2022: REFLECTIONS
Mariah Hoffman
Photo: Mariah with TSOA cohort and instructors on first day of classes, Arcosanti, 2022
2022: No Hot Takes, Just Thoughts and Feelings
Hi friends,
I’ve been feeling the annual pressure that comes with wrapping up 2022 in a nice bow, and having 2023 perfectly-packacked into goals and resolutions. If I’m being honest, this year I don’t have it in me. Not that I didn’t have goals in 2022, or that I didn’t accomplish them. In fact, I accomplished a shit ton of them! But this year I feel called to do a different kind of reflection, a softer one.
My favorite writer of all time (if I haven’t talked about her enough) is Octavia Butler. If you haven’t read her Parables, pleaseeee do yourself a favor and experience them. She talks a lot about change, and in her “religion”, Earthseed, God is change. She writes: “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change” . I think about this quote a lot, like, a lot. So this year I feel called to reflect on how I shaped change (either personally or in community).
No hot takes here, just thoughts and feelings.
How I shaped changed in 2022:
I reflected deeply, witnessed a desire to go back to grad school, and I made it happen.
I was brutally honest with my needs, and negotiated a significant scholarship to make this ^ happen (more on this some other time).
I took a big risk, moved away from my partner, moved back to the desert, and joined a cohort of the smartest, weirdest, funniest future architects who are already like family.
I showed up to classes, helped cook weekly meals, setup lectures, shared presentations, visited my old stomping grounds, laughed and commiserated with my Norwegian roommate, hiked in heat and snow, and tried my best to be present and curious through all of this.
I worked my ass off and asked lots of questions as I started learning Rhino and other architectural tools that will serve me in my future work.
I tried my best to be in community with my school cohort, but also with the full-time residents of Arcosanti (Arconauts), even as I (and we) continue to reconcile the problematic history of Paolo Soleri.
I recognized my need for a better sleep routine especially through a demanding school schedule and I found tools that helped me with this (serious game changer).
I sang Backstreet Boys at Karaoke.
I belly laughed more than I remember belly laughing in a long time.
I cried when I needed to cry.
I tried my best to support, and be supported by my partner, who is also back in school.
I gave a damn - about what I was doing, what I was learning, what I could share and who I am becoming.
I’m sure there are more that I missed, but any more and I’ll just be rambling. I still don’t know how many people will even read this. But hopefully something will connect with you.
I ask you, as I ask myself, how will you shape change in 2023?
In gratitude,
-Mariah
Mariah presenting final project for Studio 1.
Back in the Sonoran Desert.