And there they are once again, folks. We always knew the moment would come but, somehow, we expected it to be different this time. Somehow. Well, we were wrong and here they are: the end-of-year retrospectives. Yay!… or, is it?

I must confess those recaps make me usually a bit sad because, it does not matter how much I have reached, I always had bigger plans on my mind when the year started. So, recaps work for me as an (unasked) update on the items in the list of resolutions we all make at the beginning of the year. How many promises were fulfilled? How much progress in our lives?

Not that I have problems with reassessments, not at all! If you read me frequently, and I bet you do, you know that a good part of our meetings are dedicated to promoting strategies on how to deal with changes in the itinerary, unforeseen events and the like. My motto is: Life is like jazz: you have to know how to improvise!

So what is the problem with recaps? Sincerely, I do not know how to explain it, but there is an melancholy air in such compilations of “the best moments of the year”, that makes me blue. Besides, they tend to vary between condescending (“we are all victorious”), and hysterically euphoric (“people are sharing your music in X different countries!”).

I frankly like observing the numbers, the statistics, and finding out the number of playlists in which I was included always puts a smile on my face. In short: I enjoy having access to the amazing amount of data that retrospectives contain, but I do not like the idea of making a spectacle out of it.

Actualy, the end of the year awakens feelings of contemplation in me. Maybe because it is my birthday month, for me retrospectives fall into the big package of “rethink your new cycle”, and to reflect I need introspection, which does not always fit with the current social policy of constant content share.

At least in my astral hell I would like to have a little time to digest the results of a whole year of hard work. I want to celebrate my achievements and think about what can be done, so as not to make the same mistakes. I want to return to my metrics without fear, aware of the place I occupy, without comparisons or competitions.

Would it be too much to ask?

Be seeing you!

G.F.