Creativity + Connection
My personal vision for 2024.
New Year’s has always been a time when I celebrate with friends and family. It was this year, while trying to decide what I wanted to do for NYE, that I realized I spent NYE with my family or extended family until I was 21 years old. My elders thought it was funny I spent the holiday with them, but I was just so used to it, I didn’t think twice about not coming back home for it. Little did I know that my behavior was rooted in Black American tradition.
I learned that Black Americans have a long history of celebrating the New Year with many traditions that are a result of slavery. During slavery, Black folks would spend NYE together with their families because on New Year members tended to be brought to markets to be bought and sold to other plantations. Families could be broken apart on New Year’s Day. This was an opportunity to have the slave owner’s out of their hair. Many would celebrate with their families, some would visit other plantations where their familes were sold to earlier in the year and many would run north to freedom.
This year I want to be more intentional about how my year will look. I did my usual vision boarding. This year I am doing something a bit different. I made a list of goals I want to complete by the end of the year. They’re not super specific, but they are threads I’d like to center this year and the years to come. I made my hoppin’ john hummus (do not judge me!) and started to write down what I wanted out of the incoming year.
My vision for the year is Creativity + Connection. The last few years have been a whirlwind of grief, heartache, and pain. I know not only for myself, but for the world at large. I did not have the capacity to be creative, to try new things, build new connections with people, invest in my happiness — I only could survive. My goals the last few years has been to just stay alive and afloat. With therapy and support from the homies, I can confidently say I am moving out of that dark space and into a lighter one. One where I can begin to love the things I onced loved and be present again in life.
Goals
- Self and Community Care
- Give Myself Grace and Make Space for Joy
- Move My Body More (Dance/Skate)
- Decorate + Organize My Apartment
- Quit My Job
- Focus On More Creative Endeavors
- Travel Within North America
I can say I am off to a great start. This post will mark the start of my creative endeavors. I want to write more and you’ll find it all here or on my Patreon. I have a few projects in the works and I can’t wait to share them with you all. With that, here’s to 2024.
