A year is enough time to look back and wonder why

Things happened the way they did.

Why didn’t you say the things you should have said?

Every year it’s the same again.

 

This past year I had a thought.

It was small at first, so I nearly forgot.

But this thought started to grow,

And it grew, and it swallowed me whole.

And I knew if I wanted to let this go,

I’d have to change something about my goals.

 

I wanted a life, and I wanted fame;

I wanted a job, and a card with my name.

I yearned for a partner, but all I got was games.

Some of this I received, but I still felt the same.

 

There’s still politics, and snotty kids,

And hate crimes, and violence,

Publicized threats, and illegal bets.

Clowns in the streets and doubts in our heads

 

Not much has changed;

So much is unwarranted,

So how do we find out what’s really important?

 

I came to a conclusion thanks to these thoughts

About what matters and what does not.

 

I wanted life; I never needed fame.

I got a job, and it’s nice to get paid.

There's always been danger in the streets,

But I have friends who are on my team

Who for some reason love unconditionally.

 

Not much has changed,

But now I’ve become certain,

I’ve finally realized what’s really important!

 

It’s taken me 17 years to understand,

But confidence should never come from a man,

And safety is never guaranteed,

despite how carefully we all proceed.

But that’s okay because that’s just life,

And it’s exciting and thrilling and sometimes it bites.

It’s about exploring, deciding, determining fate,

And if happiness was easy, it wouldn’t be great.

No one would chase it; we’d all lose the race.

 

So a year was enough time to look back and see why

Things happened the way that they should

Why I said the things I’ll never regret

A new year will never be the same again