boring-ass shit
As much as the traditions surrounding New Year's irk me, I think I should write a reflection anyway. In roughly chronological order.
I finished high school, and graduated. That's really a pretty big achievement, looking back. My last year of high school was completely ridiculous. Trying to please everyone while covering up my stupid emotional (behavioral?) problems was extremely taxing and just about killed me, but I managed to do it.
Something difficult happened. Still haven't fully figured out how to deal with it, but I'm trying, I guess.
With a few friends, I cut the senior trip and we went to Maine for a night. This was a very important experience for me. I think it made me value friendships a bit more. We slept on the beach. It was very... idyllic. It's hard to find a time where everyone's just allowed to be lazy for 36 hours or so, but when you do, it's sublime.
I held a job at Michaels for a few weeks in the summer. I made a few hundred dollars, I think. It wasn't that bad. This was my second job, but the first one that lasted more than a week. I hardly earned $100 at the other place. It was sort of a unique experience, because we were just setting up the store before it actually opened, and I never actually got to deal with customers. It's hard to say whether the job would be similarly tolerable with another variable thrown in, but I will probably re-apply in the summer regardless, just to see.
I started college in August, and I moved halfway across the country to do it. I hate Indiana, but I like the school fine. I did pretty well my first semester, and as far as I can remember, I didn't cheat on anything. I'm way ahead in my number of credit hours, and I seem to be off to a really good start. Regardless of how pointless I sometimes think it will all end up being, I like to believe I'm on the right track.
I released two albums, one in March and one in September. Definitely of note is that the former was a collaboration between myself and Natasha. It was a lot of fun, and while I feel like Natasha carried most of the weight in making it sound great, I'm still proud of the work I did on it. I am currently trying to improve and progress musically. I have some ideas in the works to maybe get enough material for a new album finished within the next few weeks. I'd like to send it out to a tape label when it's done to see if I can get it released on a concrete medium.
I met a lot of cool people, not the least of whom Natasha. I realized you can't expect meeting someone like Jeff Mangum will keep you from ever being sad again, or whatever. This is crucial for me to understand. The really important thing is making friends, keeping in touch with people, and forming bonds. I have been a bit lacking in this department so far, but I have made some progress, at least. I'm a little selective, I guess.
That said, fuck you. While you're suffering from your hangover and recovering from your pointless, intense partying, I will still be in bed, relishing in sweet slumber and the joys of not having to do jack shit during this wintriest of winter recesses.
love,
alex
I finished high school, and graduated. That's really a pretty big achievement, looking back. My last year of high school was completely ridiculous. Trying to please everyone while covering up my stupid emotional (behavioral?) problems was extremely taxing and just about killed me, but I managed to do it.
Something difficult happened. Still haven't fully figured out how to deal with it, but I'm trying, I guess.
With a few friends, I cut the senior trip and we went to Maine for a night. This was a very important experience for me. I think it made me value friendships a bit more. We slept on the beach. It was very... idyllic. It's hard to find a time where everyone's just allowed to be lazy for 36 hours or so, but when you do, it's sublime.
I held a job at Michaels for a few weeks in the summer. I made a few hundred dollars, I think. It wasn't that bad. This was my second job, but the first one that lasted more than a week. I hardly earned $100 at the other place. It was sort of a unique experience, because we were just setting up the store before it actually opened, and I never actually got to deal with customers. It's hard to say whether the job would be similarly tolerable with another variable thrown in, but I will probably re-apply in the summer regardless, just to see.
I started college in August, and I moved halfway across the country to do it. I hate Indiana, but I like the school fine. I did pretty well my first semester, and as far as I can remember, I didn't cheat on anything. I'm way ahead in my number of credit hours, and I seem to be off to a really good start. Regardless of how pointless I sometimes think it will all end up being, I like to believe I'm on the right track.
I released two albums, one in March and one in September. Definitely of note is that the former was a collaboration between myself and Natasha. It was a lot of fun, and while I feel like Natasha carried most of the weight in making it sound great, I'm still proud of the work I did on it. I am currently trying to improve and progress musically. I have some ideas in the works to maybe get enough material for a new album finished within the next few weeks. I'd like to send it out to a tape label when it's done to see if I can get it released on a concrete medium.
I met a lot of cool people, not the least of whom Natasha. I realized you can't expect meeting someone like Jeff Mangum will keep you from ever being sad again, or whatever. This is crucial for me to understand. The really important thing is making friends, keeping in touch with people, and forming bonds. I have been a bit lacking in this department so far, but I have made some progress, at least. I'm a little selective, I guess.
That said, fuck you. While you're suffering from your hangover and recovering from your pointless, intense partying, I will still be in bed, relishing in sweet slumber and the joys of not having to do jack shit during this wintriest of winter recesses.
love,
alex