It’s that time of the year where I find some time to reflect on what I’m thankful for this year. 2020 wasn’t a joke, I think we can all agree that we’ll look back on this year and remember it feeling like we were living in a movie, with something new happening each month. As hard as this year was for me, I do have a lot to be thankful for.

I think the hardest part about living through a pandemic and having to self isolate from pretty much everyone where the lockdown first happened was having to deal with something like that alone. It was only a few months after my ex and I had called it quits, so the wound was still pretty fresh and still hadn’t healed. I’m thankful for all of my friends that hosted frequent FaceTime calls to help us all get through the weird time we were living in. I’ll never forget those “FaceTime Parties” with my friends, having drinks, for what made us all feel somewhat normal, even temporarily. I’m thankful to have picked up some new hobbies, and some hobbies that I fell out of for so many years.

Rollerblading was something that I loooooved when I was child through early adult hood, but I fell out of it after almost a decade. It only took a pandemic for me to order a new pair of fruit boots and get on the trail for some cardio, and also a release of much needed endorphins. It’s so fun, it makes me so happy, and I’m so glad I made the investment in a pair of skates. I’m happy that a lot of my friends ended up getting a pair too to enjoy riding around with me. I’m so thankful for my friends. We may not see each other all the time, but I love them all so much.

My brother, and longtime girlfriend, and now fiance birthed a beautiful new baby boy. I’ve got another nephew, and he is just the absolute cutest. Meet Carter. I also got to see my favorite nephew Maddox quite a lot with school being out. I will never take that time for granted because I rarely ever get to see him with my busy work schedule these days. He’s growing up so fast. It feels like a few weeks ago he was still calling me “Uncle Jay.” He’s too cool for that now, and I get it, although I still try whenever he wants something. I’m so thankful for them, everyday.

I’m thankful for rekindling a friendship of mine. It took one Takeout Taco Tuesday with Trevor to realize that this life is way too short. Too short to hold grudges, too short to stay mad, and too damn short to try and appease every encounter you have in this lifetime. That day I decided that I wanted to hit up an old friend of mine, Patrick, someone that I’ve been friends with since the early days of high school. We had a falling out a few years ago, but neither of us could figure out what it was about. Clearly it was irrelevant. You know a friendship is real when you can pick right back up after so many years, and that’s exactly what happened, and where we’re at today.

Another one of my friends recently came back into my life. Alyssa. I’m thankful for her strength, courage, and her being alive. I haven’t spoken to her in a couple of years because of an abusive relationship she was in, which led her into a dark spiraling tunnel. I picked her up off of the streets a few days ago in the desert of La Quinta. She has been homeless in California the last few months after her mother had kicked her to the streets after bringing her back from Alabama. In that time she has shared some very crazy stories and experiences. Experiences that I’m not sure I would be able to even deal with. Her journey isn’t over, and she has a lot of growth, trials and tribulations that she will need to face on her own, but I’m happy that I could be that friend she could count on coming back here. I’m hopeful that she will take this opportunity down in San Diego to start getting her life back on track, and back to her kids.

2020 wasn’t the easiest year for me and for a lot of us. But, I’m so thankful for so much this year. All of the growth I’ve achieved, and the lessons that I’ve learned. I contracted and BEAT COVID. I got a new car. I GOT PROMOTED AT WORK! I took a trip with great people to Arizona for a weekend. I paid off my credit cards. I got creative again with photography. BIDEN BEATS TRUMP! I started dating again, even though I’m just really looking for something more casual right now, which is kind of strange for me, but I’ve realized that I love being single, and I’m not really looking at forcing or getting myself into anything serious at the moment. If the right person came along, maybe! I’ve totally changed my view on dating and relationships entirely, and I’m so much happier with this new thought process. GROWTH!

Just a few more weeks until the end of the year. I’m going to be enjoying these last few months with my family, my friends, and getting ready for 2021, which I’m hopeful will be a better year for all of us. My 1 Second Everday video is coming out great, so I can’t wait to share that with you all in just a few more weeks. Until then.

Sincerely,
Jay