somewhat familiar with the vibes going into this year. Shit's bleak. Worst possible election outcome, inevitable economic struggles on the horizon, Cybertrucks blowing up outside Trump hotels, mass casualties in NOLA, all on the first day of the year. The looming cloud is back, and probably twice as big this year. God, I wish I could be as green-horned and wide-eyed as I was when I wrote this piece two years ago but I feel that if I put that mask on, it would come off as a bit contrived. And I owe you guys better than that.

As I've grown and changed as a person, I've found that my driving mantra has changed too, from the tried and true "This too shall pass" to its new and cooler cousin: "Ball up top." The goalposts have shifted, and what used to be a starry-eyed focus on financial sustainability and professional development has slowly morphed into a carnal desire to simply survive. And that's okay! I think.

Living has never been an easy thing. Humans have faced challenges for as long as we've existed, it's in our nature. But it's in this shared struggle that we're united. Remember: Strength doesn't manifest without adversity. It's developed as a result of us getting knocked down and finding the fortitude to get back up again.

It's okay for us to take a breather. To walk the next quarter mile. To take a seat in our corner of the ring. Lord knows it's not about how fast you cross finish lines, it's about crossing them at all. Drink some water, then let's come out swinging again.

Just like the rest of you, I can't tell what the future holds. If I could, I certainly wouldn't be writing like this. Just... Going into this next year, be sure to keep your friends and family close. Check up on your clan often. Old friends who might have it worse than you. If there's anything the last year has taught me, it's that the boomers and the oligarchs don't give a fuck about us, so we're all we've got.

As I said in the last post: We have to survive. All of us. That's the goal.

Sure, I'll step off the soapbox now.

This is usually the part where I go over my goals from last year, but I'm not gonna get into it this time because uh... Yeah. To say we missed the mark would be an understatement. Certainly not due to lack of effort, that's for sure. Mainly circumstances beyond my control. The only real comment I have is:

I want to continue to support my family the next year and a half that I'm still here.

I feel like this was the one area that I really excelled in this year. For the entire month of December, as we were dealing with the decline and passing of my grandmother, I feel the entire family really came together to take care of one another. Although my contributions pale in comparison to that of my mother and aunt, I spent many hours helping re-situate her and checking in on her in her final moments, and I don't think I would change a thing.

As for this year... The pessimist and pragmatist in me wants to set the bar low to make the hurdles easier to clear, but the hopeful in me is taking a cast iron pan to the other two's heads. Let's see what I come up with:

This year is my rebuild year. I will double down on certifications and carve a path forward for myself, whatever that may be. I will continue to be there for my family and community, and ensure that no harm will come their way. I will continue to advocate for others, regardless of race or creed, and I will continue to do no harm and take no shit. We will make this world a better place.

That's all for now. Happy new year, and the next post comes Soon™. See ya. :)