If you could only keep one thing
From the year we are leaving to the one we are entering
👋 Hello, dear creative. How are you doing today?
365 days, and we are still here! Oh, we can say we made it.
What a year 2024 has been—one of progress yet rock bottom. One of compassion, bonding, and new gears to create, be, and live. A year filled with so many conflicts that every day you wonder if there’s any good news channel out there. Yet, we strive to look for the good, and we strive to focus on the good. Hopefully, Norman Vincent Peale lifted me many times in dire thought warfare. In those times when I couldn’t function properly, I recall miracles and open doors that only momentum could have brought into the limelight.
It’s a mindful question and a detox one—to focus on one thing to keep as a lesson, a heartfelt moment of grace, or just a random fact that gave us strength and courage to pursue our dreams and creative ventures. It is a thought to choose. While writing takes its place, in my creative gear, illustration resonated even more and reclaimed its top position in my heart and mind. The recurring mantra keeps ringing in my head: reclaim your hand again. Now, what it means is… well, I will explore that next year.
To answer this question, I would say I am grateful for my ability to create while broken and shine some light while experiencing dark valleys. It’s funny how I was able to give when I was in need and step up when the situation called for that Capricorn in the room! So, I would answer: my ability to rise back up!
None of this would have been possible without my family. Each one of them showered me with compassion, care, and immense kindness despite my career rollercoaster. I was able to laugh, cry, be lost, find my way back to faith, and surrender to the master plan—one I know little about, just a glimpse, and I think: how will I do that?
So, as the year ends in a few hours, I want to enter 2025 taking with me my resilient joy. I thank all those who crossed my path, near and far, and I hold onto how I felt during our encounters, whether in real life or digitally. There is no right or wrong way to enter a new year, as it’s already a gift to be able to step into a new one. All I can say to any creative or human light out there (it may sound cliché) is that it’s a new opportunity to BE YOU more. To reveal YOU more. To make peace with the pace more. To understand the vision more. To have fun a lot more. To navigate pain and joy with more ease and compassion. To simply stand still more, smelling the roses and hugging your dear ones more. And finally, to take that pen in your hand more… In a nutshell, believing you can design your life more.
Cheers, 2024, thank you for the hard lessons learned with a smile, and welcome 2025, which inherits all the wisdom harvested and carries a powerful mission to embody a better year in every aspect. Entering 2025 with a calm zeal!
If I could recommend one piece this year…
It would be my three-part series on building the creative. Although it didn’t resonate widely when it was first published, I believe it’s a meaningful piece I’ll return to as the year unfolds. The client, the project, and the encounter of both shape the creative in profound ways. In that light, I know my best work as a creative is still ahead of me. It’s humbling to reflect on these dynamics and remain hopeful about creating something (whether alone or with a client) that surpasses what you thought you were capable of. Give it a read!
⟶ You can start here to dive into this series
3 eye-opening Movies to watch to start 2025
✦ Yannick by Quentin Dupieux
Who: Raphael Quenard is a mind-blowing actor. I have been following his work for several months now, and he brings an indescribable sense of joy. He’s a raw yet refined talent—a true artist. His deep understanding of his craft and its transformative power is remarkable. He truly embodies the art of making people feel.
Why: The plot. Imagine if, within the art world, the audience could step in, disrupt the structure, and propose something spontaneous yet more organic. This movie redefines the relationship and dynamic between those who create and those who consume art.
✦ Les choses qu’on dit, les choses qu’on fait by Emmanuel Mouret
Who: Two actors I would never have imagined as a duo, yet they fit together perfectly. An established actor and a singer who can act—Camelia Jordana and Niels Schneider, beautifully embody a central theme: stories that intertwine.
Why: Beyond its exploration of love dynamics, this movie dives into the choices we make in the light of what we say and what we do. Standing by our words is not always easy, yet there is a profound strength revealed when we fail to deliver on them—compassion, too, in how we surrender to those words and choices when the moment comes.
Additionally, this film reflects the mastery of a director with a distinct cinematic language. Emmanuel Mouret’s unique mark is beautiful to watch, infusing his style into various stories while remaining unmistakably his own. It is a work of art to reach that mastery!
✦ The Greatest Showman by Michael Gracey
By Who: Hugh Jackman is sublime in this role. I have never seen him in a musical before, and his devotion to the story is beautiful. Along with the entire cast, they inspire us to dream big against all odds and embrace who we can become—avoiding the unnecessary lights that may blind us along the way.
Why: Every smart lesson is amplified by music—it opens our hearts and minds to truths we need to see. This film is more than entertainment; it’s a piece of art that uses its brilliance to make us forget for a moment, only to help us remember who we are and who we can become. This movie did just that!
Each one of them is a gem for reflection and a masterclass on the artist, their craft, and the language that captivates.
Do yourself a favor… write a letter to the future
I hope you won’t receive this letter too late to write your Future Me letter. Hopefully, you can do this exercise anytime you want. I do it yearly, and it’s such a wonderful kairos moment when it arrives in the mail, nurturing both your strong and weak places. For me, it’s a mental health practice—to give space and voices to versions of ourselves in time. Each version becomes a friend in the end, and wants your best, even if, at first, it doesn’t seem that way. I encourage you to try. Observe yourself opening that letter months or years from now. It was written!
Enjoy New Year's Eve! Bon réveillon! Mine will be calm as I need to take care of my loved ones. I must admit that 2024 has been exhausting, both mentally and physically, so my pace is slow. I will be back next year, but not too early in the year for those reasons. I leave you with my song selection and the cutest content ever!
Take good care!
Keva.
