Open Book: New Year, New Me

My Wildest Hopes And Plans For 2024

By Anya Nitczynski

For the GPHN

One of my very first memories is from the Fourth of July when I was probably around four years old. I remember asking my mom when the Park Hill Parade was going to start and her telling me in an hour.

I didn’t really know what or how long an hour was, and once the parade finally started, I decided an hour was an absolute eternity. For years afterwards I truly believed it.

Since getting older, hours don’t feel quite as long to me and months pass in what feels like split-seconds. A year, though, still feels somewhat gargantuan to me. At my age, so much can change in a 12-month span that I feel like an entirely new person every January.

And so, here we are: 2024. Like every new year, it feels like I’m looking out a wide open window of endless opportunities. Here are a few of my wildest hopes and dreams for the year ahead.

1. It’s a Big Election Year! Even though November is going to be nerve-wracking, I’m excited for the general incitement of political discussion that is guaranteed by election season. When politics are on everyone’s minds, our worldviews expand beyond just who will win the presidency. Valuable conversations about worldwide problems become common. While I’m still too young to vote, some of my friends can and I will certainly be bothering them about it until I know for a fact they got their ballots in and made their voices heard.

2. The author Fran Lebowitz and I have a two-year streak going of meeting every year, and I certainly don’t intend to break it. Fran, call me.

3. As far as the cultivation of creativity and art goes, last year was encouraging for me. I can’t pinpoint a specific reason why, but 2023 felt like most of the people around me were more excited to be alive and conscientious and able to create than in years past. I hope this continues. No matter the medium or subject matter, we are lucky to be in the here and now, creating art we care about. I’m not talking painting the Mona Lisa or composing a symphony — for me it’s things as simple as catching up on all the classic movies I hadn’t watched yet. Or catching Dr. Strangelove for the first time on the big screen. The point is to listen to music and read books and go on hikes and take in as much humanity as you can.

4. The last hope I have for 2024 is less abstract and also less realistic. It’s to finally clean out my junk drawer.

Anya Nitczynski is a junior at Denver School of the Arts. Her column appears monthly.