Wow! Looking Back Over 2017. Can't Believe The Year Almost Over.

Every week when I start to plan how I will go about putting together a new episode for my radio show Jazz on the JNote, I tend to look up birth dates or interesting facts about the giants of jazz that surround the air date of my show so that when Sunday at 7PM EST comes, theenglishconnectionmedia.com has a show that I actually put my whole heart into. 

So it was no different this morning when I started doing research so that I could put together an outline of what I planned to do for this Sunday’s and as I looked at the calendar to jot down the date on which my next episode would air, it became a tear-jerking reminder that 2017 is almost over. This Sunday will be October 1^st.

The stores are already selling Halloween candy and are already promoting for the coming winter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 2017 is flying and I can’t believe it is almost over.

2017

This year has been an evolving educational journey for me. I thank God for all the days that he woke me up with a proper frame of mind. Though we tend to make our new year’s resolutions and plans, I still try to debunk the mystery around how the days somehow simply manifest themselves. So many different nuances and color were added to the budding little old me that had me feeling so connected to his nature and many of them were unplanned. I guess you just have to be ready to embrace each moment as it is being presented because you never know how time will unravel itself even if you do plan your calendar on how you want things to go. But, to have found myself in so many atmospheres of appreciation and exchange has left me feeling mingled with joy. 

The photo above is a classic example of this. Nine months and nine separate events from each of the months that have come and gone in 2017 like for instance, filming a video for my song "Enjoy Life" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alV2ULnr9z8) , singing at the Irkutsk Philharmonic in Siberia, and for the first time ever in my life, performing a set of just original music which I wrote, that made a big difference in the person I am becoming. Other things that excited me were the trip to Vermont that I was dying to take which was on my summer bucket-list, exploring Jim's Vineyard again and getting to share some of my original tunes at his amazing summer bash, recording new songs for a forthcoming project that I am really excited about, meeting some of the most beautiful tap dancers in Brooklyn and also embracing their classes and, coming back into a new academic year and feeling a little bit more confident to share information that I didn't know that I had to share on the art of singing and stage performance with some really amazing teenagers. So, if you ever see me posting about theoretical things about singing as in for instance practicing your craft or being prepared for performances, a lot of times, it is directed at them. 

2017 had it its good days and bad days. But the good days outweighed the bad and that is always something to feel positive about. I guess when the ninth month of a year comes to an end, it is okay to start thinking about melting away the limits of the year to come. I have 2018 etched in my mind and all I can do is hope to confront it appropriately. Yet, the year is not over with October, November and December set to make their appearance soon in which there is still a wealth of things to see and do. 


One thing is for sure though; 2017 will leave a lasting impact on me and will forever be absorbed in my memory. For all the silver landscapes, cringe-worthy moments, sparkles added to the routine of my days, progress from taking baby steps to taking more giant steps toward worthy pursuits, squeezing some of the ambiguity out of my life, and soaking up knowledge about the world and the person in me that I am discovering more and more each day, I am thankful.

What’s left? What’s left is to perfect who I am as we embrace the forthcoming year. Though I accept all my layers as they are, there is definitely some tweaking worth the resolve; I’ll admit that. Nothing wrong with change; no matter how you slice it.  I mean, in all honesty, we are all an amalgamation of years of experimentation on our own selves. We are presently wading in the deep waters of the 2017 version of who we are. But I trust that I'll be better than I am in the coming year. 

For me, I can say, it's time to de-clutter and to make room for the 2018 version of me. Are you ready?