Little Good Things
Remembering 2017 from a different lens.
This year, a lot of shit went down.
I’m not even gonna talk about the political stuff. Y’all know. My personal life wasn’t great either. Friendships ended, relationships ended, loved ones passed away. I undoubtedly enjoyed more privilege than many others this year, but for me, it was a hard one.
Looking back, it’s easy for me to say 2017 was a shit year — and most people would agree with me.
But… if I’m being honest, I know little good things happened, too. At least 166 little good things, actually.
After all, I’ve got a list.
My planner has a little box on the left for “Good Things That Happened” each week, and much to my own surprise, I actually used it all year. (It’s a Passion Planner, for my fellow calendar nerds out there.)
The “Good Things” I wrote down are funny to look back upon. It’s a hopeful, happy list of little accomplishments, drinks with friends, and first dates that seemed promising at the time. Honestly, the most common one is probably “got free food.” I love free food.
The most interesting thing about this list of good things is that, well, it doesn’t mention any of the bad things. This seems obvious, but it’s weird to look back at the week of my grandmother’s funeral, and see that the “good things” list only mentions a few little moments that brightened that dark week—for instance, “flowers from friends.”
Some of the happiest moments are hard to look back on. The roadtrip I went on with my now ex-partner, for instance, or lunches with friends I don’t talk to anymore. But despite the twinges of pain that accompany these memories now, it’s heartwarming to look back to a time when I was enjoying them at the height of their beauty.
Looking back, this list of little good things is a nice reminder: even on the really bad days, there were still little moments of goodness to be grateful for. Also, I got a lot of free food, which was dope.
Enough preamble. Here is a quick and very incomplete list of 166 little good things that happened to me in 2017, as of 10:15am on December 31. (The notes in italics were added for clarity and fun.)
Little Good Things
- Woke up next to my best friends
- Started new job at Life/After/Denim
- Wrote a blog post on my first day at new job
- Tiffany brought me banana bread
- Flowers from Zach, Rujul, and Kev
- First day at Sony — new friends!
- 3rd place at Barney’s Trivia Night (UCLA’s premier college bar)
- 2 free Greek dinners
- Free drinks at Rocco’s
- Hung out with AdTeam 6/7 days this week
- Date nights with Celeste
- Celeste got into Harvard
- Laura got into the Peace Corps
- First event at Sony (I was a special events intern)
- Got Zach bread (aka, bread baked by my friend Zach)
- Became official with Celeste
- Move back home after the storm (had been displaced by a tree hitting my apartment in a storm)
- Got AdTeam shirts
- Dinner for 12 Strangers
- Wheel of Fortune with Celeste
- Bagna Calda Birthday (Zach’s Italian birthday tradition)
- Got a parking spot in our complex
- Fresh bread at work
- Sheridan’s birthday
- Barney’s with 50’s Mixer (a group of friends)
- Saw Bobby and Giada at work (Sony Studios)
- Free fancy lunch
- Helped with Life/After/Denim event
- World Arts and Cultures Concert
- Cranes 4 Cancer event
- KazuNori dinner
- Free sweaters from work
- Free Cava
- International Women’s Day
- Saw GET OUT
- Went to the Roger Room with Celeste and Hannah
- Brunch with Maya and Shea
- Hired for babysitting gigs
- AdTeam book turned in!
- Cava with Zach
- Bagels with Clara and Kristen
- Family visited LA and got to see Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy
- Beautiful weekend with Celeste
- Free tacos
- Free lunch
- Multiple long walks
- House to myself
- Healthy eating
- Improv Shakespeare (a super awesome live comedy show)
- Saw Dodger Stadium
- Celeste taught her first class (at UCLA)
- 800 Degrees pizza!
- Dance party with kids I babysit
- Reaching out for support from friends
- Free champagne
- Photoshoot at work (male models!)
