It is time to say goodbye to 2023. I’m sure there will be lots of these posts popping up on your timeline so I intend to keep this one brief. 2023 has been a rough year for me. It has been a year filled with turbulence, anxiety, and a lot of pain. I’ve more than covered many of the reasons why in previous posts and I have nothing to add here in that regard. What I will say is that I started 2023 off unsure of who I was anymore. I wasn’t sure where I was going, what I was doing, or even who I had around me. I am happy to say that 2023 doesn’t get to leave me the way that it found me.
As I step into 2024 I do it with a renewed spirit and sense of purpose. The thing about having your life stripped down to the minimum is that it gives you a much deeper understanding and appreciation for what lies at its core. I know the parts of me that can’t be taken away, I’ve had time to redress the parts of me that can. I feel like I’m finally on the cusp of taking the steps professionally that I moved down here to take. At the same time, I’m cooking on two Blue Sky ideas that are not only challenging to work on, but have the potential to be some of the best writing I feel I’ve ever put to page.
2023 has brought me a lot of treasured time with friends and family, despite the great distance that exists between us physically. This past Christmas was one of the most memorable I’ve ever had and it was a treasure to spend time with relatives I don’t always get to see anymore and to get to introduce Emberly to them. I’m grateful for the opportunities 2023 has presented us to challenge each other and grow together.
I am thankful for the pivot that 2023 has been. It hasn’t all been wonderful, but I can see in its many challenges and in its triumphs the ways that God has continued to mold my life and stretch me in ways I would not have been stretched according to my own plans. If you’ve been a part of my 2023, thank you and I hope you’ll continue to be a part of my 2024.
Have a Happy New Year, everyone! I’ll post at you again in 2024. (My Top Ten Movies of 2023 drops tomorrow so it won’t be a long wait.)
Collin Willis 