Last updated on April 2nd, 2021 at 01:00 am
It’s December 31st, 2016, and while I feel like the same Casey I was 365 days ago, everything’s changed.
There’re now two kids who need me in their lives instead of the toddler flying solo just a year ago. And though I seem to change 9-5s more than some change their underwear (ew), leopards never really change their spots, and the struggle remains real to find the balance I’m desperately seeking, but never seem any closer to finding. It’s not the kind of year where I can pinpoint what I learned—I spent most of it hustling ’til I dropped, and while I saw gains in some places, I’m not convinced the Casey you see today is any different despite all this.
If anything, I guess you could say I’m better prepared. Year after year I’ve looked back, surprised that the year I’d had was somehow busier than the one that came before, but this time it’s different. In 2016, much of that hecticness was by my own hand, and I’m pretty sure that just who I am now. The guy who’d rather turn something in late than create something that conforms.
But that also makes me the guy who’s constantly learning hard lessons from that pressure for perfection. The guy who’s had to part ways with ongoing gigs because they just weren’t doing it for me anymore. I spent more than enough of 2016 feeling like I was doing something wrong, so when things turned around at the year’s end with a post that finally gave me a taste of what success felt like, I tell you—it may have changed my #BloggerLife forever.