And on a slightly related note, here’s that end-of-year survey I always do.

What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before?
Ran a marathon!

Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
There will soon be a blog post regarding this!

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.

Did anyone close to you die?
A person I knew from high school died back at the start of the year. We weren’t super close or anything, but we were aware of each other.

What countries did you visit?
The US!

What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023?
TENURE

What date from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day I got Canadian citizenship. That was an important life milestone that I’ve been (very passively) working towards for the past 5+ years.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Running my first marathon. Running my first ultramarathon.

What was your biggest failure?
Existing (I think I say this every year).

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Haha, yeah, I busted up my sartorius muscle back at the end of June. It hurt SUPER BADLY and took quite a while to heal up. Now, I’d say 98% of the time, I don’t feel any pain/discomfort from it.

What was the best thing you bought?
My new iPad and Apple Pencil.

Where did most of your money go?
Reiterating from last year: to stuff I didn’t really need.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Longer distance running, haha. Running in general. I mean, I was enthused about it before this year, but this year was when I think it finally became something that just brings me so much happiness.

What song will always remind you of 2023?
Probably anything from Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” album, just because this was The Year of the Swift and her music was everywhere.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Nothing. I had too many days/nights that I could have taken advantage of my free time and done something useful with it. Never again.

How will you be spending Christmas?
I’m going to run in the morning (probably on the treadmill, as it’s finally getting cold), then we’re going to open presents. Wee!

Did you fall in love in 2023?
Nope.

How many one-night stands?
None.

What was your favourite TV program?
It’s still Chicago Med in terms of what I’m currently watching. I watch a lot of Riverdale, though, too, because I’m trash.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.

What was the best book you read?
OOOOOOOOO I HAVE AN ANSWER but I’m going to blog about this soon!

What was your greatest musical discovery?
That freaking orchestral cover of “Call on Me” is the greatest.

What was your favourite film of this year?
I don’t think I have one.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 35. As usual, I didn’t do anything special.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably satisfying?
MAN, I HAVE A LIST. I can’t pick one thing.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023?
I’ve been consciously trying to match better, which is a weird thing to say. I try to pick two or three main colors to feature and then match one to my earring color and one to my eyeshadow color. If I’m lucky, I can match my shoes as well. I know it doesn’t matter, but it matters to me.

What kept you sane?
Sanity is not my strong suit.

Which celebrity/public figure(s) did you fancy the most?
L E I B N I Z

Who did you miss?
My mom, as always.

Who was the best new person you met?
I haven’t met anyone new.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023:
Whenever you think a semester can’t get worse, it can.