Happy New Year everyone!

2017 already… And not a thing has changed for me since that clock struck 12. Not that I was expecting anything to change since I was in bed at 10PM so I wouldn’t know, but I’m not the type of person to look at the new year as a fresh slate to start or end things. I’m not a Grinch about the new year but I’m not hyped on the idea of becoming a new person because the calendar changes to a new set of 365 days. I get that the new year is a time to psychologically reset and start again on a goal – it’s comforting to wake up, breathe, and know “OK, this is day one and I’m going to conquer my goal”. Motivation keeps people going and if that helps you  get up and moving in the mornings, then damn it, don’t let anyone stop you.

This is going to sound very cliche, but over the last year I’ve gotten to know myself a lot more, I’ve become more aware of the people around me, who cares and who doesn’t, who puts effort in and who puts up an act. I’m not sure if this is something every almost-30-year-old goes through like an earlier mid-life crisis, but I’ve started to re-evaluate my life and its worth more carefully the closer I get to the big 3-0. I don’t think it’s because I’m turning 30, I just think it’s because this is around the time that everyone gets to a point in their life where everything starts to calm down a bit – you’ve got your own place, you’ve got a good job, a good wife, and maybe even a kid now. You’ve gotten drunk enough, been hung over enough, you’ve done enough all-nighters and have been through deadlines of homework and owing someone some thing. You’ve been loyal to something and have been betrayed by that same thing. You’ve laughed hard, you’ve been angry enough and you’ve been sad enough. You’ve spent a lot of money, saved a little bit of it, you’ve wasted a lot of time on things not worth it and you regret not investing more in those that matter.

After all of that, you start become selective. With what you do, with who you spend time with, and whether they’re friends or family – if they aren’t worth your time – they don’t get your time. I don’t have a goal for 2017 to become a secluded troll. I didn’t lose friends, we just grew apart. I don’t intend to leave 2016 behind with bad memories. They’re all important memories and the reality of it all is that the new year isn’t truly a “new start” for me – it’s just another day of trying to be a better person than I was yesterday. Sometimes being a better person means changing your surroundings. If someone asked me what I had planned for 2017, my answer would be to simply spend more time with the people I enjoy and to try and change the “enough of’s” into more “I want to’s” because seeking positivity in your life is better than having enough negativity to deal with to begin with.

Anyway, I hope everyone has an awesome year! If anything, perhaps this blog will see more photoshoots in 2017 than 2016 saw. Time will tell.

Be happy. Be unresentful. Be content.  Happy new year!