Farewell, '23!

After 365 wonderful, crazy, exciting, tropical(ish), fun, and whatever else brought me joy (or sadness) days this year brought, it is all about to disappear as we make our way into 2024, or, the mid-2020s! 2023 was a BANNER year for me, and I cannot wait to see what 2024 brings! (Right now, it looks like going to my older foster brother's deaf basketball game in Connecticut on 1/6/24 appears to be what will kick it off, depending on the time of the game, although it is yet to be finalized!)

Here's what 2023 brought me:

January 2023 - Starting college at Holyoke Community College

February 2023 - Getting a new phone, my first one with a contract on the 10th, the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G (I wanted a Motorola, but the AT&T store didn't have it in stock!) (Fuck contracts!!! 😡😡😡😫😫😫)

March 2023 - I started my anti-gun movement on the 28th, titled simply "The 2023 Movement"

April 2023 - Not specifically me, but on the 14th, the temperature rose to 93 degrees Fahrenheit (~33.9 Celsius), almost the HOTTEST day of the year! First 90 degree day in April after April 13, 2023 (which was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, or ~32.2 Celsius) since 2017! Also going to It! Trampoline Park at Jordan's Furniture in New Haven CT on the 18th; the last time I was there was in February 2020 but the line was so long that I didn't even bother waiting! Also walking my first 5K in the rain on the 23rd in support of my local neighborhood!

May 2023 - Studying until 9:45PM at the local community center (which usually closes 5-7PM) in the library and obviously getting blasted for it! Whoops... Having my earliest EVER start to my "summer" on the 2nd, saying "have a happy summer" when it was 51 degrees Fahrenheit outside (or ~10.6 Celsius, FAR too cold for swimming/summer activities!) By the 10th (according to my photos), the skies became hazy (Remember? The Canadian Wildfires?) as they would be for most of May and June, with NYC's skies becoming APOCALYPTIC by early June, and the WORST air quality in the world, a title usually given outside of America! On May 11th, the mask mandate in hospitals would FINALLY end, and so the summer of 2023 was the first "normal" summer since 2019! On May 16th, I and my movement would be showcased in front of my whole city's art auditorium, and I really enjoyed it!

June 2023 - On June 6th, our skies turned apocalyptic with the sun being RED and white - VERY FREAKY! On the 8th, part of my childhood would end when Bounce! Springfield (a local trampoline park) would unexpectedly close early, after being open from 2016 to 2023; a new trampoline park is now there, basically the same thing except under a new name. On the 15th, under advice from my bio-brother, for my personal safety and well being, I would shut down The 2023 Movement, which would end up taking a summer break, coming back in September. From the 27th to the 30th, my first vacation would occur in Cape Cod, spending time camping and going to the arcade 1 day, when the weather was too poor for local swimming (thunderstorms were imminent nearly the entire time we camped, which is what you DON'T want while camping! A tree could fall down on you, you could get struck by lightning, etc.) During the afternoon of the 30th, after getting back, I would have my last ever outing with Julie (since I couldn't see her past fiscal year 2023, which ended precisely on 6/30/23) under hazy, sunset skies at 110 Grill in Millbury, MA.

July 2023 - On the 10th, I would return to the Museum of Science in Boston MA, being my first day there since October 2022, when I went with my bio-mom and Barrie, who I stopped seeing in February 2023 due to the end of their friendship. This was the first summer day trip done by my local community's young adult group that I am a part of. On the 11th, I would return to college classes for the summer, which would last until late August.

August 2023 - On the 14th, I would go on a field trip for the community I live in to McCray's Farm in South Hadley, MA to do mini golfing. From the 18th to the 20th, I would go on an overnight trip with my foster family to bring my older foster sister Melanie back to Galludet University in Washington, DC, the ONLY 100% deaf university in the COUNTRY, and I would make a 1 HOUR visit to the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ, which was on the way back from DC on the morning of the 20th, a Sunday, in which most stores are closed there due to local blue laws! On the 23rd, after having most of the summer at a local art shop for summer programming, as we did most times afterwards, I would spend my last time eating at Riff's Joint in Eastworks in Easthampton, MA, since they would permanently close Labor Day weekend, even though they weren't a seasonal business. On the 25th, I would go to the Northfield Drive-In on the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border (Route 63) to watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which would end up being their last operating week of the 2023 season, after a late start following the 4th of July weekend.

September 2023 - I would start my first ever fall foliage update series, called Fall Foliage With TR27, which would document the colors of EVERYTHING in my neighborhood, with updates from September 18th to December 11th, every Monday. Also, on the 6th, I would start college again for the Fall 2023 semester.

October 2023 - On the 1st, I would end up watching Barbie at Cinemark at the Hampshire Mall in Hadley, MA at the end of its theatrical run, even though I was sick. (I did wear a mask and sit away from who I was with) On the 11th, Holyoke Community College would have their transfer fair, so I would talk with people from UMass Amherst and another college in Boston, MA, that I would end up not being interested in. On the 14th, a partial solar eclipse would occur around 1pm, however, cloudy skies led to it not being visible. Hopefully that doesn't happen on April 8, 2024, when 94.3% totality is expected, the best until 2075, when a TOTAL solar eclipse is available to view where I live! On the 22nd, I would take my first ever college day trip to Salem, MA for Halloween!

Time is running out in 2023, as it is currently 11:32PM. I will be back once it's 2024 to finish this post after I celebrate!