2016...oh my...what a year. What a slap to the face right? Where do I honestly begin? Well, first I want to say that on a personal level 2014 was still the worse year of my life so far, but 2016 is a close second. 2014 is a year I wouldn’t go back to no matter how much someone offered to pay me. Well, that is with one exception of course. That exception being I would relive the first three weeks of January of 2014 so that I could see my mother again, but that is it. The year of 2016 like 2014 has also been pretty shitty year overall. In this year of 2016 we have seen some of the sickest parts of human nature come out of the woodwork and have run ramped.The year hasn’t been just bad for me, instead as a whole I think the world can agree 2016 can bugger off.
We also lost some very well known talented people throughout the year from Bowie to Prince to Gene Wilder to Carrie fisher (and now Carries mother too) and George Michael just to name a few.
Those losses are sad, but not as sad as the terrible things that we have done to humanity over this year. From the way the protestors that stood up for the protection of sacred Native American land were treated to the continued attacks in Aleppo. It’s just truly so disgusting and disheartening to see how bad we can be as human beings. If we were handing out grades for what type of year this was it would be lower than an F. Instead it would be a F for failure to be decent representation of a species that is worth keeping around on this planet. Oh and I have to mention the death of the great barrier reef just another example of the damage us humans continue to do not just to ourselves but to the planet as well. What a sad day for this planet. It doesn’t stop there unfortunately because the changing of the guard for the president of the united states looks to make at least the next four years difficult at the very least. Political parties aside we should all be ashamed for how one of the most powerful countries in the world is operating especially as a government level. All this being said it isn’t to say I don’t have hope or there wasn’t any good things in 2016. There is so much more bad things that happened that I didn’t touch on, but quite frankly I don’t want to weight down my heart more than it already is so we will move back to more positive thoughts I just needed to be honest with how this year truly was.
Switching from the problems of the world to a more personal level when looking back on this year I guess I should start back at my end of the year blog entry for 2016. Looking back I wrote about being ready to launch by taking off from this planet and was really focused on doing big things namely getting back in the direction of getting myself to the healthier me. Looking back now I might have been a little too aggressive. I can easily say that now because of how I feel towards the end of the year. I think the biggest problem at the beginning of the year was that my mind was ready to go go go, but my body wasn’t quite at the same level. Physically this has caused me some real problems that have forced me to slow down. It’s been really frustrating to say the least. From bike injuries to back injuries, and now knee problems I have really been sidelined. This has been extremely hard for me to deal with because when life gets hard movement or exercise has been my go to for fighting back. Without that I have struggled to keep up with life in many ways. It’s not however made me throw in the towel. Instead I have reached out and started making new paths on which I might succeed. I have been aggressive in my attempt to solve my knee problem that has plagued me this year. I truly believe solving that problem alone will help me in so many ways and that is one thing in 2017 I'm looking forward to. I have a doctor’s appointment right in the beginning of January to hear what the knee doctor has to say about the MRI scan of my knee. Fingers crossed I can get this solved soon.
Now I want to talk about the positives of 2016. I want to talk about the good things that happened this year for myself. Lets start with my many awesome outdoor adventures I had this year. First, I volunteered three times helping doing work on the Pacific Crest Trail. Next, I hiked to the top of Dog & Saddle Mountain with brother which was amazing. Next, I spent 4 days camping with my four best friends on our man camp trip. Also, I went camping by myself for the first time ever which was truly amazing thing to do. Finally I spent much time outside hunting for Pokemon with my good friends.
Mentally I still feel much better than that last two years even though there has been a butt load of sadness and frustration from things that have happened in 2016. This has been a big difference for me since the two years before I was struggling hard. I won’t say it’s all sunshine and roses, but my mind is more balanced. I have to keep moving forward in some sort of positive direction. I will prevail.
For music (obviously) it was a big year for me as well. I got to see 21 Pilots in concert (it was AMAZING) with my good friend Eli. I got to see Lukas Graham with my best friend JJ at the Doug fur one of the best shows of all time and I even got to meet Lukas personally after the show. I got to release the dedication video for my mother that I worked on for a while that had two songs in it that really mean a lot to me that was so important to me to make and share with others. Also, quite a bit of new music found it’s way to me this year even though I wasn’t able to write blog entries for said music, yet.
Food wise I made some awesome food and continue to grow as a chef. Even though much of the food I made was pretty naughty health wise and has led to much of my weight gain over this year. For my birthday I hunted down fresh gluten free & dairy free donuts (Also part of the weight gain). I also got to spend my birthday with JJ one of the closest people to me and someone I consider my brother. So many things I have yet to make and I got some more fun kitchen tools to use for the new year. I will however be shifting to some healthier dishes in the coming year.
School wise I had some important things happen for myself. First, I graduated with honors from Portland Community College in the spring. I’m pretty proud of that. Then in the fall I had my first term at Portland State University in were so far I have continued my good grades ending fall term with three As and one B. It was really exciting and fun getting to explore the PSU campus and downtown Portland. So far so good.
Now back to the music! I know that life as a whole has been very sad and depressing this last year. So much so that it’s hard to see the positives even I have struggled with it a lot these days. My words of advice or encouragement is to keep our heads up to stay focused and vigilant. Stay positive for the world needs you more than ever. Remember to always choose love. I want you to remember that there are still good people out there. If nothing else know that I am one of them and will hold the light until my dying day. I don’t really have a song that truly matches where I am today, but as I look toward 2017 with hope this song by Empire of the Sun called “Ride” hits on the idea of unity and togetherness.
"Ride"
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
If I saw her saying goodbye
I don't know what I'd do, no, no
If I'm gonna make a break and cry
I don't wanna know how bad it gets
Don't go falling away, you gotta make that break
Don't you turn into waste, we got it made you and me
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
If I steal the [?] look into your eyes
Think I just should through, oh oh
If we lost the taste of sudden life
I don't want to show my face again
Don't go falling away, you gotta make that break
Don't you turn into waste, we got it made you and me
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can
Together we can (Together we can do it)
(Together we can do it)
(Together we can do it)
Together we can
Together we can (Together we can do it)...
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
If I saw her saying goodbye
I don't know what I'd do, no, no
If I'm gonna make a break and cry
I don't wanna know how bad it gets
Don't go falling away, you gotta make that break
Don't you turn into waste, we got it made you and me
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
If I steal the [?] look into your eyes
Think I just should through, oh oh
If we lost the taste of sudden life
I don't want to show my face again
Don't go falling away, you gotta make that break
Don't you turn into waste, we got it made you and me
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can (Together we can do it)
Together we can
Together we can (Together we can do it)
(Together we can do it)
(Together we can do it)
Together we can
Together we can (Together we can do it)...
I think that about sums it up. Rise up on this ride of life and do this together. Together is the only way we can. We can do it.
I may not be launching off 2017 like I did in 2016, but I’m at least standing on the platform looking up at the stars above as if in a promise to visit them again. Stay humble. Stay focused good people.
Look I know that just changing the year to 2017 isn't just going to make every bad stop or get better, but maybe..just maybe it might be the push we need to get going in the right direction.
I hope to god that 2017 is much better for all of our sake. Take care of yourselves and as always I bring this to you with so much love and pure D-lite. =)
