Stuart K. Hayashi
Uploading the image above has become a New Year’s tradition for me. But I’m sad to say that, once uploading this, the year has never been happy for me. I first uploaded it onto Instagram on December 31, 2019. Well, 2020 was not the year I’d be going on new journeys — definitely not geographically, though I did intellectually.
I uploaded this again on December 31, 2020. Then, on January 12, 2021, my mother died. Twelve days in, and 2021 was already the worst year of my life. I uploaded the image again for Dec. 31, 2021. Then in 2022, my father, over whom I was primary caregiver, died. I uploaded it again on Dec. 31, 2022. Throughout 2023 a new horrible situation was imposed on me, one that continues as I type this. 2024 was not happy for me either. The imposition will be finalized in 2025. If 2025 is a good year for me at all, it will be in spite of it.
But I insist on uploading this image yet again. As I see it, if the prehistoric fish in the image failed in its first six attempts to come onto land, I would not be surprised if it tried again. I resolve to upload this image every time until I finally have a Happy Stu Year.
