2014: See You Later, Alligator; 2015: Please Don’t Be a Reptile

The end of the year. How did this happen? One minute, I’m drinking champagne, the next, I’m drinking champagne again. One whole year, gone. Whoosh. Bam.

Throughout the year, it is important to take personal inventories. Did you grow? Did you fail? Will you do better? Writers like Peter Bregman suggest you should do this every day, for 18 minutes. For every other person on the planet, we do this once a year during New Years Eve.

It’s human tradition to procrastinate.

For me, 2014 was an incredible year. It was a hard year, of course. The most challenging year of my life, but worth it.

Here’s what I’ll remember

Growing

Literally. I gained 15 pounds. This is a HUGE deal for me. Up until recently, I’ve been the same weight since high school. I thought my wife was shrinking all my clothes in the laundry. Nope.

I don’t want to be huge or anything, but geez. I just want to be comfortable sitting in a chair.

Travelling

My time in the east coast may be coming to a close, so it made sense to make the most of my location. In 2014, I (i.e., my wife and I) embarked on as many road trips as possible. We also traveled a bit by air, seeing both familiar and new states.

On the road we hit Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, Toronto, and almost every inch of New York State. Through the air we hit Texas, Washington, Idaho, and California.

I would love to say that 2015 will be a year of rest, but it’s not the case. After I graduate in May, most likely, my wife and I will be heading back towards the West Coast. Somewhere West, USA. Get ready, Pri Pri. (That’s my car’s nickname, as of late), we’re calling on you again.

Monster hunting outside Vermont

Writing & Publishing

This year, my writing took a big leap forward. I wrote a play which won an award at a local festival. I wrote for a few magazines: 585 Magazine, Democrat & Chronicle, New Energy. I was a guest on the radio for a writer’s panel. I freelance blogged my way across the blogosphere. Best of all, I’m closer to my goal of completing eight fictional short stories (currently at five with a lot of editing and polishing to go).

In 2015, I’ll be looking to get some stories published, and maybe, MAYBE, write another play.

My cast for “Famous Writers in Hell”

Marriage

2014 brought Megan and me closer than we ever have before. Maybe it’s the smaller apartment. Maybe it’s the colder weather. Maybe it’s four and a half years of marriage in three different states. Either way, she makes me I’m happy. I can’t imagine doing life without her. She’s the glue to my vision board, the Scully to my Mulder, the bomb to my blast.

As I said, in 2015 we’ll be moving again. What she doesn’t know, is that I’ll be flying.

New England coastline

School

Every year I get older, college gets harder. I don’t mean the content or the homework. I mean just being in school. I’m 28 now, and I’m desperate to start a career. For me, it’s becoming obvious that I’ve outgrown academia. Don’t misunderstand, I appreciate the university and my scholarships that have brought me here. I appreciate my studies, my professors, and my wider scope of knowledge. But at the end of the day, private academia was built around the concept of postponing adulthood by separating students from the workplace/real world/not a campus. I’m ready to move on, I suppose. I’m ready to break the bubble.

An average day at the University of Rochester

TheNumberKevin

While the busyness of 2014 didn’t allow me to blog as much as I was hoping to, I did publish a some posts that I’m incredibly proud of. Here’s a few of my favorites. As you can see, I still struggle with finding a consistent blogging theme: