2023 is over. In a new tradition I’m creating right now, I am going to summarize my life these last twelve months and share the resolutions I made last New Year’s.
In December of 2022, I was living in downtown Boston and had been working my first job out of college in a lab for about 5 months. When I look back at my journal entries at that time, I was doing really well. The summer after graduating was tough. I didn’t have a job or a fall lease, so I gambled on getting a summer sublet to keep me in the area while I tried to piece everything together. Couple that with two personal relationships falling apart, I felt overwhelmed while trying to adjust to adult life. By December, everything had made a turn for the better. I was comfortable in my job, I was making more friends, and I had gone to therapy to help me manage things.
My journal entries from that time consisted of careful reflections about myself, my relationships, and a random two page discussion about cemeteries. When I’m in a good mood I will make time for things like that. In January I went to Jamaica with my extended family. It was an amazing trip. I got to spend over a week in paradise with the people I love the most, including my paternal grandfather Seymour Stern. Pop passed away a few months ago. This trip is something I always replay in my head to spend time with him again.
From February to April I spent time hanging out with friends while also being in my second serious relationship (see “Buildings and Breakups”). If there’s anything I learned this year, it’s that I love hanging out with friends and seeing live music, something I got a ton of opportunities to do in May. I saw Beetlejuice in the Citizens Bank Opera House, Alanis Morrisette and Noah Kahan at Boston Calling, and a couple great shows at Paradise Rock Club or in various basements across the greater Boston area. There’s too many hangouts to list, but some of my favorite memories are coming out to Revere for themed parties like “Hot Ones” night or St. Patricks’ Day.
By the end of April I made my first post to the blog and since then have tried to get everyone I know to contribute. I started the blog because I love to write, but my favorite part of this has always been seeing what my friends come up with.
Over the summer I had a two month rock-climbing phase that was a ton of fun. I got up to V4 climbs in that time, which if you’re unaware with climbing grades, is the hardest possible climb a human being can do. If you do know about climbing grades, then you didn’t hear that last part.
In the fall I started “Boston Fit Check” with my friends Conor and Allison. For a few months we would go onto the street holding up a sign encouraging people to come over and talk to us about the fashion they were wearing. It was so nerve-wracking every time we did it, but Allison and Conor were perfect people to do it with and we got to hear so many interesting stories. Check us out @bostonfitcheck on Instagram.
Resolutions
Last year, I made three resolutions. The first was to cook the alphabet: for every letter of the alphabet, try to cook one thing I’ve never made before. I thought this would be a good way to get better at cooking, since I never had the courage to learn before. I wanted to get this done before the New Year, but unfortunately I came up short (next is tortellini). Expect a blog post with the final journey soon though!
The second was to make more art. I guess I felt creatively drained last December, but I can tell you now that I did not succeed at this at all. I did try acrylic painting for a few weeks but I gave up because of how terrible I was. I know that at some point in my life I will return to painting, but not anytime in this decade.
My final resolution was to fail at a lot of things. I guess I failed at acrylic painting… so… check! Just kidding. My intention behind this resolution was to encourage myself to go after things without the fear of failure. I think I took a fair amount of risks this year, but I can see where I can go further next year.
I have my resolutions for 2024 set, but I’m going to keep that a secret for now. I hope whoever’s read this far is blessed with a wonderful year of health and happiness. For anyone who stopped reading a few paragraphs in – well, you can have a just-okay kind of year. I want to thank all of the amazing people in my life. My dad, my mom, my sisters, my grandparents, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, my friends Allison, Claire, Conor, Dawid, Ethan, Emily, Freja, Grace, Hannah, Jacob, Justin, Jeff, Leigh, Max, Maureen, Miguel, Miriam, Sophie, Spas, Spencer, and Tamar.
For all the ups and downs, this was the best year of my life. I am so grateful for everyone who as a part of it, and I hope to see people soon!
MaxTalks 