This year has really zipped by, but before it goes away completely, I like taking time to reflect on all the good things. Much like 2017, 2018 has also been a real mixed bag politically, culturally, and environmentally. It’s easy to get stuck on the sad stuff (especially in these doldrums of winter), but it helps to focus on all the awesome experiences I had and the things I’m proud of.

Here’s this year’s list, in no particular order:

• I did a lot more storytelling shows, beyond just the show I host. Shoutout to all the super people who booked me this year!

• I did a solo show, which is something I’d never have thought possible at the beginning of this year. Shoutout to Sharon Spell for her encouragement and for pairing with me!

• Lucas and I got an apartment together and now I get to experience the joys (and compromises) of cohabitation with the person I love. It’s mostly a joy. Also we have A YARD.

• I successfully pulled off a surprise birthday party for Lucas at Videology (RIP Videology) full of friends, comedy videos, and whiskey.

• I took great trips with Lucas to Austin, Burlington, Ithaca, Houston, Salem, and Deerfield.

• I saw the David Bowie Is exhibit at Brooklyn Museum and cried multiple times.

• I got new headshots from the one-and-only Mindy Tucker who made me feel like a glamorous beauty.

• Lucas and I dressed up as Stacy and Garth from Wayne’s World, then, in a beautiful New York moment, saw a real Mirth Mobile and bonded with the driver.

• I dove back into my book draft and got more confident in my ability to finish it, and tackled other kinds of writing. Shoutout to Paragraph for being the space where I can get it all done!

One big difference from 2017 is that I blogged a lot less this year (although I predicted that would happen). While I don’t think I’ll get back to once a week anytime soon, I hope to blog more often in 2019. I miss spilling my thoughts into this void where there are no expectations of teaching or selling anything. It feels good to put my feelings out here and hope someone reads them and has their own spark of inspiration. Or even just reads them and says “yeah, cool.”

I don’t want to rush into 2019 full of big resolutions and impossible goals. I want to keep riding this train at this steady speed, where I can get things done but also have space to just live and have new experiences. I want to perform and write and publish. But I also want to travel and listen and read.

I hope you can all take time to write down your good things of 2018, or at least sit and ponder them. Sometimes I like doing this in slideshow form by going through all the photos in my phone from the beginning of the year. The year might feel like it flew by, but taking it one photo at a time really helps me remember the moments.

Happy New Year! I’m ready for you, 2019.