And just like that, 2022 came and went quicker than any of us could have anticipated Hauʻoli makahiki hou, everyone, and let’s welcome in 2023 with open arms and lots of hope for a better year! Once again, I must repeat my repetitive spiel about the quickness of the year, how it rushed past every calendar like a river rapid, and how I wish to both relive and completely forget parts of the past 12 months that left me with both joy and some moments of sadness. In any sense, seasons greetings are in order as well as a much-deserved Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou! In the past couple of years, I tended to pile on a heavy dose of negative reflections about what happened around the world in that time period, but I’m going to stay away from that in my 2023 Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou celebratory statement (that’s what Twitter is for!). In some ways it feels like 2020, 2021, and 2022 blended together thanks to COVID developing and transforming into different, scary versions of itself while most of us were still forced to go to work and try to protect ourselves under capitalism. It’s true we returned to some old habits and reopened every for-profit nook and cranny, but we also lost countless people who can’t ever come back. I’m extraordinarily lucky that my loved ones have maintained their health, safety, and happiness and that we’ve experienced many joyful moments together. I feel guilty to acknowledge that 2022 was one of the fullest and most exciting years of my life and that I’ve never been more privileged while folks around me have struggled and are suffering. I hope that in 2023 I’ll have an even greater capacity to support and care for others in my community and that we’ll all see a little more justice and hope. I wish for fewer cops and cages and lots more housing for unhoused folks and freedom for incarcerated comrades this year. Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou!
