Day 100: Thirty-three to Thirty-Four: A Year of Firsts in Recap (and some other thoughts)

Cheers to all of you six people that will read this! Dinner is had, the Turkey is poured, and I’m ready to get into this. This past year was pretty freaking cool.

- First, my parents threw me a surprise party on my 33rd birthday. That was totally unexpected. That was a great time and I appreciated all the people that made it out. Going to robotics the next day was tough, but it was worth it.

- The robotics team placed better than they ever had in the five years they were a team. I was very proud of them. They worked hard and continue to work hard to this day. And I think this year is going to be even better than the last!

- I decided to go to Alaska to student teach, which set in motion the upcoming events of the summer.

- I drove down to Florida to see some friends for spring break. My friend took me to my first reggae concert: Collie Buddz. That was fun!

- Which included racing in my second mountain bike race ever at Hanson Hills in Grayling and placing 2nd. Sure, there were only two people in my age bracket, but I made a Personal Best in almost every segment and the race as a whole.

- My father and I went on a trip to North Carolina, Hilton Head. We golfed at Harbour Town, a PGA course. I have never been in a bigger bunker in my life.

- I went on a road trip through Chicago, Milwaukee, Escanaba, and Mackinac Island with two of my best friends. One of whom got married later in the year! I was bummed I missed that.

- My cousin Troy also got married! I am very happy for him and his wife. They have gone through more than most of us can imagine. I love them both dearly.

- I took a road trip with him and his wife from Michigan to New York City. That was a blast. I stayed with them for several days in the city. The food delivery service was fantastic. We went to two baseball games. One of them I got a replica Fuseli Jerry (from Seinfeld) and the other was a total domination, blow-out, face-stomping game in Philidelphia. The Dodgers embarrassed the hell out of that green, blow-nose mascot.

- I also went on a trip to Pictured Rocks for the first time with two of my sisters. That was an amazing sight and we had a lot of fun at the campground. No more vodka for A. Lol.

- Some family and friends and I went on the annual canoe/kayak trip down part of the Ausable River, followed with some good food and drinks.

- There was another kayak trip in August for my sister’s birthday bash.

- I saw Warren G, Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, and Snoop Dogg in concert. Meh. Too much rapping over their own songs. Bone Thugs was the best.

- I passed both my MTTC tests for teacher certification, Math and English, in one day!

- My friend and I took one final trip of the summer up to Mackinac Island. It is always a great time up there. So great that we got “stuck” there for another night.

- My family threw me a going away party with spaghetti and garlic bread (my favorite). And my last dinner before leaving for Alaska was a pizza party at Luigi’s in Flint. The best pizza around.

- I flew to Chicago, to L.A., and then to Anchorage.

- Took a train down to Seward and saw beautiful mountain vistas and massive glaciers.

- I flew to Holy Cross, AK, which is a tiny bushy village in which there is only one way in or out: a plane.

- The firsts from here on out are too many to count. Alaska was just what I needed. I loved every moment of it. Even the tough times.

- I (poorly) cut up fresh Yukon salmon with an ulu knife, hung the filets from a hand-made smokehouse, and ate fresh salmon from the grill. There’s is nothing that can top that taste! My mouth salivates just thinking about it.

- I traveled many times on the Yukon River by boat: riding, fishing, hunting, traveling to another town, and gathering wood.

- I helped skin and quarter a moose. It is the best tasting dark meat I have ever had.

- Hiking in Alaska was my favorite pass time. It was so quiet and peaceful.

- I ate Eskimo ice cream (akutaq [a-goo-ta]) for the first time, which is made of fat (seal or Crisco), berries, and a type of white fish. It was good!

- I saw a herd of bison!

- I was completely sober for four months straight for the first time since I was 13 or 14. I highly recommend it. There is nothing like a clear head to bring some clarity into life. Some moments were tough, but it was well worth it.

