Craft By Zen

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A Year In Review: 2014

I used to do ā€œA Year in Reviewā€ back at my old blog. The last one I posted was back in 2011, and it was more of a chore than anything else, re-posting pictures I thought were cool from each month. In a way, I’ve gone away from posting on Tumblr, which is about posting pictures and re-posting other people’s work.

Touting how I’ve changed this year, this is a good time to log a snapshot of where I am today to evaluate myself in the future. Taking a lesson from someone else’s reflection on the past year, as well as another list, I’m going to bullet point what I’ve learned this year.

The Good From 2014:

Top Books I’ve Finished This Year:

Top Films I’ve Seen This Year:

I want to start a new list for the upcoming year that doesn’t involve resolutions. I have made resolutions in the past, and I have not been very involved in making them happen because circumstances change, or the goal wasn’t specific enough, or I just don’t like the goal anymore. Instead, I’m making a ā€œI don’t give a fuckā€ list to live by for the next year.

The Fuck-It List of 2015:

This list was inspired by these two lists, both from the same author. This list item from one of the list rings so true to me:

#14. Falling in Love

If I learned anything in 2013, it’s that loveā€Šā€”ā€Šthe overwhelming, this-is-the-one kind, the love that makes you weak in the knees, if not slightly duller in the headā€Šā€”ā€Šisn’t real. It exists outside of reality, in a world devoid of calories and Kardashians. The fall is fun, for a while. But big love is just that… oversized and oversold. Overstated and filled with impossible expectations. I don’t want to fall into that kind of love again. It lacks substance. I prefer the little loves. My best friend’s daughter running around the kitchen chanting, ā€œIt’s all rainbows,ā€ over and over again. The wag of a dog’s tail when you scratch the sweet spot behind her ear. Neglected nuances, subtle sincerityā€Šā€”ā€Šthat’s where love lives. Lost in a pile of unmatched socks, it sits and waits for you, overlooked and underappreciated. Flawed but sturdy; frustrating but frank. A beautiful mess of sadness and hope. Fuck engagement rings and moonlit walks on the beach. Love hurts because that’s the only way to tell that it’s real.
— Chantielle MacFarlane

Everyone, have a Happy New Year!


Written by Jeremy Wong and published on .