Next Year Will Be Better

Several days ago, I had Spotify blasting through my earphones when the track "Next Year Will Be Better" from emo outfit Joie De Vivre randomly played. Immediately I thought -- "Whew, this would be an apt title for my first blog post for 2016 except for the fact that the actual lyrics doesn't really inspire much confidence in terms of getting better ." The song's littered with lines such as:

"It's unfair to suggest that there is even a change that I get through this

It's never been harder to feel better

It's never been harder to tell if I've changed of if I've just grown up."

This band's the culprit.

I'm 100% sure I've used one of those lines as a social media status before. So yeah, while there was a point in time when these lyrics perfectly encapsulated all the horrendous shit that life hurled right at me, an increment in the calendar year, oftentimes, creates a renewed sense of hope and purpose -- kinda like a reset button in video games. It's cliche and cringe-worthy especially during these times when everyone seems to be creating their own to-do lists for the new year but heck, it's probably safe to assume that everyone aspires to have a leveled-up, tooled-up, well-equipped version of themselves on a yearly basis. Just depends on what type of weaponry one would like to enhance. The elegant rapier of Career Growth? The expensive longsword of Financial Stability? The dual axes of Marriage and Family? The twin leather whips of Trips and Travels? Or the haunting warhammer of Love? Okay, that last one honestly sounded bitter.

Not this hammer.

While the past year wasn't exactly the best given my penchant for prioritizing relationships over other aspects of my life, the time for sulking and moping expired ages ago. The main focus is that I learn from these unwelcome events, happily skip forward with the glaring sunshine of optimism bouncing off my rose-colored glasses, and feeeeeel the poweeeer of positivity! 

It's a New Day, yes it is!

Here's to a 2016 filled with -- jaw-dropping PS4 games that I will purchase and hopefully finish; a 28th title for the New York Yankees; tons of album-of-the-year worthy pop/punk/alternative/emo albums; a consistently slimmer belly; a good amount of epic sci-fi fantasy novels that I will buy but will take a huge amount of time to finish reading; trips to places I've never been before; delicacies I've never tasted before; beautiful sceneries I've never seen before; the considerable amount of pesos that are either saved or invested; the continued appreciation of the awesome wrestling world; a Final Four appearance for the UP Fighting Maroons; loads of critically-acclaimed films that I will download and not have enough time to watch; the eventual completion of the MBA degree; those uber-relaxing staycations with the family; comedy shows on the same plane as Arrested Development, Parks & Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fresh Off The Boat, Community, etc.; the incessant binge-drinking sessions with colleagues and relatives; a new hobby or skill which I have yet to determine; the release of Final Fantasy XV; scores of anime series which I will get addicted to; the impending 30th milestone; and finally and most importantly, just a calmer, simpler, wiser, mature-r, and better 2016 version of me.

(Saving this post just in case I need to use the same for 2017. Haha.)

Photo Credits:

- http://isthisthingonblog.com/2013/12/05/interview-joie-de-vivre/

- http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/File:Thor's_Hammer.png

- http://runningenzuigiri.com/2015/09/feel-the-power-the-resurrection-of-the-new-day/