Pretty much once a year, I take a break from my usual articles of epic quality and write something personal, reflective, or otherwise far less-than-eloquent. So I am not going to pussy-foot around this… 2016 sucked. I mean… it really sucked. There were plenty of celebrity deaths, a fascist man-child became the most powerful man in the world, and “Brexit” became a reality. But that was just some of the biggest global news. I personally had a lot of heartache and heart-break; so rather than doing a standard year-in review, I just want to keep this short, and give you a video that makes it all better.
The last few years have been an insane rollercoaster ride for me. I have pretty much been working or studying non-stop since the end of 2014, basically doing 60, 70, or 80-hour work weeks. I did this because I decided to change career paths. Unfortunately, despite putting in about 5 or 6 years’ worth of work in 3 years, and joining one of the most prestigious institutions in the world, I actually ended up changing my career path yet again. In fact, this is why Skeptikai has changed from a blog where around 3 posts were published per week (for the first few years), to one where only one article is published per month. It is a matter of time and priority. I am not certain what the future of Skeptikai will be, but is a question I have been asking myself for a while.
I made these difficult decisions for many reasons, but changing my career for the second time in a short period was especially difficult and painful. Furthermore, my personal life was also met with disappointments of varying degrees. I won’t get into it, but let’s just say, 2016 was a very tough and stressful year.
A video skit that came out quite a while ago, from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, was really helpful to me. There was something beautiful about finding unity in my anguish. I felt a great deal of catharsis — a sense of not being alone — and I sincerely appreciated this video. It made me want to shout “fuck 2016!” from the rooftops. I share this with you now in the hopes that it helps you as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HogH1uFjoxc
2016 was perhaps the most emotionally painful year of my life. So go to hell, 2016. And bring on 2017, which I am already calling early… an inevitably awesome year.
