Another year, another birthday! (Birthday post 2023!)

    Hey friends, I'm Jonathan, a Self-Proclaimed Dreamer, and a few days ago was my birthday! A lot of times, I write this post the week before my birthday, but it has really snuck up on me this year in a way that it really hasn't previously! The day itself was fantastic, and even wrapped up with a nice surprise party from some new friends that I've made this year. I don't intend on talking too much about the day itself, even though I did have a great one. This post every year is more of a reflection of the year itself and how my life has changed during it. This year has really felt like I've begun to get things together, though I still have a long way to go! Let's just go ahead and talk a bit today, I hope you'll join me during this short recollection of 2023!

Getting a little personal

    I made some new friends this year, as I said, and really I feel like my life has improved so much because of them. The last few years have definitely been rough after the pandemic definitely forced me to retreat even deeper into my shell than I already was, but these friends have helped me to come out of that shell a lot more. I actually got a job this year for the first time in a little while, and I feel like I'm doing a great job working with the youth at the church. It's a really nice feeling to really enjoy what you're doing, and to have others tell you that they enjoy having you around. It's something that I haven't really experienced before from a work background, but it really makes me feel good and that I'm making a bit of a difference with my friends and students that I've been blessed enough to work with. I've been to more high school events this year than I have in the past 5 or 6 prior to support kids in marching band, plays, concerts, and many more. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here for them and the families that surround them, which is a very fulfilling feeling. I've met so many kind and incredible people this year, I must be doing something right, which is also a pretty great feeling after so many years of isolation. On top of this, I've reconnected with some old friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, which is also a pretty great feeling along with making entirely new friends! I'm much busier than I have been in a while this month, with many meetings, holiday parties, and other related activities, which is definitely a nice change from last year, when I was still pretty isolated.

    Along with everything that I've done this year for the first time, I've kept my lovely little blog going nice and strong for the third year, which is a pretty wild milestone. It is still very much a hobby of mine to write these things, I'm not being paid for it or anything, but I still so enjoy writing what I think about different things, and it has given me lots of practice on speaking in real life. It sounds kind of silly, but I think my thoughts are much better put together once I've been able to write them down like this. Thank you so much for reading and supporting me with kind words this year like many others, and being in a community again has really offered a new gratefulness for all of the people that do take the time to read something that I put out. I know that a lot of my stuff is very niche and not very reader-friendly just because I know a lot about some very specific topics, but I'm still trying to get better at that.

    So many games have come out this year that I think it would be better for another post, maybe next week?  I know that I've typically included lots of game things in this post as well, but I think it would be better to split it up a little bit to not have several posts that say very similar things. Before I go though, I have a few more things to say. This has been a great year for games in regards to my enjoyment and hopefully I'll talk about that soon, but I've also been very lucky. I was given lots of opportunities to play games that I haven't before when my friend gave me an old Xbox Series S recently, and I had the chance to help out a little bit with something I can't even talk about, which is really exciting for someone hoping to help out this industry somehow. Unfortunately, many in the games industry have not been so lucky considering the wild and probably unnecessary firing of so many employees. It really stinks to see so many people involved in studios that I love being laid off this year, while big companies for the most part are reporting pretty good sales numbers. I talked about it a bit last week, but it really sucks that so many workers that have helped to put out so many amazing games have suffered so much job turnover as soon as the product is finished. We need to support the people behind the development teams, not just the studios that we love.

    Thank you so much for another great year, friends. It has been a year of many changes for me, and almost all of them are for the better in my opinion! I'm happy to have a part in your lives and I hope you know that I think about you all pretty often. As Kairi says in her letter in Kingdom Hearts II, "Thinking of you wherever you are." I hope you and your families will all have a very happy holiday season, and thanks again for all the support! I'm Jonathan, the same Self-Proclaimed Dreamer as always, just another year older! I'll talk to you all again soon!