It was the best of years, it was the worst of years. A little cliché, perhaps, but still fitting.


As much as I want to, I can't hate this year that has just passed. It was filled with hardships and heartaches – and yes, seemingly moreso than other years.

We lost a lot of good artists of all calibers. Carrie Fisher hurt the most I think, but just because of my love for Star Wars, but there are plenty that have earned well-deserved tributes this year in passing.

The madness that has spread across the net, encircling those of us in the middle, hurts to think about. Oh, how I wish I could find a solution. I wish the world could find a greater understanding, and not just 'from where I'm standing.' All I can do is being genuine with those I deal with and call friend, and do my best to try and see all sides of the story.

I had to undergo gum surgery because I don't floss enough, despite knowing that I should. Eating soft foods and soup for a week wasn't easy. Puréed chili is gross. But I have no one to blame but myself, and to avoid having to do this again. O.O

My love had some rough times and I did whatever I could to help her, though at times it was taxing on both of us. But we made it through, together.


And yet, why should I only look back on this year with sadness and frustration?

This year, I married the woman that I love more than anybody else and we did it in our own unique, weird-yet-still-reserved style. Everyone who helped us or was involved proved invaluable, and I do not have enough words to praise them all. Despite having torrential downpours of rain, everything else was as bright as a summer's day and we came away, exhausted but exhilarated.

I managed to accomplish creative things I never thought I could. Building a photo booth wall from scratch with only my thoughts and grit to make it happen was a lot of work – but it did work, and amazingly so. It was finished the day we needed it, but that was enough, and lots of people had fun with it. I've also been writing more in the past year than I have in the past years, and still have more to come.

I witnessed the reunification of my wife with her brother, and gained an awesome new brother-in-law in the process. A family once fractured is mending itself, and all are better for it. What wasn't even considered a possibility one week before my marriage has become a reality. That shows just how the future still has plenty of unknowns to throw at us - some good, some bad - and that the adventure is just getting started.


I started this with a cliché, and so I choose to end it the same: it is always darkest before the dawn.

2016 was very dark in many ways, it is true; although I admit few of them touched me directly, they did impact many of my friends.

But we must realize that the dawn doesn't just appear in a flash. It creeps up and slowly grows until we finally see the sun again. Feel its warmth, like a fresh spring day.

We will lose much in 2017 – don’t doubt it.

Many more 'big names' will pass away, and we likely won't see a lot of them coming until it's too late.

The world's stage is set to be changed in ways I can scarcely imagine or predict.

But I am forever an optimist – I will never lose hope. And though much will change in this year, I will never lose myself. And the ring on my finger will always remind me that someone else is there by my side, as I am by hers, to help when things are too hard to handle alone.

I feel more alive in the last days of this burning year than I have in quite a while. More ready to take on everything. More ready to try new things and rediscover old favorites.

Are you with me?