For a long time, I thought of myself as someone who didn’t have anything I truly loved to do. It’s only recently that I realized that there are some things I like to do (besides eating, which is not a hobby). Maybe I learned to suppress my wants because I couldn’t adapt to changes in the past. Maybe I learned to endure unpleasant situations too well. I want to remember 2024 as the year I changed my mind about this. I’m grateful to the Benedict Cumberbatch fan who wrote a book about how strange passions can be glorious and the Chicago Park District badminton community. It didn’t have to be badminton, but I think I needed to find a team sport with a welcoming group of people I saw as genuinely kind and interesting. Neither of these are new experiences, it takes time to change a personal narrative. Maybe in the future this narrative will extend to how I think about my job, but right now that still feels out of reach. For now, I want to remember 2024 as the year I made time for joy without pestering it with impossible questions of why and what for.

Highlights to remember:

• Vermont slopes, Florida springs, Texas wildflowers, Maryland crabs, mushrooms, wild persimmons, and sunsets on the water
• Realizing that giving people your attention and interest can be an important gift of validation, but asking about personal details before they’re ready can violate their sense of dignity
• Arcane, including its Reddit forum and YouTube reaction videos
• Learning my grandfather passed away on Wikipedia during book club
• Swimming miles in Lake Michigan and getting second place in the triathlon relay
• Skinny-dipping in Canadian lakes
• Lots of boardgames, in-person and on BGA
• Hurting the left side of my body, a lot
• E and K moving to Chicago
• The typical creature comforts of coffee, tea, beer on a hot day, rye whiskey on a cold day, at-home hot pot while watching TV, foods with butter, conversations with friends and family, and someone to nuzzle against