2017 had to be what felt like the longest year I’ve ever been through. I was thinking about it the other day and literally, I realized that Sherlock Series 4 premiered at the beginning of 2017…I couldn’t believe that when I realized it was true.

This year has been a roller coaster in so many ways and as per the course of 2017, I’m late on writing my end of year review…even if this one is going to be a bit different from past years.

Personally, I called this past year a year of taking care of myself better, and I’m proud to say I actually managed that. I started on a skin care routine to get rid of some acne that had plagued me for a good chunk of my adult life, I decided that I was going to make ALL doctor’s appointments, and I was going to create a better work-life balance for myself, which included leaving behind a large facet of my life, by which I mean, my theater work. And I’m proud to report that I did all of those things (mostly) in 2017. It’s made me a happier person and that’s really important, especially right now.

I also had some pretty cool adventures. The year started off well enough. Geoff, my domestic partner of 10 years, asked me to marry him and I agreed. I found myself in a new fandom (hi Yuri!!! on Ice) that allowed me to connect and reconnect with some really great people. It also gave me some great new cosplays and a great new cosplay partner/beta reader. I traveled to a lot of anime conventions with my colleagues including Katsucon, Anime Boston, Anime NEXT, and Otakon…and I went to some without my colleagues like Colossal Con East, which was so much fun! I also helped to run five shows for work (some of which were super cool and in cities I’ve never been to before!). I saw four of my absolute favorite K-Pop bands in concert – I saw SHINee in March in Toronto (and E and I drove overnight for this one, but it was worth it!), I saw BTS in March in Newark,  I saw EXO in April in Newark, and I saw KARD in September in DC – and I’m so glad I made all of those crazy trips. After I had healed from some surgery in July, I took up ice skating as a new hobby. And then to cap off the year, my best friend from middle school got married and I was a part of her wedding.

But, amidst all of the personal fun and growth that I accomplished, there was a lot of upsetting and not great things that I happened as well. I feel like there isn’t a week where I can go without having to call my representatives in Congress and ask them not to vote for something. You would think that if enough people called and voiced non-support things wouldn’t happen, and yet…I don’t like living in this constant state of uncertainty and that’s what I feel we’re doing. I also dealt with some serious health problems. You see taking care of yourself also means discovering that things you thought were totally normal just aren’t. We discovered in February that my thyroid was not working and I had it removed entirely in July. It’s always fun when a doctor tells you they aren’t sure how you were walking around in your condition…I’m fine now, but it was scary there for a while. Our dog, Kyle, also had a serious health issue pop up this year that put him in the hospital and gave us a scare right before a work event. He’s also doing better, but we all could’ve done without that incident.

Additionally, I dealt with a bomb situation while I was out at a Civil War Re-enactment, which made me feel unsafe in a hobby I’ve had for twelve years. And to top things off, we recently lost a member of my all-time favorite K-Pop band, SHINee, and the news hurt…more than I thought it would.

So, I guess what I’m saying amongst all of these random lists and anecdotes is…good riddance 2017. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. 2018, I’m tougher than I was before and I’m coming for you.