Happy New Year!!!!!
I welcome 2016.
2015 was rough.
Some really awesome stuff happened though: I wrote a book, visited over 30 National Parks, visited my 49th state, reconnected with lots of old friends and made new ones on 20+ trips around North America, and I got back on stage as a host and performer for the first time in five years.
I documented 2015 by capturing 1 second of video on my phone every day. Well, that was the plan anyway. I missed a few days but here’s a quick look at 336 days of 2015:
I also spent time growing my photo skills and my Instagram following. Follow me: @valeriedperry. Here are my top nine photos:
That’s a lot of good. Yet somehow my mind focuses on the bad: I battled depression for the first time, apathy was a near constant, I lost people I love, and my sister was diagnosed with cancer.
2015 started strong, but really fell apart.
It so completely fell apart that I find myself not looking forward to 2016. 2014 was really bad and 2015 wasn’t much better, so what if 2016 is worse? The more bad stuff that happens, the more people I lose, the more heartbreak I experience, the tighter I want to close my fist around everything I think of as “mine.” I want to sit on the couch and not risk anything so I can’t fail at anything. I’m down and falling down hurts, so maybe I should stay down. Getting up and brushing myself off is hard. And I’m tired.
That’s how I feel now, but I know that I only get one shot at life and I want to really live. This isn’t the time to play small. This isn’t the time to sit back and watch. This isn’t the time to give up. Even if it means standing here 366 days from now with some more bruises and several hundred tears lighter.
In his Lion Chaser’s Manifesto, Mark Batterson says,
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Don’t let fear dictate your decisions. Take a flying leap of faith. Chase the lion!
In 2015 I failed a lot, I criticized and pointed out problems, I worried a lot about what people thought, and I stopped asking questions because I was afraid of the answers. I want to correct all of that (and more) in 2016. I’m ready to set new goals, dream new dreams, and hike new trails (be careful with this one. I hiked a new trail tonight and took a briar to the face…).
Another year is here. Are you going to live it? Or keep idling to arrive safely at death?
Go. Live.
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Come back in a couple days for the most popular post of the year: my 2015 movie reviews!
One thought on “2015 Year in Review”
Here's how I did the the 1 Second A Day video:
I used the iPhone app “Video 365” but there are lots of options available. I filmed a few seconds each day on my phone. At the end of the month, I'd go into the app and upload and select my second for each day. At the end of each month I exported a video clip that the app compiles (you set a date range you wish to export). It automatically added the day to the bottom right corner of each clip.
I saved the video for each month and on January 1st I brought them all into Adobe Premiere and exported them all as one file. This could be done in any video editing software – such as iMovie.
Video 365 also lets you set a reminder. My phone buzzes everyday at 2pm to remind me to film. The app is okay, but it doesn't let you select your second from a long clip very precisely. Also, it only exports at a low resolution. But it's still fun and a unique souvenir of the year.
Send me yours next year!