About This Project

I'm often inspired by others' writing. I'll read an essay, article, or book that is so interesting and fun that it makes me want to write my own version of it, and that feeling of inspiration is at the heart of this little project.

As I was contemplating my goals for 2024, I realized that, like many people, I had a hard time keeping resolutions for an entire year. I had tried different things, such as choosing a word for the year or making  a list of "23 things to do in 2023." I usually thought about them a lot for three months, then mostly forgot about them, and then panicked in November and tried to make up for lost time. 

For 2024, I thought, What if I had a different theme or resolution for each month? Surely, I can't forget about something over the course of a month! So, that is exactly what I did, which turned out to be a lot of fun and something that I was able to accomplish over the course of the year. 

My final theme of the year for December was "delight." As the year came to a close, I wanted to take time to soak in all the delight of the holiday season, as well as notice the small, delightful things about my everyday life. 

For inspiration, I picked up Ross Gay's collection of short essays, The Book of Delights. I was immediately captivated by the idea of writing about the delightful things I noticed, and I found myself composing my own versions of Gay's essays in my head throughout the month.

The practice of being on the lookout for life's delights has been so rewarding that I decided to carry that theme into 2025 and make it the theme for my whole year. In the introduction to the book, Gay writes that the practice of writing about delights helped him to strengthen his "delight muscle," which really resonated with me. I agree that the more delight you look for, the more you will find. In turn, noticing those delights makes you feel very grateful, which makes you a more delightful person to be around. It's a delightful little circle!

Gay also reflects on how his delight grew when he shared it through his book, which is the impetus for sharing my reflections here (as well as the hope that having a designated place for my reflections will help me stick with it throughout the year!) Thanks for reading, and I hope that something you read here will bring you a little bit of delight!