2021, what a ride. Come take a drive down memory lane with me.

im·prov·, i·sa·tion /imˌprävəˈzāSH(ə)n/ n. 1 the act or art of making, inventing, or arranging offhand 2 to make or fabricate out of what is conveniently on hand

Listen to the blog post as told by – well, me 😁

In an ideal world, there would be a constant balance between structure and improvisation. This year has not provided me with much of that luxury. Sometimes time can’t be afforded to properly prepare and establish structure. So, instead, I present you a year of improvisation and handling every bump in the road. 

Defining Improvisation

Improvisation often is thought of as an act without preparation. That was how I always associated it. However, Merriam-Webster came to school me. The second definition of making out of what is on hand is the definition I’d like to use today. I’ve had 22 years to prepare for the sharp turns this year. And, I navigated with no time to slam on the brakes and little hesitation.

There are different types of people in the world, those who need context and thrive on planning while others dive in and flourish in spontaneity. Of course, most don’t live fully on either extreme, yet I tend to edge toward the “winging it” type. It’s served me well this crazy year of 2021.

The Doppler Effect

I really enjoyed high school physics. I think it was because I made the wise decision to not take Advanced Placement (AP) Physics. But, Mr. Szymczak and Mr. Walter were some of my favorite classes. When we weren’t dropping watermelons off of the high school stadium to see the effect of gravity, we learned about the doppler effect. It’s the change in wave frequencies relative to the observer. In other words, when something is moving, it emits a higher frequency of waves when it moves toward you (whatever those waves may be – sound, light, etc.). Other than triggering any road rage you might have, the video below shows the doppler effect in full action. When a car rushes by with a hand on the horn, the horn sounds higher-pitched with the higher frequency waves. Then it passes with a lower pitch and lower frequency waves.

This idea can translate well to concepts beyond moving vehicles and car horns. When stuff moves toward you, it seems like there’s a higher frequency of things to dodge, address, and conquer. It can be overwhelming. I think that’s when you take it day by day. You figure it out as you go and practice the art of improvision.

Driving Without Directions

Hope inspires us, pushes us along the highway of life. I had much hope coming into 2021. There’s no *bleeping* way it could be worse than 2020. To be fair, it wasn’t. Although, it sure as hell wasn’t the year I had expected it to be. Six days in, people were storming the capital. Then the Afghanistan withdrawal and the Taliban takeover happened. Neither were what I expected to see along the journey. I kept going. We kept going.

When things go awry, it’s important not to lose yourself in the chaos. Amidst the political sludge and staying at home, I ramped up my An Unperfected Art project to continue to swerve and lose my perfectionism to the past. I ran a canceled half-marathon at home with a grand finish line consisting of my car and a family friend’s house. I chose to continue at Harrison & Star as a full-time employee despite my lack of experience in pharmaceutical advertising. None of that was anticipated, I can tell you that. There weren’t any Google/Apple Maps calling each turn. Nevertheless, all of it worked out better than I could have imagined.

The Summer “Road Trip”

Crazy would be an appropriate way to describe my summer. Still, it made for a pretty fun ride. The summer felt like a beautiful road trip. There’s the heat of the sun warming my soul, adventures to be had, and the classic mechanical issue that no one’s prepared for. Some of the fun things were nights with friends in Philly, pit stops back and forth to New York, a stopping point at my friend’s Delaware beach house, and eventually moving into my NYC apartment. The potholes and obstacles along the way? They were things like getting all my stuff up a 5th-floor walk-up and my boss taking a 3-month leave from work. Then my new boss’s boss left on medical leave. Neither was cause to come to a complete stop, although it definitely wasn’t in the itinerary. Well, maybe the 5th-floor walk-up was but less the boss leaving part. However, no one thought Simone Biles would depart the Olympics early. She had to take care of herself just as my bosses did as they temporarily left Harrison and Star. The rest of Biles’ teammates stepped up for her. I don’t want to say I’m the Sunisa Lee in this situation, but you know. Ya girl did her part.

The Small Alleys Inbetween

One of my favorite memories from Italy was wandering into a random alley and stumbling across a beautiful lookout point showcasing the Italian countryside. I got lucky because there were other times, like in Venice, where I hit a dead-end surrounded by building walls and water. The thing with a dead-end is that it doesn’t equate to a ruined finish line. You turn around, find your way again, and you keep it pushing, careful to not make the same wrong turn. That’s a lot like how the rest of the year panned out. Sure there were ceiling leaks in my 100+ year old NYC apartment building and no bones days, yet I also was able to join a rock climbing gym during that first tropical storm, and both Bruno Mars and Adele graced us with new albums. You can’t always tell where the road or alley may lead you. Though, it’s usually worth checking out.

Finding The Way Back Home

Home can move around and be in different places. I was fortunate to spend a wonderful Christmas season in my new home. I went to the Rockefeller Tree Lighting and the taping of Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City, thanks to 1iota. I saw Sak’s light show and decorated ugly Christmas sweater cookies with friends. Eventually, it was time to travel back to my original home in PA for the holidays. The road back home wasn’t devoid of problems, though. Mid-December, the ugly “C” word came rearing its head with a new buddy from the Greek alphabet. I was forced to wait in line at 7 AM for a covid test after people close to me caught it. After 2 hours in physical lines and 6 hours in a virtual one, I luckily tested negative. (If you happen to see a picture of me wearing a purple mask outside CityMD, let me know! A guy was filming but I don’t know for what news source.)

I know not everyone was as lucky as me. My heart goes out to those who couldn’t spend the holidays the way they wanted to.

Low Doesn’t Mean Slow

Low-frequency waves reach objects at the same speed as their high-frequency counterparts. They simply are less frequent, with more gaps in between each wave. That can be soothing, as with a car racing past you with the horn blasting. When it comes toward you, the horn is high-pitched and piercing. As it leaves, the sound mellows out to a lower pitch that’s more manageable, albeit annoying. My hope for 2022 is a more low-frequency year. I’m not asking for life to slow down. I’m merely wishing we don’t get hit with as many waves so frequently. And, if it isn’t, I ask that we have enough of what’s conveniently on hand to ride them all and nail the art of improvisation.

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2021 in Pictures

See you next year!