A year in letters
Looking back over the stack
In the pile of the letters I sent this year, there’s a record of hopes, fears, and lessons. There are common themes—family, work, and self-discovery to name a few. The first letter of the year, “Nothing much ado,” set the tone with its rumination on leaning into the stillness of the unknown.
I started the year, like many, in the unemployment line, and “Money Diary” was an honest look at how I got by while this unknown stared back at me. Part of this experience was thinking about what keeps us from trying new things and reframing the scope of ambition.
One of my favorite letters was an ode to the people and things that get left behind in “Dating and the things we collect. “ In this nostalgic vein, I also wrote about Going Home and Summer House, two places I keep with me even as I get ready to change addresses for what feels like the hundredth time since I’ve left home.
It wasn’t all looking back. “Voting for harm reduction” and “We’re all complicit” are about my anxieties and hopes for our future, and I hope they got you thinking a little bit, too. Starting a new year will undoubtedly have me exploring more forward-looking topics like this.
So much has changed since I started writing here almost a year ago, but the purpose that this weekly project provided and the support I got back from the people reading has stayed the same, and that’s what really kept the fire going low and long enough to help me find my way forward.
What projects are you mulling for the new year? Are you coming back to something after years away or starting something new? Either way, avoid the temptation to put pressure on yourself to find your next great adventure. There’s enough of that in real life, and this is just for fun.
As John Steinbeck once wrote to a son who’d fallen in love, “If it is right, it happens — The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”