A Message to 2022

“Sheesh!” Said Lizzo in “2 Be Loved (Am I ready),” a song that resonates with me more and more as we come to the close of 2022. I’d be lying to say it was a totally “bad” year, but there were enough bullet-point negative aspects to ’22 that make me look back across the scope of January through now and say, “Fuck. I really had a hard time.”

Sure, there were high highs for me. I met Lizzo herself as mentioned in a previous post. I had a fantastic time at Coachella seeing Harry Styles and Carly Rae Jepsen and tons of others. I attended the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with my sister and got to be up-close with Lionel Richie and Dolly Parton. Lady Gaga played the show of a lifetime at Dodger Stadium and we sang and cried in the rain. I met my favorite band CULTS. I made all of my friends don cowboy attire for an unceremoniously epic 32nd birthday party. I’m so grateful for those moments. I’m grateful for my friends, who were the main constant source of support through… everything else.

Olivia Newton John died. Career aspirations fell flat multiple times in ways that made my inner-circle shocked and angry for me. Other more personal endeavors burned out abruptly, leaving me feeling the lasting singe of disappointment, asking myself “what could I have done better and why didn’t I do that?” I failed at getting tickets to Taylor Swifts eras tour after hours of trying my hardest and will now presumably be spending quadruple digits to go. All in all, as Lizzo said:

“I did the work. It didn’t work.“

I hate to say it, but I never experience success when I reach for it too much. The better opportunities that I encounter come unexpectedly, and I’ve learned to take the path presented, not the one that sounds the best. This seems like an egregious cop-out, but that’s the experience I’ve always had. I want to keep that in mind going into 2023. Sometimes, struggling to create a reality that wasn’t meant to be can take you further from what you were intended to find. I want to keep my eyes and my heart open to the opportunities, experiences and people that come about. Lizzo is the coach in my head, and I’m ready…