Colette Marie Murphy

The color of the year for 2024, according to Pantone, is Peach Fuzz.

I’m not even sure who or what Pantone is (I know they have something to do with art and design…) or why they get to pick the color of the year, but they do. According to their website, Peach Fuzz was selected as the color for 2024 because: “Peach Fuzz captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It’s a velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul.”

Sounds nice enough, yeah?

I think the thing that stood out to me about the color was, further in the explanation, this message that Pantone feels it brings. “[Peach Fuzz] highlight[s] our desire for togetherness with others or for enjoying a moment of stillness and the feeling of sanctuary.“

Now THAT feels like good 2024 energy.

Togetherness. Enjoyment. Stillness. Sanctuary.

As I mentioned in last year’s end of the year blog, my own traditions and plans and practices surrounding New Year’s Eve have evolved. It still remains my favorite holiday, and I still look forward to my annual When Harry Met Sally… rewatch. My husband and I have also picked out a new LEGO set to put together starting on December 31.

Like last year, I don’t intend to set any specific New Year’s Resolutions nor do I plan on choosing a “Word of the Year.” This year, I’ve decided I want to make a wishlist of “More _____.”

So, in 2024, I hope to see MORE…

• Words Written. I’m working on a calendar for some internal (and partially external — I plan on sharing them with just a few friends) deadlines for some big projects for myself. These words will take the form of novels, plays, and blog posts. This “more” also connects to “more #4” – routine. See below.
• Connection and Community. I think it’s important I start to develop and find belonging in more “third spaces.” I know it’s hard to do that virtually (online), but I do think there’s a great benefit to virtual communities in tandem with local community. I want to connect with more people like me — people who share my interests and values and passions. I was also exceptionally lucky in 2023 to get to travel quite a bit and see many people I care about, and I’d like to do it at least the same amount but hopefully more in 2024.
• Routine. This is going to be a challenge for me, as I’ve spent the last five years unhealthily embracing a complete lack of routine, but I’m seeing the results of that now and I’m not happy with them. The biggest challenge will be to not do the black-and-white-thinking pendulum swing of “I either have this super rigid routine or I have no routine at all” but rather to find comfort in the messy gray area of having an idea of structure and a plan in place but allowing for flexibility if/when the plan changes.
• Time in the Audience. A movie audience, a theatre audience, a concert audience…is it considered an audience if you read someone’s work or view someone’s art? Whatever, it’s all part of this goal to watch/read/view/listen/absorb/enjoy the creative pursuits of others.

Now, in tandem with these hopes of “more,” I do also have a wishlist of “Less _____.” The important thing to note with these is I don’t intend to stop doing them altogether — there will always be exceptions; I just want those exceptions to be, well, exceptional, you know?

In 2024, I will strive for LESS…

• Performing/Doing Tech. Post-pandemic, I realized how important theatre is to me, and for two and a half years, I quickly threw myself into every available opportunity, regardless of the job/role/position. And it was fine and fun and I met a lot of interesting people. The benefit of the overwhelming “I’ll just do anything!” mentality is it showed me where I actually thrive, and that is (1) as a playwright, (2) as an educator, and (3) as an audience member (hence the “Time in Audience” more list item). While I can memorize lines (and quickly), I don’t like it. While I can participate in a (sometimes grueling) rehearsal process, I don’t like it. While I can direct or run lights/sound or produce, I don’t like it. I want my energies to go where they’re not only useful, but light me up at the same time.
• Overconsumption. I am a victim of this capitalistic hellscape just like the rest of you are, but I also know I have this terrible tendency to think “Oh, I just need to buy [insert this random item], and it will change my whole life.” Another pair of jeans is not going to change my life. Another new planner that I’ll use for three weeks and then dump it in the graveyard of other only-used-for-three-weeks-planners is not going to change my life. Another mystery pack of Disney Doorables is not going to change my life. Etc.
• Breaking My Own Boundaries. This goes with Routine and Words Written, and also somewhat relates to Connection and Community. I am well aware that I am a people pleaser. I am well aware that I mistakenly, out of my own insecurities, equate “helpfulness” and “productivity” with “being loved.” This means that I have spent a lot of time, especially in the past five years, ignoring my own wants/needs/plans and doing whatever someone else wants/needs/plans because my schedule is “flexible.” I need to do that a lot less.
• Diminishing My Work. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous one on the list. I think I break my own boundaries (or allow others to steamroll over them) because I haven’t truly accepted writing full-time as my job. This ties into the overconsumption-capitalist-hellscape notion too, because since it’s not making money (yet), it feels like the type of thing that can be “set aside” in favor of [insert whatever activity here]. So, my new question to ask myself when something comes up is “How do I feel about taking off work for that?” Because time off during the week/in the middle of the day/for a long weekend/etc. is taking time away from my work of writing. I cannot diminish the importance of that any longer, or these damn books are never gonna get written. That is not to say I won’t take any time off (hello, I work for me, I can give myself unlimited PTO), but I’m just going to start thinking about that time away differently.

So, how about you? What do you hope to have more/less of in 2024?

Wishing you all the Peach Fuzz vibes you can muster, with love and hope for an exciting new year.