2022: A Year of Opportunity

End of the Year

By: Jack Rutman, Dec 24, 2021

Anyone who knows me can tell you I’m: crazy, lazy, and determined - in that general order. Because of my quirks, many people are often surprised by the things I do or say - a fact I cautiously take pride in. Naturally, I believe each day presents a new opportunity to accomplish a wild and weird feat, each one seemingly stranger than the last.

You may find on any given Tuesday that I’ve taken up cello and have secretly been practicing it for the past four months. What’s that? Seems doubtful? Yes, um – perhaps…rather, over the past two weeks I’ve been practicing my Khoisan Xhosa dialect and have the simple grammar pronunciation down to a science…or maybe there’s an odd chance I’ve done absolutely nothing but stared at grass and listened to the wind blow.

Needless to say, I believe life offers an incredible variety of choice and don’t endeavor to waste any minute of it in pursuits I don’t enjoy. You may therefore wonder how one might go about choosing what to pursue when life offers a veritable buffet of exquisite and fascinating avenues of inquiry.

Love admiring fine art? All of history’s best artists are available in seconds on your smartphone screen. Prefer looking at the stuff in person? Not a problem, simply take a bus or train to your nearest city of choice and enjoy the museums there. What’s that? Hmm? Still not satisfied with what you’ve found? You may, in fact, drive to your nearest art supply store and begin crafting a work all your own; tailored to your own design.

The point, as you may have surmised, is that an endless supply of exciting and wonderful possibilities are available to us in a matter of seconds, minutes, and days. The only limiting factors on the outcomes of our reality are time, desire, and imagination. Once you have one or even all three, magical feats of creation are almost certain to happen.

It is exactly because of this wide range of possibility, and my personal habit to drift, desire, and dream, that I am writing down my wishes for the upcoming year; mostly in an effort to fine tune them to a general specification. I don’t see it as a rigid guide, but rather an evolving list, almost like a blueprint for an unknown building to be placed brick by brick.

If all that sounds a little much, take comfort. The task is no less daunting to me. Nonetheless, I find the excitement of the unknown too much to bear and must attempt an old college try. I will therefore list out all the quixotic things I wish to achieve in this year 2022. I genuinely hope that you enjoy reading my 10 goals for the year and wish you may find a bit of inspiration in them. After all, the simplest forms of inspiration often come from the most unexpected places:


  1. Move Somewhere Exciting

    In 2022 I’d very much like to move somewhere exciting. Every change of address offers the chance to mold yourself in some new way. Think yourself boring? Move somewhere hip and trendy. Trying to exercise more? Go to a town with lots of outdoor activities.

    I’m personally looking for a place where I can live a healthy lifestyle and meet other people like myself. Ideally it would be someplace warm and wouldn’t have too much traffic. Maybe Florida? We’ll see!

  2. Leave the Country

    Covid aside, it’s definitely time for me to leave my comfort zone. Believe it or not, I haven’t left the U.S. or Canada since going to college, an exceptional achievement for a young Rutman. I think it’s time for me to experience new cultures and learn how different people go about their daily lives.

    Some countries on my list include: Japan, Mexico, France, Canada, and Morocco. We’ll see how many (if any) I can get to. At the very least I’m sure I could sneak into Quebec for a little taste of French cuisine.

  3. Get off of Social Media

    As a closeted cell phone addict, it’s time I optimize my phone use. Since transitioning to remote work, I’ve become helplessly addicted to all things tech. I find that I can’t focus during work and drift to my phone when nothing urgent is happening.

    While smartphones are undeniably useful, they are a simultaneously dangerous tool. If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to lose track of an entire hour or afternoon simply scrolling through social media. I find I also have elevated anxiety levels from just looking at a phone - something about always being plugged in just isn’t good for a person’s mental health.

    This year I’m open to real solutions for breaking my addiction. I’ve already begun experimenting and have deleted several of the most distracting apps. To try and wean off of tabloid news stories I’ve even substituted Google Books for my daily reading fix. So far, it’s going great and I hope to have good results all year long.

  4. Write Compelling Literature

    Writing decent literature is a tremendous feat that requires an incredible amount of time. The best articles and novels take weeks and sometimes even years to complete, time I simply don’t have the moment.

    Nonetheless, some of the best writing is created through adversity. Franz Kafka famously lacked enough time to pursue his writing career. Eventually he got so fed up he switched to a flex-time position for more writing time. While I’d like to stay gainfully employed, I would also like to dedicate enough time to create a few decent pieces of writing. For reference, I’ve come up with so many promising ideas over the years that one of them is bound to hit.

  5. Get published in a Reputable Paper

    I had a great experience writing articles in college. There’s something so fresh and rewarding about pushing your own thoughts into the court of public opinion. Especially in this time when good opinions are scare, it’s more important than ever to circulate fresh viewpoints.

    I recently wrote an unpublished letter to the WSJ and had a fantastic time working on it. I’m keen to repeat the experience and want to finally get published in a real-deal newspaper. Even it takes 100 articles, someone is bound to publish one eventually…I think.

  6. Publish a Blog

    Done!

  7. Finish my HTML Training

    This is a no-brainer. More HTML Skills means better websites which means more online reach. If it wasn’t for my self-taught web skills you wouldn’t be reading this now! I’d like to learn a little Java as well and finally get an online store of my own up and running too.

  8. Enjoy the Arts

    Whether decorating my home in a unique style or practicing my Japanese calligraphy, I’d like to spend more time in artistic pursuits. There is something so liberating about expressing your own personal creativity. I’d like to work in several mediums and produce things for display around my home. Nothing serious, but a decent way to alleviate the thoughts I can’t write down.

  9. Share my Tips and Tricks

    I’ve messed up a lot. Like really a lot. Therefore, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to live well and not get into stupid messes. In addition, having lived at the vanguard of social media and smart phones, I think I have a lot of valuable advice to pass on to the current generation. Not only advice about how to balance screen time with social and school time, but about how to live a good, healthy life. I think it’s time I collect some of my best tips for becoming so successful and pass them on to some struggling youngsters for general self-help.

    While many may scoff, I genuinely believe I have useful tips to help people find purpose in this increasingly complex world. I’ve already begun work on a project and hope it takes greater shape throughout 2022.

  10. Read Good Literature

    It’s an interesting fact that my library gets bigger and bigger every year while I have less and less time to read! I’d like to dedicate more time this year to reading the best the literary world has to offer and to continue expanding my knowledge in general. Google Books is a great asset in this goal, and I highly recommend everyone take advantage of the thousands of free EPUB files available on the internet.

Well, there you have it! What do you think? Too much? Too little? In the end I believe that these are all achievable goals and am excited to attempt them all. With a little luck and elbow grease it should be within my power to get them done.

Do any of these items line up with your future goals? Please drop me a line and let me know if you have any goals for 2022! Feel free to email me at jackfantube@gmail.com. Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you later!