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Mirror selfie of Aubrey.
Hey, that's me.
Personal Blog

2022 In Review

That was indeed a year. The highs were incredibly high, but not without the obligatory lows that one should come to expect with an incredibly chaotic existence. This was my 2022.

Hey. Welcome to my new (third iteration) site. I am very proud to announce that, not only am I still alive, but doing much better than I ever thought I could at this stage in my life.

Every year has a theme and I usually don't realize what that theme is until the year after. Well, this year I'm writing in this blog to take a hard look at the failures, victories and lessons of it all.

A year ago today I was just moving into my new apartment on the west end of Downtown Toronto. At the late age of 27, it finally felt right for me to move out on my own to a place that was somewhere new and exciting, but also maybe dangerous. And no, I don't mean dangerous as in deadly, but dangerous for someone who, if I am not careful, can live to be shut-in who only talks to people over discord and playstation voice chats.

I wanted to force myself to get out of my shell a little, get to know people in the neighbourhood, and maybe become part of a community. With a little help from my friends, I was able to do just that. I got to know my neighbours, who are the loveliest people, quirks and all. I got to know business owners in surrounding neighbourhoods - somehow managing to keep their heads above water despite all the nonsense that 2020 and 2021 brought to them.

A mirror selfie of Aubrey at the Bean in Chicago's Millennium Park
I got to walk around Chicago.

I also got to live my dreams a little bit, in the form of seeing some of my bucket-list bands and artists such as:

  • Nine Inch Nails
  • The Smile
  • Kendrick Lamar
  • Jerry Cantrell
  • Loathe
  • Gwar
  • Phoebe Bridgers
  • Orville Peck
  • Jpegmafia
  • Lorde
  • Tyler, the Creator
  • Godspeed You, Black Emperor
  • Mitski
  • Lingua Ignota
  • Sons of Kemet

I got to see my best friend get married to the loveliest person. I met with several friends who have always been a part of my life regardless of the distance between us. I have been shaped and changed by their presence, each and every one of them.

Thank you. I am glad to be still here.

Gallery

  • Aubrey with friends
  • Aubrey with friends
  • Aubrey with friends
  • Aubrey with mom
  • Aubrey with friends
  • Aubrey with friends in a theatre
  • selfie of Aubrey
  • Bag of Snoop Dogg chips
  • Two signed posters from the band, "The Smile"
  • Wall of nine inch nails posters
  • Aubrey in front of nine inch nails logo
  • Aubrey with mom at a museum

© 2024 Aubrey Kazdan