I am Gonna Make it Through this Year if it Kills Me

“This Year” by the Mountain Goats is usually the first song I listen to on the first day of the year. It’s a weirdly inspirational lyric to tell yourself.

I mean, every year has it’s horrible moments but you survived it.

You can also look ahead knowing that the next twelve months will have challenging events and challenging days but if you remember that whatever the last year threw at you failed to defeat you, then it’s usually a little easier to steel yourself for what will, or could, happen next.

It’s a cliche to say that we need each other more than ever before. We can, and do, and should, say that every year and every day. The need for support and community will always be there. It’s less about that need being more important with every passing year, but a reminder that we always need each other and will always need each other.

It’s not easy to be optimistic, so I don’t really try. Rather I focus on avoiding being negative.

I don’t think I am a good person, but I try to be kind. I try to be empathetic which helps in all of my responsibilities, whether it’s as a spouse or in my professional life, or in everything Hannah does.

And it’s not easy. Every day, whether it’s on social media or in a law that is being discussed, brings reminders that some influential people would love nothing more than for us to vanish.

I mean, they can try, and on some levels they are successful but there are few things in life that have a decisive and permanent result. A losing battle can see a tide turn. A hopeless cause can win.

But the opposite is true as well. We can’t take things for granted. We must continue to protect what we have and each other.

It’s frustrating living in a world where empathy is a bad thing.

I hope 2025 brings you moments of peace and joy and accomplished goals. I hope you find a pair of stilettos that fit perfectly and a dress that you fall in love with. I hope you love yourself and forgive yourself and embrace yourself.

Love, Hannah