2024 is the year i will get my shit together
some reflections, predictions and setting of intentions for the new year
for my last newsletter of 2023, i thought it would be a nice idea to talk about the past year in general and set some intentions and goals for the year going forward. think of this like a retrospective and an accountability post altogether.
every year really beats the last, doesn’t it? annually i’m able to say “this year was the worst yet” or “this year was more insane than the last.” shit on this planet is accelerating at an inconceivable speed, and i become simultaneously overwhelmed and jaded as time goes on.
but even knowing that it’s obvious that each year gets worse and worse, i can unequivocally say that this one has been the absolute fucking worst. i was laid off in january and spent the entirety of this year trying to find work to no avail, and i actually ended up getting hired earlier this month, but i left the job soon after starting because i hated it so much i couldn’t even stay in it just to pay rent.
meanwhile, the covid pandemic still rages on with little to no acknowledgement from the general public, the northern hemisphere had the hottest summer on record, climate change-accelerated wildfires ravaged communities in hawaii, canada, greece, the US and more, tens of thousands of people have been killed, injured or displaced due to conflict in ukraine, nagorno-karabakh, gaza and the west bank (just to name a few), a train full of hazardous chemicals derailed and burned for days in ohio, climate change rages on unabated, earthquakes in turkey and morocco and afghanistan killed thousands, the safety and rights of trans people are being increasingly threatened in the US and the UK, roe v. wade was repealed in the US, the economy is somehow even worse than before, generative AI continues to capture the attention of the tech billionaires rather than anything actually useful, and that’s an abridged list of the shit that happened this year.
so while the calendar is made up and new years is a fake holiday, i am happy to symbolically leave this year behind. i know the next year will be shitty too, but i’m ready to see what it has in store.
my 2024 predictions
mushrooms become the new mustache
people start drinking again/general trend away from sobriety
trump re-elected
biden has a stroke on the campaign trail
AI bubble bursts, OpenAI goes bankrupt
king charles briefly hospitalized
george santos starts a podcast
side bangs have a brief comeback
bluesky shuts down
bolsonaro avoids hospitalization for most of the year but ends up in the ER by november
knesset dissolves again, netanyahu loses election to somebody just as bad
IN:
going off the grid
full-sugar soft drinks
being educated about religion and reading holy books
listening to entire albums front to back
owning physical media like DVDs, CDs, tapes, and records
reading maps
public transit
piracy (all forms)
OUT:
reddit-style atheism
buying the latest technology when you don’t need it
recording people in public to make fun of them
veneers
vaping
stupid tiktok comments
driving
streaming subscriptions
my 2024 intentions
for this newsletter, i want to get back to writing on a weekly basis. it felt really nice to have that regularity, and i want to use this platform to express myself more. i’m hoping that building that habit back up will keep me inspired and motivated to write even more and grow this platform.
i also hope to get more paid subscribers this year, because this is my only source of income currently. i want to put out content that people want to read, and that people will pay for if they can afford it. i’m still struggling to find any stable employment, and if this can become a sustainable and reliable source of income for me, even just to get the bills paid, i’d be eternally grateful. if you are interested what i have to say, there’s a lot more of it behind the paywall, and it’s generally more personal too.
in my personal life, i plan to watch at least 100 movies in 2024, just as i did in 2023. i want to make sure to include a lot more foreign films, and i have a lot on my watchlist from palestine, lebanon, serbia and france so far. i also hope to read a lot more, at least one book per month, but hopefully more. not only do i plan on reading more novels, but i want to read more history books, particularly about palestine as well as the balkans. i’m also currently reading the quran, which i should finish by early 2024, and i want to read the bible again and brush up on my knowledge of christianity. i’ve been feeling the pull toward religion in many ways again lately, and while i’m still feeling a little lost when it comes to what i believe the most in, i think brushing up on things and exploring ideas i haven’t fully entertained is a good use of my time.
on a social level, i want to see my friends and family more this year, and to make special memories with all of them. i want to show my gratitude and love to everyone and strengthen my connections to the communities i belong to. i want to bake and cook for the people i love, i want to hear everything they have to say, and i want to experience new and interesting things with them. i will try to be kinder, more patient, and more understanding of those around me. and i will try to do more things that my therapist tells me to do.
i’ll see you all in 2024.