“The Final Countdown” by Journey is blasting from my tiny iPad speakers and I have no one to blame except myself. I was the one who selected the “Ultimate NYE Party” playlist from the plethora of options on Spotify and it’s a decision that I’m sticking with, despite the current outcome.
2016 is at a close and it’s a year that most people would rather forget – at least based on what I see on my Facebook newsfeed that is. I dunno though, as a whole I don’t think it was so bad. I mean, sure we as a society (all of us) made some pretty horrific moves in the political sphere, the time came to say goodbye to some of our heroes (Bowie hit me the hardest in case you were wondering, after that it was like “oh yeah that sucks” for the entire 11 months) and the power went out a few times but personally I don’t think the year wasn’t so bad.
I mean sure, you can look at the negatives or you can find the small victories – for example, I just read an article about a woman the same age as me who has NEVER BEEN DRUNK IN HER LIFE and DOESN’T DRINK ALCOHOL because she chooses not to. In the article she listed all the positive things that have come of this and as I contemplated that, I nodded and thought “I could do with a drink”, I mixed myself a Kahlua and milk and thought “good for you, but that’s not for me” AND I HAVE THAT FREEDOM so that’s a small win.
I hate to sound like an advice column and I hate to give advice because I hardly have anything figured out, so why should I tell you what to do? That being said, I do know a few things for sure; a year is just a way that we arrange our time, it shouldn’t dictate what you are capable of, what you can achieve or how you feel.
I’m pretty stoked with the shit that I achieved this year but that didn’t stop me having times where I felt useless, like a complete failure, continually anxious and like hiding under my covers and not coming out ever again (and yeah, lots of people I know are surprised whenever I mention this kind of thing, I promise that they ridiculously high and positive personality that you see most of the time is genuine, but so is the other stuff, no person is one dimensional). But I didn’t say “I’ll be better next week / month / year” I chose to feel better when I felt better, to work towards the end goal of healing myself rather than healing myself by an end date. “New year, new me” now we all know that’s a bit bull shit – while your problems won’t be solved in a single moment and yes, things do take time, the ticking of a clock and the flip of a calendar isn’t the kind of time that I’m referring to.
How do you solve the entire worlds problem without having an end date, I hear you ask. The answer is that you don’t (and if that’s what you’re worried about then you’re only going to put yourself through more suffering, trust me, been there, done that, cried myself to sleep heaps of nights) but you can surround yourself with absolute legends and just look after yourself and the ones you love. You rock and you should know that.
Now, time for things to get personal with a little roll call to the folks who rocked my world this year:
- Ew. Gross, yucky, I LOVE YOU. That’s all.
- Ma & Pat. You are the coolest folks, so motivated & a wicked inspiration, the true embodiment of turning your passion into your job and still winning at life.
- Best. Brother. Ever. Always there to lend a hand and share a bottle of red.
- All the Norton Clan. How did I get so lucky?
- Emmy bear, you resilient little girl, hold on through 2017. The real world is better than High School.
- Stacey, Hannah, Moe & Linda, the people who I have known for the longest time who have stayed through all the changes I have made in the last year or two and have always encouraged me and checked in. That I do truly appreciate.
- The Raucous Caucus crew – I felt so lucky to get to try writing for TV in 2016 and have the opportunity to realise that this is something that I am (kind of) good at (maybe) and want to pursue in the future!
- The work girls – you made that place bearable and will forever be grateful!
- Bec Taylor – you get a mention because you told me to write this. You’re the kinda girl that pushes me to be a better citizen of the world, you rock.
- Comedy people – people I met through comedy, performed with, drank with or anyone who laughed at something I said or did this year, even if that wasn’t always my intention, you guys make my dreams come true.
That’s all, whatever you do tonight remember that it’s just another night and like every other night of your life it certainly deserves to be great!
Alicia Norton 