2016: A year in review

One: One, a month heavy in emotion. One, where feelings are heavy, and so were insecurities. A month where dark clouds and light boys had more power than the likings of my own head and my own mind. A month of soft flannels, gray tights, gray expectations. A place for goals and aspirations, with no room for disappointment. But perhaps one was not a When, but a Where, a Where that since changed locations.

Two: Two, two, where were you? Filled with fun prints and disappointment. Maybe not in that order. A month in which letting go was not plausible. Grabbing onto feelings I was supposed to let go of; perhaps I thought there was an appeal in holding onto people that had no intentions of keeping me close. A month filled with acoustic beats and pining, Valentine’s Day gift to myself. Consumerism is a fickle friend.

Three: Three, three, three, third month’s a charm…right? Perhaps that’s why I have pushed this month to the back of my head. Perhaps there’s not much hope in charm alone.

Four: Four…get about it. Spring’s for new beginnings, or maybe it’s for forgetting everything that I was supposed to let go four months ago. A time, a place where I thought that new beginnings were everything. And perhaps they were.

Five: Say five five times fast five times fast. A tongue twister in disguise is what this month was. But perhaps our tongues were not made for months that made us feel like we were falling.

Six: Some say it’s an evil number. I say it marks halfway. A new beginning. But not really. Saying I found myself would be a cliché. Light rails led the way to places I never thought I would go, people I would never meet. Perhaps there is poetry in mystery.

Seven: The month of mandatory family vacation and oral surgery.

Eight: New beginnings part 577456. I am always looking for new beginnings, and I am coming to that realization. Maybe I have an issue with consistency, or maybe consistency has an issue with me.

Nine: A decently solid month. Fall calls for a release of suppression. There’s got to be some way to survive the holiday season.

Ten: Halloween is a time for everyone who is unhappy with themselves to be as confident as they wish they could be. Myself included. Self projection.

Eleven: The holidays are for self-realization and giving into consumeristic urges. I am guilty of both.

Twelve: At this point, everything is dangling. Holding onto the shreds and remnants of 2016 is like grabbing onto the ashes of the dead and hoping that there is still someone there.

One: Let’s do it all again. A month heavy in emotion.

—By Iley C., 17, Denver