We all know why this tradition started, right? 2009 was terrible. I couldn't go another year like that. So I declared 2010 the year of Matt Johnson and therefore the best year of my life part 1. 2012 claimed part 2. I've known since then that 2016 would hold that third title. But what I've come to realize is that those years weren't necessarily "the best". They were both monumental points in my life that have shaped the course of my voyage, but there were crummy things about them. That brings me to the final (peg)leg of the sea trilogy: The Pirate's Code.
It's over so I can say it confidently and shamelessly. 2015 sucked. 2015 was worse than 2009. Perhaps it was the worst year of my life. Perhaps the second worst year. That is not to say some of the greater things in my life didn't come from this past year. The Pirate's Code so to speak was code for: this is gonna be a bumpy ride. But it was also my defining statement that I no longer follow the rules society demands of me. That's not to say I've become a full-blown rule breaker, but I've learned to follow my own ambitions and do things my way. I still have a lot of learning to do, but this is the most I've ever stood up for myself. And it's only going to continue.
It's fitting that the year before the best year of my life part 3 was kinda awful, which is what started all of this way back when. Now, I've known 2016's official title since the summer, but in the past week I had a dream, and in that dream I had changed the title. When I woke up, I realized that as my time on sea is coming to an end, I had to pick a path to go down. On the one hand, I've experienced a lot of pain this past year, some of it unbearable. And I know somehow someway some of that is going to continue this year. But I've also been reaching new levels of personal gain and success and I know that's going to continue this year too. At the end of the year, my dream came true and I've ultimately replaced my original title for the New Year. I will be leaving that title nameless as its future presence is inevitable. Until then, here's to this year!
If you've been following me the last year, you probably noticed that I've been going show to show and project to project without stopping for a breath. And with Hamilton having quite the impact on my life the past few months, there's only one way to do this.
2016: Non-Stop.
