# I’m not like those other year-end updates. I’m a cool year-end update.

*Hello friends! It's been a while! You likely signed up for this after
reading [one of my essays on
Medium](https://medium.com/@SeanBlanda?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a),
[my personal
website](http://seanblanda.com?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a), or
seeing something
on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/seanblanda?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a).
I send this thing every few months, mostly a wrap-up of stuff I'm
working on and thinking about — all ending with a sweet flag. See past
issues
[here](https://tinyletter.com/blanda/archive?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a).
Now, to the newsletter:\
\
![A theater in Greece](../images/92611fbb9b47.jpg)Above: I recently
visited Greece. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, found on the Athens
Acropolis, was built in 161 AD and is still in use today. A humbling
reminder of building things that last. I sense a theme brewing...*\
\
My worldview heading into 2019 is different than it was heading into
2018 by an order of magnitude. And it’s the “year-end update” I’d like
to share.

2018 for me, in many ways, was me processing the [unexpected death of my
dad](http://seanblanda.com/my-dead-dads-journal-how-i-finally-met-a-man-i-knew-for-my-entire-life/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a)
in late 2017 at the age of 54. I know this sounds like it’s going to get
dark, but this is quite the opposite, I swear!

In an essay about the death of his father, Craig Ferguson (yes, THAT
Craig Ferguson)
[wrote](https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a19515748/craig-ferguson-and-his-fathers-death?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a):
“I have been promoted from man in the middle to next up...I'm the adult.
It's my turn at the wheel. I find this clarifying. Even reassuring.” I
read that in 2006 and didn’t quite get what it meant. But I do now.

Losing something suddenly and the grief that comes after is, among other
things, a focusing mechanism.\
- *Who knows who long we all have Phil, so I’m not wasting my precious
seconds on your fantasy football league.*\
- *We could all die tomorrow, Kyle, so I’m really not that worked up the
news right now.*\
- I’ve also found it difficult to be anything more than annoyed with
most negative events in my life. *We’re all here and healthy. So, no big
deal.*

I’ve thought a lot about the people who have passed in my life and in
others and what they've left behind. And it’s mostly relationships and
creative works. That’s what fulfills me, as well. And that stuff takes
time. As a result, I’ve come to appreciate the small, tedious, and often
monotonous work it takes for lasting progress.

So when I look back at the year, I can tick off some things I'm proud of
that happened (and I will!). But I’m most proud of beginning to set a
lasting foundation. Of picking three things that matter and then
thinking in terms of decades and not months. Here are those three things
and some fun updates.

### Focus 1 - I want to make my city a better place.

[![the first pilcrow hosue
event](../images/d2e8128b01ad.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuFuPJ2GmYk&utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a)

**I’ve held the first ever Pilcrow House event,** a new event series
I’ve started in Philadelphia. (You can watch the video of event \#1 with
Scott Belsky, [just posted
here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuFuPJ2GmYk&utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a)). My
goal is to make a place in Philadelphia for important ideas. I wanted a
project that would grow organically as it was explored. And I wanted
that project to be anchored to location and a community. I do know that
one day I'd like Pilcrow House to be a physical space that serves at the
center for a community that enjoys candid conversations about ideas that
matter. It will take a while to figure it out and if it will even work.
But, that’s the point.

I think the future of Philadelphia is in becoming more of a cultural
center. And the future of relationships is IRL. And the future of media
is in small communities, built slowly with care. This is my attempt to
do those things.

Oh, and the next event is on January 10 (tix
[here](https://pilcrowhouse.ticketleap.com/pilcrow-house-taylor-lorenz-staff-writer-at-the-atlantic/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a),
and more on that below).

**I started volunteering for a local political campaign**. My city
councilman is in hot water for shady land deals [stifling neighborhood
development](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/kenyatta-johnson-councilman-felton-hayman-house-flip-profit-philadelphia-20181120.html?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a).
So I’m supporting the challenger Lauren Vidas with my time, helping with
her online content roll out.

### Focus 2 - I want to help make the internet a better place.

**I’m entering month three as the Editorial Director for InVision**.
I’ll write something as more time passes but I’m working with the
talented team here to rethinking [their popular
blog](https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a)
and build a wider content strategy across the org. If I get it right, my
team and I would have a substantial impact on the design community.
Which has a substantial impact on how we navigate and consume the
internet.

**The Discourse newsletter celebrated its year anniversary**. [My email
newsletter about the way Americans talk to one
another](http://thediscourse.email/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a)
has crossed 1,600 subscribers a 45% open rate and lots of good
conversation. I’m currently considering its next step. (Media friends:
thoughts and opinions welcome!)

### Focus 3 - I want to optimize for the long term and build things that grow slowly and last a lifetime.

**I’m trying to resist the urge to grow fast with all of the above**.
I’m trying to enjoy the act of exploring and learning. Of making
mistakes and completing each of these things at my own pace. This has
been the most difficult part for me on a day-to-day basis, but has kept
my energy levels and creativity high.

**Travel.** This year I was fortunate enough to travel for the first
time to the Bahamas, Greece, Egypt, Atlanta, Dallas, Hershey
(seriously!), Louisville, Mexico (x2), and Northern Ontario.

**I purchased a home in South Philadelphia**. The long, slow progress of
creating a home to last decades has been more rewarding than I thought.

\_

So in 2019, I don’t wish you success. I wish you focus. I wish you the
freedom to explore what matters to you financially and emotionally. And
I wish you the joy that comes from knowing make yourself and a few
people happy is truly enough.

Your life is not about productivity or milestones or accomplishments.
It’s about realizing who you are and what you want and pursuing it
slowly and without feeling the need to justify it to anyone. That makes
it harder to explain yourself at a cocktail party. But it makes each day
much, much better.

In 2018, I don’t feel old. But I feel older. In 2019, I feel lighter. As
light as ever. And I wish for the same for you. 

\_\_\_

### *Pilcrow House \#2 with Taylor Lorenz.*

For the next Pilcrow House event, I’m hosting Atlantic Staff Writer
Taylor Lorenz on 1/10 in Fishtown, Philadelphia. [Tickets available here
for
\$15](https://pilcrowhouse.ticketleap.com/pilcrow-house-taylor-lorenz-staff-writer-at-the-atlantic/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a).

You may know Lorenz’s byline from her regular reporting about social
media platforms, memes, and the way young people use the internet. She’s
covered how [influencers are faking sponsored content
deals](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/12/influencers-are-faking-brand-deals/578401/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a),
[how teens are bullied on platforms like
Instagram](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/teens-face-relentless-bullying-instagram/572164/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a),
and [how hotels are adjusting to wanna-be
influencers](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/instagram-influencers-are-driving-luxury-hotels-crazy/562679/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a).
There will be games and gifs and fun. [See you
there](https://pilcrowhouse.ticketleap.com/pilcrow-house-taylor-lorenz-staff-writer-at-the-atlantic/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=im-not-like-those-other-year-end-updates-im-a)?

### *Official newsletter flag (for now):*

![dominica flag](../images/3d760d704d74.png)

This is the flag of Dominica, a Caribbean island. It’s notable for one
reason: it is the only country flag in the world that contains the color
purple. A quick Google search will show that most countries avoided
purple because the color was expensive to produce until recent history.
But Dominica? Its flag was created in 1978, a satisfying metaphor for
starting a bold new initiative, free of the previous constraints.

Dear reader, may your year be like the flag of Dominica: An adventurous
new act in an uncertain sea.

\- Sean