- Lots of Greek food
- Free pizza
- Eastover Brunch (Passover and Easter combined)
- Babysitting
- Came out to Mom and Dad (as bisexual, it went well)
- Met Celeste’s parents
- 11th Hour Interview
- Wolfgang Drunk night out (Kristen’s birthday)
- Blowouts at Dry Bar (the ultimate hangover cure)
- Grad pictures
- Chicken and waffles
- Facing Out Event (poetry reading)
- Bonding with Hannah and Sarah
- Phone interview with RPA
- Taught Life/After/Denim about consumer profiles
- Found out about family trip to Mexico
- Interview in person with RPA
- Got graduation photos
- Wine night with friends
- Went to Big Bear
- Finished LA Screenings
- Met Mike from Breaking Bad
- Got lunch with Laura
- Interview with Daily Bruin for Zach’s feature
- Mimosas at Herringbone with coworkers
- Was offered job at RPA
- Apologized to Celeste
- Sarah graduated high school
- Went to Davey Wayne’s with roomies (favorite bar in LA)
- Hung out with Sage, Maya, and Noah
- Midwestern food night at Jenna’s
- Zach’s Daily Bruin article published
- Glasses of wine with Kristen and Clara
- Read “The Illustrated Man” for the first time
- Graduated college
- Zach’s graduation party
- Went to Mexico with family
- Went on Road Trip with Mom
- Planned lunch with Rafi
- Got in contact with startup VP
- Call with Natalie Kim
- Dating again!
- Lunch with Rafi (networking, not related to #98)
- 6 interviews, 3 job offers, 1 new job! (at Eleven, Inc.)
- Starline Social Club with OG’s (a group of best friends from high school)
- Last day of unemployment
- First day of work at Eleven, Inc.
- Clara’s Half Marathon
- First full week at Eleven
- Drinks at The Chieftan with Zach (favorite Irish pub in San Francisco)
- Laura’s home!
- Bought flight to NYC
- Got Color Factory Tickets
- Brunch with Couch
- Lake Chabot Booze Cruise with OG’s
- Rosh Hashanah at Zach’s
- Eat Real Festival with Zach and Laura
- Bottomless Brunch with OG’s
- Museum of Ice Cream with OG’s
- Italian festival with Zach
- Good work feedback
- Brunch + Taco Tuesday with Zach and Claire
- Happy Hour with coworkers
- Bren’s 21st Birthday
- Went to NYC for Clara’s birthday
- Discovered the bus
- Joined 24 Hour Fitness
- Women’s Mentor Social at work
- Dinner with Maya and Darby
- Saw all Stranger Things Season 2
- Got Hired Full Time!
- Color Factory (art exhibit in San Francisco)
- Halloween happy hour
- Date with Minerva
- Lunch with Sarah and Mom
- Went out with the OG’s
- Walked Lake Merritt
- Working Not Working women’s networking event
- Watched a movie with Bren and Sarah
- Mom’s birthday brunch
- Finally set up AT&T Wifi
- Women’s Mentor Meeting
- Drinks with Katie and Adriana
- Went to gym
- Moved to new house!
- Canvas and Cabernet with Mom
- Dinner with Emma
- Thanksgiving!
- Went shopping for new house supplies
- Got internet installed
- Facetimed Zach
- Reconnected with Zach Shore
- Mom’s holiday party
- Sushi with Dad
- Brunch with Laura
- Office holiday party
- Day with Katie in the city
- Great professional review
- Ramen with Katie
- Snowcones at work
- Christmas breakfast at work
- Christmas in San Francisco with family
- Had Clara over to the new house
- Drinks and sleepover with Couch and Zach
- Lunch with Brent and Emma
- Went to the Museum of Ice Cream with Sarah
- Sleepover with Maya
- Text from Tiff
- Reconnected with Kev
- Riley moved in!
A special shout out to all the wonderful people who make appearances on this list — every little good thing we shared together adds up to a whole lot of love this year. Cheers!
