I think I could unintentionally answer all the questions of this last weekend of the year, since they all focus on the joy and nostalgia that means saying goodbye to a year and renewing the mind to receive another one with the soul dressed up, or at least that's how I feel.
There were two weekends in 2023 that marked my life forever, the first one was in January, when my dad had his first septic crisis, the one that would cause his death a couple of weeks later. I will never forget that feeling of fear, pain and real love that I experienced those minutes, when I believed that his life was escaping in front of my eyes; but just as that Saturday destroyed my life, there was a Sunday that made me come alive again, and it was where I sang as part of a world choir, right here in Venezuela, but with many international guests that definitely gave me the best musical moments of my life, since that concert everything changed for the better and again I feel professional in my art.
I don't think I'll do anything this weekend to prepare for next year. Gone are those strange traditions of welcoming the year with suitcases, eating grapes or wearing yellow underwear. This year I discovered that everything can change in a simple second and I have let life surprise me day by day, without so much planning; I think I have just focused a lot on reflection to make better decisions in 2024 and try to avoid adversities caused by me. I also think I will take the opportunity to cry as much as I can the last night of the year, I would like to leave the sadness of 2023 in 2023...
This has been the year of strange things in my life, and this is how I will close it. The only thing similar to previous years will be going to church for the last mass of the year, but we will not sing, and I don't think we will do it again, without my dad it's not the same, besides I don't think we could. On the other hand my brother will be working that night, for the first time in my 35 years it will be just me and my mom. We will spend it with a couple of friends who are just as lonely, but who have given us more love than my own family. Gone are those joy-filled holidays, only time will tell if they will come back to me someday.
I am literally experiencing a strong sense of loss this year, because 2023 has taken away so much of me and mine. I am not the person I was in January and in fact I don't even know myself. December 31st has always been a date of great nostalgia for me, but this time it is bigger than me. On the other hand, reflection and the desire to live have me very motivated to start 2024 and do everything right from the beginning, there is much I want to recover from my previous life, but it must be modified because things never come back, I think they are transformed. I feel renewed and willing to finish letting go of everything that hurt me this year and start seeing life as beautiful as it is, and not with all the pain that 2023 made me feel.
It is inevitable to touch on all the themes of Weekend-Engagement 186, because I am in a time of reflection, renewal and liberation. I took these pictures yesterday walking in a shopping mall in my hometown. Going for a walk and thinking is great therapy, nothing better than enjoying the Christmas decorations while happy music plays in the background and you get ready for a new era. My photos were taken with my Tecno Pova II and I edit them with PhotoDirector App. Thank you all for reading me, I wish you an excellent last weekend of the year and may you start 2024 on the right foot so that everything goes well for you. A big hug!...
