The year 2024 came to an end. Like every other year that has come and gone, we lived—or so we think—but we lived. Dreams may have been halted, but we dreamt nonetheless, and it was indeed beautiful. There is no cause for regret, as failures are lessons learned. But if this truly stands as I feel it does, then perhaps there is no cause for appreciation either, as we are mostly grateful only for success. The more we try to grasp the meaning of life, the closer we seem to get—but ironically, more meaning often leads to less meaning. The more we know, the more we realize how little we truly understand.

When we ask questions and search for meaning, we begin to find answers. Yet with as many meanings as there are questions, if we truly have no regrets in our failures, as they are lessons to be learned, and are mostly grateful only in success, then perhaps success should be met with disdain, and failure held in admiration. To be accurate, the years end only in numbers. Life will continue as it always does. And although time might be considered an illusion—one that will eventually meet its end—it serves as a reflection of how we live our lives.

Like all of life and everything the universe encompasses (and beyond), while time may be an illusion that only a few might realize, we still live each day in accordance with it. A new year always awaits us(till it doesn’t). And as humans, we will keep dreaming until we awaken, which is indeed contradictory because we stop living when we stop dreaming. So let us wallow in our dreams and let time, which we live each day in accordance with, wallow in illusions that are the grandeur of dreams.

With all its misery, joy, and everything else life entails, living is indeed fun. The year 2024 and every other year is nothing but a number—another year we have lived.