2020 turned out much different than I think all of us would have anticipated. It came with challenges, joys, heartbreak and strange times - ones I think none of us will forget any time soon. New Year's resolutions came and went - whether we stuck to them is up for debate. But honestly, if you didn't...who could blame you? Certainly not I.
I can understand why people love to get an early start. Similarly, I can understand why people love a jammed day full of things to do. But, if I’m being honest – I’m getting a little bit tired of the constant need to be busy.
What do Nat King Cole, Etta James and Louis Armstrong have in common? Perhaps it's the sweet chorus of Dream a Little Dream of Me or the lilting melody of La Vie En Rose that pulls on your heart strings. Maybe it could be the bittersweet tenderness in nearly all of their lyrics. In my mind, jazz music bears the soul and the mind of those not afraid to love, even in the face of rejection.
There are so many things that we do every day out of habit, or because we're 'supposed to' and don't really put much thought into it. But with the bigger choices, do you ever wonder what life could be like if you'd chosen differently?
I thought the furthest I would live away from home would be New York City, and that I would eventually settle down back in Minneapolis. Living abroad really hadn't even crossed my radar yet.
