Notes on a new year: 2025

I’m a New Year’s Resolutions kind of person. I make a theme for the year that’s kind of a mantra, and a more specific list that goes on my phone’s Notes App, and I actually look back at the list from time to time.

2024’s theme: All Disco, No Panic. I tried stopping thought spirals as they were happening. I found out that the scientists aren’t lying about how exercise helps you deal with stress. I limited how much time I doom-scrolled, and I tried to relax a bit.

But this is a post about the future, not the past, so let’s talk 2025.

2025: Why Not Now? or, for short, YNN?

YNN is very pro-cliff jumping as an activity, and very anti hemming and hawing.

Because after a year of trying to figure out how to take it a little more easy, the time is ripe to go for it a bit. We’ve pushed things off and now we are giving them a shot. Side projects, potential life changes, chores that have been put off… why NOT now, huh?

Look, I know the world is bleak and 2025, in many ways, feels like we’re already sliding backwards. But if life is going to be absurd, and if the bastards are going to grind you down anyway, you may as well do what you can, when you can. That path is going to be winding and ugly, but we move forward anyway. There’s no real alternative to the inexorable march of time.

Along the way, here are some side quests I’m giving myself:

• Pet 150 different dogs (as of this writing, we are 11 dogs in)

• Finish the comic-poetry zine I’ve been working on

• De-influence myself towards consumption - going to try to buy no NEW clothing this year (used clothing ok)

• Finish the Camino de Santiago this year (I made it halfway in 2021, when rain/omicron got in the way)

If you’re putting something off, consider YNN! And right this second, I’m realizing updating this site from time to time counts as a YNN consideration.