Dear 2016,
At this point, there doesn’t need to be much said in terms of the overall consensus feeling about you. You took lives, you took hope, you took and took from everyone and gave little back in return. Our heroes died, our liberties questioned, tensions mounting, and we still didn’t get season 3 of Rick and Morty.
Personally, professionally, tangibly, and existentially, this year for me was a disappointment. There has been a lot of opportunity, I’ve put myself out in ways that I considered big ways and scary ways, facing disappointment, hitting walls and road blocks all along the way.
I’m not going to list them, I’m not going to dwell in them, I’m not going to let them fester. I’m going to look back at some of the things this year brought that were pretty amazing.
My friends Josh and Leah Lipsky had a baby. Josh Silverstein got married. Josh Johnson went on tour. Josh Gondleman went on tour. Apparently it was a good year for Joshs.
I was present for the birth of Luke Christophe Hampt. Julia and Ben Whitehouse brought Domino into the world. Ben and Diana got married. Danny and Leah got married. Jon and Jen got married. Seena and Cosmo got engaged. My friend Bobby Carroll was elected to the State Assembly. I directed my first long form storytelling shows. I produced 2 seasons of a storytelling podcast. I’ve grown closer with many beautiful people. I learned how to channel my inner demons and share them with the world.
So many people are scared for so many legitimate and real reasons. So many people are waking up to nightmares they never thought would be tangible. So many people are getting ready to fight back. So many people give me hope and inspiration.
We may be facing unknown challenges ahead. We may have lost many of our heroes. That just means that we need to produce more. We need to create more. We need to rally more. We need to do more. Don’t give up just because it’s hard. Don’t sit down because everything says to lay down.
Get up.
Bring on 2017.
Asher
Designing Solutions, One Problem at a Time 