- The people in Alaska were my favorite part. Everyone, from the other teachers and staff to students and locals, are amazing people. Their kindness to a stranger was everything. I will miss them all dearly.

- I got stuck in a random town by myself for five days during Thanksgiving. It reminded me of the Shining, minus the son and the wife and booze and the axe and the maze. It’s alright because…

- I had my Magic Bus day. No, not the real Magic Bus. But it was Thanksgiving and I was all alone, damn it. It was just a broken-down bus behind the school I was staying in. I needed a win on Thanksgiving.

- I rented a car for the first time.

- Saw the last of the Star Wars movie in that storyline chain, supposedly. I liked it. Better than Luke sucking on some giant alien boobs.

- I drank Wild Turkey Rare Breed for the first time. 101 is still better.

- OH! And my two of my other sisters (I have 5 sisters now) had babies. I now have a new niece, Henley, and a new nephew, Elliot.

- My cousins and I went to our first Smackdown event in Detroit. So it was the first for seeing a WWE event (I still hate saying or typing WWE and not WWF) and the first time in the Little Ceasar's Arena.

- I got my Michigan Department of Education Teaching Certificate!

- And I started writing a blog in which I write one creative piece a day. It has been my greatest accomplishment yet.

All the young people say I’m old and all the older people say I am young. So, which is it, people? Of course, it is both. Time and age are matters of perspective. Matters of percentage, really. We feel time as segments based on our own life. So, I think that 68 is old because it is double the time that I have been here, while 17 is young because it is half of my age. Shit, I am double the age I was as a high school senior. That’s crazy! But it is only crazy to me because of my relative place in spacetime.

How I feel is much different. I feel like a much wiser and smarter twenty-five-year-old. I don’t do as much dumb shit as I used to do. Only about ten to fifteen percent depending on my setting. I go to bed somewhere between 9 and 10. That would have been unheard of in the entire decade of my twenties. If I went to bed that early, it meant that I was sick or drank way too fast. I read a lot more and thoroughly enjoy chilling at home 97% of the time. I guess my body isn’t falling apart yet, so that’s good. It is part of the reason that I don’t feel old. But old is only in our head. I never really felt old and I never felt young. I just was. I’ll leave the labels up to everyone else.

If you made it this far, I commend you. As I told my two younger sisters today, I understand that people don’t get on social media to read. And that is where you probably found the link to this website. But social media has also turned into a place where we post about the good parts of our life.

This year has been amazing, but it also came with its share of physical and emotional obstacles. Experiences don’t always equal happiness. And neither do pictures. If there is one piece of advice that this 34-year-old can give is that we should embrace the hard times too. Don’t ignore the sadness and pretend that everything is okay. Don’t push the pain down and away because it will only come back. I believe we store all the positive and the negative energy in our bodies. The problem is that we find ways to easily release the positive energies with shouting, excitement, expressions of love, and laughter. I think we end up storing the negative ones because we don’t believe that it is okay to express those emotions or that we should even feel them. It is okay and it is necessary to feel those emotions to the fullest, in that moment, and let them wash over you. In doing so, we allow the negative emotions to have their time and then we can let them go. I think that is necessary for a healthy life. As I have said many times, this life works in waves. There will be good times and there will be bad times. They are unavoidable. What matters is how we accept and express those emotions in a healthy way as they come. That mentality has helped me get through the low points of this past year. Believe me, there were many. I didn't figure everything about myself out yet, but I'll keep working at it.

As always, thank you for reading this. I write for myself but I also write with you in mind. You have helped me more than you know.

Cheers.

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Author’s Note #1: I didn’t plan on my birthday being number 100, but damn I am happy it is. The universe is a fan-fucking-tastic place.

Author's Note #2: This one came down to the wire of midnight. 11:59. I've been writing for a while.

Author's Note #3: I also ate a bear burger for the first time tonight. It was delicious, but I would rather the bears live. And the moose.

Author's Note #4: I know I may have missed some things, but a lot happened. I don't know if I'll ever be able to top 33.