nightmare transport and unattainable hype aside, I am a big fan of new year’s eve.
there’s probably no tradition better suited to those of us who live half our lives in the future - romanticising all the ways in which we’re determined to change, be better and reinvent ourselves in some imagined future that never really seems to get any closer. for better or for worse.
and when it comes to environment, there’s none more encouraging for that kind of optimism than the quiet limbo between christmas and whatever date work threatens to resume. where every late night feels like the perfect setting to reassess all your life choices, write bad poetry in your notes app, take stock of past regrets and wish all ex-friends and partners well via a slightly emotional, unwarranted paragraph text.
I can’t say I’m an avid resolution-er (goal-setting as a bit of a recipe for disaster generally) but I find the prompt to welcome in new kinds of energy and possibilities, while willing our vices and negative habits to be banished once and for all, a really useful one. an F5 for spiritual refresh.
although the in/out lists are already littering socials, I figured I’d join in. and with one of my many hopes for 2023 being following through with this newsletter and finding ways to be more fun & informal with my writing…
so here’s mine!
lmk yours too if you’re up for it. sending you all of the best possible vibes for tonight and the days ahead, thank you so much again for joining me here.
happy new year and speak soon <3
IN:
completing passion projects
romantic friendships
burner accounts
dogsitting for strangers
technophobia
painting - your house and on canvas
perfume oils
not following someone back unless you want to
probiotics
crosswords
being quiet
physically writing things down
leaving the country
impromptu hand tattoos
passing on things you don’t want to do instead of saying yes now and flaking later
matchmaking among friends
board games
long-haul train journeys
respecting OOOs
pottery
SIM-only contracts
crying at Disney films
doing literally anything alone
working in libraries
paying freelancers on time
making moodboards for anything
non-alcoholic cocktails
eating leftovers
devoting an entire day to spending time with a friend
adult sleepovers
being a regular
secrets
OUT:
looking in the mirror without purpose
throw pillows
discourse
sarcasm as a personality trait
texts that should have been emails
Zoom calls
Y2K
cats that aren’t kittens
celebrities in general
playing devil’s advocate
bodychecking
retweeting every response to your own tweet
gossip blogs
pretending to know things about wine
anonymous Q&As
talking about women’s bodies
ego