2018 | A (Sort of) New Beginning

2018 will be the first full year we spend living in Winnipeg. Well, the first full year since 2008. We came back briefly after I finished university, but our stay that time didn’t even last a full twenty-four months. So this isn’t so much a new beginning as a fresh start. I’ve always felt an urge to escape, but as I age and the list of cities I’ve lived in grows longer, I realise that urge has nothing to do with Winnipeg and everything to do with the nature of who I am. I’ve never lived anywhere where I didn’t feel compelled to travel, constantly and consistently. Not even Paris – what distinguishes the French capital from everywhere is that it is the only place I’ve ever been truly happy to come home to. When home is anywhere else, I’m glad to keep travelling forever.

All that is to say that 2018 will be a year of adjustment. For one thing, I hope you all like seeing the inside of my apartment, because it’s probably going to be too cold for outdoor outfit photos until sometime in mid-April…! We have adventures planned, of course – we can’t help it. But 2018 will overwhelmingly be dedicated to the pursuit of finding contentment while staying in one place. For me, it will be an enormous challenge. But ultimately, I hope, it will also be worth the effort.

I need to focus on staying in one place because I have work to do. After a lot of procrastinating and some genuine hold-ups and a lot more procrastinating, my second book will finally (!) be released later this year. It feels long overdue at this point and I’m excited for it to finally be out in the world. And beyond that, the truth is we still live in a half-furnished and basically half-finished apartment. The first order of business is painting – to be followed by new curtains, new chairs, an entirely new kitchen and so much more. (It’s a little exhausting just thinking about it.)

It’s been ages since I set a New Year’s Resolution. The idea of only stopping to consider what you want for the coming year as it begins seems like too little, too late to me. My plans and goals constantly shift and evolve. That’s part of life. But I do have an opportunity to for a fresh start of sorts in 2018 and I really hope this is the year I can accept that good is good enough… The year I let go of the need for everything I put out in the world, including myself, to be, or at least look, perfect. As ambitions go, it’s a lofty one. But nothing worth doing is ever truly easy. And I think if I can even get closer to that, I’ll be happier for it.

Happy New Year, my dear friends! Like every year, 2018 will be what we make it. And I think we can make it beautiful. But if it’s just good enough, that’s okay, too.