From one year to the next.

And time passes.

You get older.

Dreams turn into realities, or regret.

Lighters are lost. Pencils are found. Jeans rip and fall apart. Or look awesome.

You will fight becoming your parents, and cherish that you have them to become.

You will make a lot of money once, and a little money most of the time, and all of the time you will wish you were doing better. Even when you are.

Your friends will continue to become exactly what you thought they would be when you met them, and your enemies will be just as confused as you are, but seriously, who needs enemies at this age?

You will have profound moments of connection and even more profound moments of detachment, and somewhere in between is the great truth that hopefully you're not too selfish to see, which I am still working on and am getting better at. I hope.

But more than anything, life will continue, and it doesn't really matter if you're on board or not, but it’s a lot more fun if you are. And one day you'll wake up and realize that you have a story, and a path, and this realization is part of both of those. And all of these things are as certain as the night that makes you wonder about them and the most you can hope for is a smile when you look back at the pile of it all. That and someone to smile with.

Thank you all for being on this journey with me. As I have been on yours.

How very Neverending Story.

Peace for us all at the end of this year, peace for us all in the year to come.

That and an iPhone.

-Ben