Happy New Year!

2013 is only hours away, and my usual New Years melancholia is setting in. I am by no means a fan of the night ahead. I don’t celebrate—instead I get caught up in my head, thinking about what I’ve done and neglected to do over the year. I think about the people who are no longer with me. I wonder how I can make sure that the next New Year’s Eve will be different.

2012 was an important year in The History of Jannie Lund. I made some decisions that I’m extremely proud of, put my will power to the test and to good use, and learned a lot about myself and others. To celebrate that—even if I don’t celebrate the night—I’ve tried to take on a more positive approach. Will power and all that.

It’s like no matter how hard life is—no matter how much you struggle—then there are lights in the dark. My lights include my friends. They may be spread out over the globe geographically, but they are always in my heart. Some of you I’ve seen this year—some of you I’ll see next year. Some of you I might never see at all. But I still love you. Friendship is stronger than distance.

I go into 2013 lighter than I went into 2012. Go me. I fulfilled dreams in 2012, and new dreams are waiting to be fulfilled in 2013. There’s that novel. There’s that friend from Connecticut who’s just waiting to outrun me in Copenhagen. There are those goals I’ll never say out loud until I’ve achieved them (though I might spill them on WhatsApp). There are boundaries to test. Life to enjoy.

Wait.

What’s this?

I’m being all positive and shit. And it’s New Year’s Eve. Something’s wrong...

Happy New Year! May 2013 be filled with blessings for us all.