dear 2022,

Dear 2022,

I know it’s only been 3 days, and you’re probably still ramping up in your new role for the new year, but I figured it best to tell you this sooner rather than later. I’m sure you’ve already heard rumblings of what I’m about to say, so I’ll just jump right in. We're all waiting with breath that is bated.

2020 was gut wrenching and visceral in so many ways, as I know you’ve heard, and so, naturally, many of us looked to 2021 for a release. Now, don’t get me wrong. 2021 did come with a lot of great things! For many of us (although I do recognize not everyone), we thankfully had access to vaccines that made it feel like we could finally get the keys back to our former lives [thank you science]. For me, it meant being able to take spontaneous trips, meet strangers, and, ultimately, reacquaint myself with all that New York has to offer. It meant going to my first shows since December 2019, starting with smaller off Broadway shows and eventually working my way up to Phantom of the Opera and Slave Play. It meant taking the subway uptown for a picnic in Central Park, across to Brooklyn to hangout with friends, or even out to Rockaway Beach for a birthday party. It meant renting a car and driving out to Greenport for a long rejuvenating weekend. And, of course, it meant being able to gather with friends and family and pick back up on those celebrations that we punted from 2020. 

I particularly want to hold onto these moments- these beautiful, warm, happy moments- because they kind of got overshadowed by these last few weeks of gloom and doom COVID headlines, as we headed into the holiday season no less [thank you peak-end rule]. Many of the fears and concerns that we thought we could shed ended up right back here with us. I won't belabor this point, especially since it seems that this most recent spike has not equated to an equivalent spike in hospitalizations and deaths. But I’m sure you understand what I’m getting at.

My hope for 2022 is that we finally get to take all that we’ve learned in the last 2 years and apply it to life as we know it.  Whether that be appreciating every small moment for what it is, never neglecting to say how we truly feel, being able to maintain boundaries that serve us first and letting go of anything [people, ideologies, you name it] that doesn’t. My hope is that we can finally…begin again. 

That’s it! Now you know how I really feel. Like you, I don’t know what the future holds. All that I have control over is how I react to what comes my way. I’m going to continue to choose to see, feel, and, if not, find the sparkle that is inevitably there.

2022, we’re all rooting for you!

Sincerely,

Rolanda