Mythical Millennial #14 : The year of like, realising stuff

Hey there, pals. I hope you’ve all had the cosiest of Christmases. As we move into that strange Twilight Zone time-warp before the New Year we undoubtedly trigger the reflective parts of our psyche. What have we achieved? How has the year changed us? How should we recalibrate for the year ahead?

Recalibrate we must, it seems. As I mentioned in my last letter, 2016 has been… one of those years. But to heck with all of the bad news. To heck with pantomime political villains, to heartbreaking celebrity deaths, to tragedy. Let this letter be the bar of dark chocolate Remus Lupin hands to Harry Potter post Dementor attack: something to heal and soothe. No bad news today, lads. Instead, here are some truly good bits of news I hope will give you warmth this holiday season.

1. 23-year old Chance the Rapper made history this year with his highly coveted album, ‘Coloring Book’. It is the first streaming-only album to be nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammys.
2. Praise all that is holy, iOS 10.2 brought us the long-awaited avocado emoji. So we can eat our stereotypical millennial brunches and tweet about it to our hearts’ content.
3. Don’t forget, Boaty McBoatface was so very nearly a thing this year.
4. CoverGirl announced makeup artist prodigy James Charles as their very first male spokesperson, showing us all how a poppin’ highlight can lift anyone’s face to new heights, regardless of gender.
5. Hamilton. Let’s talk about Hamilton and their 11 Tony Awards. Let’s talk about Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda’s freestyle with Barack Obama. Let’s talk about the cast’s brave statement to Mike Pence when he was in the audience. Let’s celebrate what will go down in history as one of the 21st century’s greatest pieces of art.
6. Ed Balls on Strictly. Dancing to the tune of Gangnam Style. This is real life.
7. Planet Earth II’s filmmakers defied convention to save all of the lost baby turtles who couldn’t find their way to the sea.
8. The Standing Rock protesters actually stopped work on the North Dakota Access Pipeline, showing that if we band together for a cause, and use our voice — anything can happen.
9. Would ya look at that: Economist Noreena Hertz has revealed findings showing today’s 14-to-21-year olds to be more financially prudent, practical and tough. Irresponsible and entitled millennials my butt.
10. Bana Alabed, the seven-year-old girl who had been tweeting from Aleppo, Syria, has been evacuated to safety.

In 2017, I implore you all to not throw away your shot.

My Shot, by the cast of Hamilton

Writing Mythical Millennial has been an exercise in pure joy this year. I’ve also been lucky enough to have encountered many more amazing email newsletters along the way. Just a few I think you’ll like:

• Dan Dalton’s utterly delightful Ten Songs newsletter, delivering a carefully curated mixtape to you every Sunday.
• Julia Carpenter’s A Woman To Know newsletter, which tells the story of of a cool lady in history with every email.
• I cannot recommend Clover Letter enough. A newsletter I legitimately look forward to reading every day.

See you on the other side, gang.

B x

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Originally published on Mythical Millennial.