first i will say thank you to 32Bit.cafe for the challenge prompt of thinking about 2024, there are more details in the link:
32Bit.cafe New Years '25 Event
2024 was a rough one for me, i had some health problems & other stresses out of nowhere that kept interfering with things i wanted to do & enjoy, but i am hoping next year is better. but i don't want to dwell on the negative things too much here so i will talk about some good things now.
(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
i started learning to draw this year, albeit later in life than a lot of people do. i have always wanted to be able to draw, and always been the sort to doodle little flourishes and stick figures in the margins of notebooks, but this year i decided to really try to get more serious. it was daunting because i had been discouraged a lot growing up, told that i was bad and would never be any good at art.
well, truthfully i am still not very good at drawing, but i am a lot better than i was at the start of the year! it has been really nice for me to begin this journey, i think it has helped my mental health a bit and given me more confidence in myself. i have a lot more to learn, i understand that will always be the case, but i am happy to have seen some progress.
so, if you feel like you are too old or crummy to start something like drawing, please just start it! i regret listening to the people who told me i couldn't do it for so long, because i see now i could have been doing it this whole time!
only a few months ago i started learning Spanish, with a tutor, and it is going okay! i still need to practice speaking & listening much more, tho these are difficult for me even in English. i have progressed faster than i thought i would, probably thanks to familiarity with French even tho i have not used that in a few whiles.
i think the only personal highlight i had was going to the People's Pride march. i got scooped up and asked to help carry the big flag, so there i was clinging to that red corner for a whole 2.5km with my little noodle arms. i could not find an agender flag tho so i just wore the agender flag colours and had a non-binary pride flag as a little cape. i am glad i went and i hope to go again next year, and i will bring more water with me next time!
my favourite movies that i saw this year, although not from this year, were:
each of these films had a big impact on me, the kind where you can almost detect new neural pathways forming. i also watched all 9 of the Dracula movies that Hammer Studios made, which was a fun adventure!
i am poorly organised when it comes to keeping track of music for best of the year purposes, but i will name a few 2024 releases that i have enjoyed very much.
Bloody Keep - Rats of Black Death [black metal]
Profit Prison - Gilt [electronic/post-punk]
Glutted Swarm - ...Of Old [death metal]
Culturist - Overdose at a Dungeon Rave[gabber/dungeon synth]
Qual - Techsick [ebm]
for 2025 i want to keep learning and improving both my drawing and my Spanish. i know there will be lots more movies & music for me to enjoy too. i want to swim more and get my health back. i am also hoping to get an e-reader in the coming months, so i can get better at reading books, or at least stories. i think it will be good for my brain. even if i can only read one book it will be a win for me. and lastly, if i move apartment next year like i want, i may be able to get a little cat as well.
ᓚᘏᗢ
well, there is still a little time left in the year so if i have any last-minute additions i will put them in. otherwise, let us together traipse onwards into futures unknown. <3