I spent a while arguing with myself over this one – not so much because I disagreed with it, but because I thought maybe it’d be frowned upon by the grown-up-word-of-the-year police (who I hope don’t exist). Because Aletheia ended up being such a big thing, and playing a huge role in decision making last year. Mostly, to do the things I wanted to just because I wanted to do them – with the dawn of a new year I don’t really want to lose that, so I won’t – I used aletheia because I wanted to give myself the freedom to discover me, and to try things I otherwise may not have been brave enough to try.
“When you are born” The golem said softly, “your courage is new and clean. You are brave enough for anything: crawling off staircases, saying your first words without fearing someone will think you are foolish, putting strange things in your mouth. But as you get older, your courage attracts gunk and crusty things and dirt and fear and knowing how bad things can get and what pain feels like. By the time you’re half-grown, your courage barely moves at all, it’s so grunged up with living. So every once in a while, you have to scrub it up and get the works going or else you’ll never be brave again. Unfortunately, there are not so many facilities in your world that provide the kinds of services we do. So most people go around with grimy machinery, when all it would take is a bit of spit and polish to make them paladins once more, bold knights and true” – Lye, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making (Catherynne Valente)
This year, I hope to continue that – doing things, particularly fun things. I want to thoroughly enjoy the things I do, and I want to do things because I enjoy them.
This year, my default word is fun. Because I have a problem with not having it, and feeling like all the things that I should be doing or spending time on are the things that aren’t fun, and the things that are fun I shouldn’t be prioritizing, but I don’t want to live that way. I want to actually prioritize living and enjoying instead of just trudging through, getting bogged down with the necessary-unnecessaries (doesn’t mean I won’t do them, just that I’m going to try and not let the status of those define myself, because I have that tendency).
So here’s to fun in 2013: my birthday, Comic Con, and many adventures to come!
Leave a Reply