New Year’s Message

Dear Friends,

A year closing, another emerging. It has been a tumultuous ending to this year. But I am able to appreciate where I am. It has been a full year! I am so proud of another year of growth and advocacy. And a year of visiting family, to the west and east, with all sorts of new beautiful memories with them. A year of selling my first poetry chapbook and starting my online store. A year with friends online and in person. A year of reaching open communication with my mom. A year of fun outings with my sisters. A year of so much restlessness and a community to support me through it. And what more could a year really hold beyond all that love and struggle and striving and joy?

I felt so much this year. I lost loved ones. I lost peers. I lost hope at times. And my brave heart still persisted.

I am so full of dreams for the years ahead. And I am sure I will fail to realize many of them. But I can’t allow pessimism to arise. I am an inherent optimist, like my dad was. I am going to keep changing the world. I am going to keep trying to go out on adventures and enjoy being out and about. I am going to find ways to help my body cope better. I am going to make more friends and grow closer to old ones. I am going to learn more and more that I am worthy of friends. I am going to play in the ocean with more confidence. I am going to write and move people with my words. I am going to find a way to be more at peace.

Thank you for being with me. All of you help me feel that I am worthwhile. I know I should not need external validation, but I think most of us need it as a step toward learning it for ourselves. I am so feeling that we are a beautiful community, and I look forward to sharing 2024 with you. Happy New Year!

Your Friend,

Danny