A Daily Enjoy! Year in Review
There aren't enough words to describe the complexity of 2020--But today, we take a look back.
Hello! another long newsletter ahead…you may have to open this in a new browser through your e-mail to read it in its entirety- MGMT
It’s a little daunting to think about the things I felt certain of at this time last year. Of course it was nothing on the level of life-defining awareness, but so much of what I was anticipating for the immediate future relied, fairly heavily, on the generic things that previously seemed to be guaranteed constants. As I looked into the possibility of 2020, expectations were nothing out of the ordinary. I would work at the job I had started just two month ago with the hopes that I could get over the 3:00 p.m. existential crisis I’d been having on the regular. We would also all be out and dancing together all year long; we’re on the light-up floor and there’s confetti cannons and it’s the bridge of Believe - The Almighty Definitive Mix.
What hopes! At the risk of sounding insanely vapid, this amount of change in such a condensed time period has resulted in a lot of numbness, and with this newsletter we try to create a small internet pocket of gladness that can be a break from the overwhelming things of the larger world, because there is a lot out there and even if it’s trite I think that it’s still important to pause and acknowledge the weight of it all. And in looking head on at the massiveness of everything it’s also easy to find lots of love and hope and that’s what this is all about. So I have for you a small selection of this year’s greatest delights and growth moments:
OMG!!!!!!!!! hahahahaha I’m so touched and flattered that you included this in your yearly best hits. Wow wow!!! - S
I consumed lots of good things (fried chicken, the music of Bruce Springsteen), watched a lot of great movies (Antonia’s Line, Showgirls, The Green Ray, Point Break), read some good books (The Art of Loving, The Descent of Alette), gave and received lots of love, learned some new things about myself, and so forth. I feel certain that this period will live sharp and crisp in my brain forever and I’ll never forget the people that I leaned on.
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Alas, as we move from reflection to looking forward to the future, I want to share my philosophy on New Year’s Resolutions with you all:
1 Life-Based Objective - This is for the more general sentiments: “I want to be a better person”, “I want to put myself out there”, “I want to say yes more”.
1 Skill-Based Objective - This can be something new that you want to learn this year, a hobby you’ve been looking to start, an exercise you’ve been wanting to try, etc.
I used to list out 10-15 resolutions at the start of a year, and always failed to achieve them because I went too big and around June they all would have slipped my mind completely. With the new strategy I’ve been using, it allows me to simplify what I expect from myself and to keep these two ideas close to my heart all year round! Another thing that I had to let go of was the expectation that my resolutions had to encapsulate all the self-growth desires that I have for myself. This is just not possible, and in limiting my number of resolutions I’m opening myself up to future wants that are presently unknown.
I’m still workshopping my resolutions for this year, my skill-based for last year was to go to a ballet class, and I did so weekly from January through March. It was a consistent highlight and whenever the world opens back up it will be one of the first places I return to, despite me being so bad that my instructor saw my attempts at footwork and said to me: “I see, you’re just here to mess around”. Correct!
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The future is guaranteed to hold hope, laughter, romance, newness, light, just as it is sure to bring hardship, loss, and deep sorrow, especially for those that already suffer the most. Look out for each other and look out for yourself! Bring lots of love into the new year and carry it with you always.
xo,
jess
This week, we were lucky enough to end the year on a high note in sharing some of our lovely friend Kirsten’s paintings! I met Kirsten in college because we both studied art, and ever since, it has been so much fun to watch her work grow and change. <3 So colorful, heavenly, whimsical and inspiring. Thanks again for sharing Kirsten! You can find more of her work on her website or on instagram. —S
Hey Jess,
As I walked my dog this week, I did some reflecting on the past year. In light of a global pandemic, so many governmental issues, an election…obviously, it’s been a roller-coaster of a year. In the past couple weeks of rumination, I’ve tried to just focus on the simple things I’m grateful for. The good and the bad. I’m honestly happy this pandemic has halted my planning for the future because I’m not sure what else would’ve, and I rarely give myself the mental space to take a step back and evaluate things.
The last year felt like a twisted coming-of-age storyline, the playing out of a set of weird, sad, anguishing events that no one could’ve predicted. And yeah I don’t want to hear the word “unprecedented” ever again. This year I never thought I’d be grateful to have experienced my first real heartbreak, which helped me to continue learning more about myself and what it means to truly grieve something, move forward and make room for new relationships to enter. I think it has been a year to learn about what it means to strive for resilience. Aside from the pain/stressors of the world we’ve experienced this year which I won’t harp on too much more today, I’ve had the opportunity to develop new interests, ample time to read inside, go on walks, play rummy with my friends and watch cartoons.
Jess, I love your ideology on New Year’s Resolutions! I used to make such a long list of intentions and goals that it was nearly impossible to feel like I made a dent, and I too found myself abandoning them all 6 months in. However, this year, in the spirit of keeping the goals completely attainable for myself, I am narrowing it down to one resolution: To be more compassionate to myself. This applies to thought patterns and managing anxiety in particular, but also again, letting myself enjoy things without constantly planning my future (a symptom of always trying to be in control of things which, like I mentioned before, was swiftly remedied with the onset of the pandemic…)
Lastly, how can I neglect one of the best parts of this year?— creating this newsletter with you, Jess!!! I’m so grateful to share this space to share thoughts of the week, laughs, and everything else with y’all! I love having this space and can’t wait for another year of it.
Sophie!! I can’t say it enough: this newsletter’s beginning is one of my favorite things about this year and I’m so happy I get to have it with you and with all of you reading! Thank you all for sharing your time and talents with us. -jess
A Daily Enjoy Review—this year, we…
A great reminder to keep up with hygiene and self-care… for no one but YOURSELF! 
The Great Quarantine Graveyard Walk of 2020 with @Matt 
Yikes! Vampire Mode!! grew together….
We all learned something about ourselves that day… Alright, now I’m feeling a little bit like an inspirational quote at Marshall’s. So I’ve got to leave it at that.
Overall I’m feeling happy and trying my best to be optimistic about what’s to come. There’s an end (somewhere) in sight in this pandemic, I want to meet my friends on the dance floor and might have a dirty martini by the end of next year! Lmao. (The Simple Pleasures.) Maybe, maybe not. If not, I’ll be ok. Either way, my FAVORITE holiday of all time is right around the corner…Valentine’s Day… : - )
Virtual good luck charms for the new year:
Rose Quartz (my favorite lucky stone) for you all!
A Four Leaf Clover
and the best Tarot card of all…
Recommendations from me:
Color: Yellow
Taking 5 Deep Breaths!
Ok, that’s all I’ve got for this week. Happy (almost) New Year!! Here’s to wishing a new year full of peace, happiness, kindness and gratitude for everyone. <3 We love you all so much!
Sincerely,
Sophie and Jess
There are more than enough words to describe the complexity of 2020. I won't list them because they are pretty vulgar but still plenty of words. Just saying.
I look forward to this newsletter popping up in my inbox every time! I laugh out loud and feel warmy warm warm in my heart. Y'all are so special and I love to be up to date on your thoughts, recent pictures, etc! HAPPY NEW FREAKING YEAR am i right?? okkkkkk can't wait to see you sometime