A Fond Farewell to 2016 and a Welcoming Hand to 2017

2016 was an exceptional year. At least for me it was. I know the collective world is groaning due to the insane list of beloved celebrities that passed on and the joke of a presidential election that took place. However, this year was personally gratifying.

This year started out rough in that I had to say goodbye to people whom I worked with and admired for years. Some died, others moved on to different jobs. I've had to say goodbye to friends, some cherished, others background characters. Some moved on to job opportunities while others moved on to much deserved brighter horizons. I've said goodbye to family members whom I just assumed would always be around. I've had to say goodbye to some aspects of my youth and aspects of my personality that no longer serve their purpose. I've said goodbye to old habits and hello to new ones. There were more goodbyes than I can ever remember having before.

The one event that sticks with me this year is starting nursing school. Despite how busy and stressful it is, I feel.....full. Full of purpose. Full of meaning and strength. Although it was not my intended goal, this is where I am now. I'm glad this is where I am. For once I feel like I'm driven by something real and tangible. Something I can really achieve and see through. Something meaningful. Something I love. I turned 30 this year and I can't say I handled it super well. Though it was an event surrounded by good company and good times, I struggled with saying goodbye to my 20's and a decade that symbolizes youth and energy. Both events seemed to tie into each other. They both made me feel like an adult. The adult I should be and not some lost, disappointing man-child. I also got in shape and stayed in shape for the majority of the year (Except December. It's never nice to my fat ass) This year also marked a dedication to health. Being healthy. Feeling healthy. Living healthy. I know, it sounds all terribly pretentious. But few things feel as good as feeling fit.

For once, I feel like I'm being propelled towards being the man I want to be. I feel like I've gained meaningful ground on being somebody. Although I feel like I've lost more friends and gained few in return I feel not so alone anymore. This is life. People change. Dynamics change in relationships. Shit happens. Shit gets broken. Shit gets fixed. The only thing you can do is roll with the punches because there is no going backward.

I can only unrealistically hope that 2017 is a year of similar prosperity and consistency. I'm not holding my breath. I'm not stupid. But hope is all I have when I can only control so little. I will strive to make this a good year and continue on with what I have and hopefully build towards what I don't.

This year was about growth. Perhaps this next year can be about stability.


Ok 2017, let's make the next 365 days worth recounting.

A Hat Too Far

Kids these days, am I right?!

Today I stepped out to the vast emptiness of holiday shopping to witness the bone chilling hollowness of commercialism gone awry. Christmas doesn't make sense to me. Today's youth doesn't make sense to me. Put them both together and I'm as confused as a lobotomized kitten in a sea of warm milk.

Anywho, today I saw not one but two members of today's youth sporting 2 hats. One hat resting comfortably upon their skull where it belongs and another fastened to a belt loop as if it where an open-carry pistol. A back-up hat? For what fucking reason would you ever need a back up hat readily available on your person? In case one hat didn't look "as fly" as you originally thought and changed to the one you thought might potentially be "dope as fuck" instead? Or perhaps you encounter a cute girl and get the feeling the Chicago Cubs hat just isn't her thing. Instead you slowly reach to your side and unholster your trusty Boston Red Sox hat to turn the tide, leaving nothing to chance in your strong hat game.

As a lover of all things hats, I agree with this trend in principle. In practice, this is dumb as shit. Perhaps if I were born in the far off year of 1998 or 99 I would be a valued subscribe of this back-up hat trend. I would never leave home thinking I wore the wrong hat again. But I grew up in a time where you chose the hat you were going to wear for the day and just dealt with the consequences of that choice, for better or worse. I'm an antiquated product of my time. Sure, I'd love to live in a world where I could just change hats in a pinch, on the go, in public, in an emergency fashion crisis.

But you can't teach an old dog new tricks..............or trends.