Necessary Reflection
2023 was an insane year. Absolutely wild.
Failed Goals
- Build Strong Communities: Still working on this one. Thankfully, I live in New York and communities pop up all the time and out of nowhere. We’ve got a few things in the works :eye-emoji:
- Produce an Ambient Album: Yea, complete miss on this one. However, I’ve discovered something a lil more approachable and fun. Dj’ing! I’ve caught the Brooklyn dj bug, but I cannot complain. It’s been a ton of fun throwing down (horrid) dj sets and it’s even led me to find a lot of fun making visuals for my sets. Tbh, I probably enjoy making visuals more than I do putting together dj sets. My friends and I are having so much fun that we’ve even started a fun project - VB Radio! Tune in every Sunday for some tuuuunes.
- Set Up New Financial Vehicles: Another massive whiff on this. Gotta turn it around this year.
Successful Goals
- Love More: Maybe one day I’ll write up a thorough reflection about this, but at least for now, I’ll say that 2023 was a year of learning how to love more deeply. Working on deepening my relationships with my friends around. Learning to love and accept myself more. Continuing to be inviting to others and broadening the circles around me. All the love around me gives me the strength and confidence to push towards the next chapters of my life, far more so than anything else.
Goals for the Year
All of my goals for this year are an extension of my previous years’ goals. I see them as the first step or the next step of what I’ve been working on recently. Let’s get to it.
1. Publish Art
I’ve made this a goal for 2024 for two reasons. Publishing art establishes street cred, and I think it’s the only way to truly build strong artistic communities. Who the hell is going to trust a guy trying to build a creative community if he’s never made and put out any art? I sure wouldn’t join that community. The other, more personal, reason is that I think art becomes something completely different when it’s seen, appreciated, acknowledged by someone else. The core essence of one’s art, I believe, needs to start from within. And, I’ll all for art being a personal, individual endeavor. However, when art is in the open for everyone to see, it becomes something no one might ever had imagined. Scary, but exciting.
2. Launch a Business
I’m tired of being poor. Truly sick of it. Idk about any of you guys, but I’m trying to get to the mf money.
3./4. Acceptance and Forgiveness
I put these two goals together because I think they’re inextricably linked. Or more so, I believe that acceptance needs to happen before you can truly forgive. I’ve been at back home living with my parents for the last few months and have a lot of time to myself and my parents. I’ve realized a couple of things that for the sake of simplicity, I’ll phrase somewhat bluntly. Acceptance is a prerequisite to peace. Gratitude comes before forgiveness. These learning anchor these two goals. I’ll let you know how far I get.
Honorable Mentions
- Perform a public A/V set.
- Get VB Radio to 1000 subscribers.
- Host three official chew.on.manga dinner parties.
- Make $1 from a side business.
Cover Photo: A snapshot of a visualizer I made for my NYE ‘24 party
