December 31.
You know what that means: New Year’s Resolutions!
No, wait.
Actually, let’s do the opposite.
Goals and plans are indeed indispensable for productive living. But let’s not forget to appreciate (and learn from) all we experienced over the past 12 months.
What better way to inform our resolutions?
What better way to appreciate and honor all that was experienced?
For The Periphery, 2021 was a year of powerful personal stories, examining issues that shaped our world, and providing service along the way.
It all started with a project combining all three.
In January, Casey and I set off on the 900-mile journey, and we “Found Her: A Reunion with West Virginia Carrie”.
We headed out with no contact or leads about where she was. It just felt right to go, to try and follow-up on Carrie’s initial video, and to deliver the proceeds this video earned.
And wouldn’t you know it? We found her the night we arrived.
This in itself is quite the story of happenstance and good fortune. (Or maybe it wasn’t a coincidence at all…) Either way, the following day we sat down with Carrie to hear about her life today, almost 5 years after our first interview went viral.
We then gifted her with $1000 in proceeds from that video.
Heading into the spring, the next big development for The Periphery was the start of me and co-creator Paul’s podcast. Taking a lighter stroll through the issues of life, as well as discussing the stories from the channel, some of our best videos throughout the year were:
Our COVID Vaccine Debate:
Turning 40:
and The “Curse” of the Minnesota Vikings:
We also stayed on top of new projects from the channel, such as the big three to be released in the spring, summer, and fall.
It was springtime for “Trump Country”, released April 27.
Two families. Several months after the 2020 election. Still flying the Trump flag.
Who are such folks? How many like them are quietly out there? Why do they fly the Trump flag, exactly? And what does this unprecedented act of defiance say about the hope for unity in the country?
Find out in this half-hour documentary, where I sit down with two rural families over the span of a few months.
Come summer, Casey and I examined another controversial corner of the country by walking the streets of “Skid Row: Worse than I Thought”, released July 7.
Having done my documentary on homelessness, I was curious what this epicenter of this national issue was like—and what hope there might be to successfully address it.
Then come fall, we ended the year with our channel’s star, for a video that turned out much different than we had anticipated.
But it was also much more than we anticipated.
More emotional
More time-consuming
More human
Physical illness set the mood for “Arkansas Bill: A Life Worth Fighting For”, the fourth episode in our series released Dec. 5.
Finally, we had one more video, a holiday-spirited cherry on top of our 2021.
Throughout the year, our channel’s nonprofit had been growing alongside our video projects, raising money for the people/causes we featured.
So, following up on last year’s holiday delivery to a family in need, we doubled our efforts this year by collecting donations for two families.
And we got it on video for “Surprise Christmas Donations to Two Families”.
More than that, we also sat down with these two mothers, just as I had 3-4 years earlier.
See, I met these women when covering previous projects: homelessness and inner-city violence. How have they been doing since those initial visits? Find out in these soon-to-be released interview videos.
And now we turn out eyes to the year ahead…
Also to come in 2022: whole new projects.
I just returned from the Honduran island of Roatan, where I met residents of the humble, coastal village of Crawfish Rock.
The fisherman, the schoolchildren, and a married couple aspiring to reopen their restaurant following COVID shutdowns.
Look for all these stories—and many more yet to be discovered—throughout the coming year.
I’m excited to have you along for these new releases, along for our journey of humanitarian storytelling and service.
And I’m grateful.
I’m grateful to have had you and a growing number of subscribers/readers throughout the journey and effort that was this past year, 2021.
Thank you.
God Bless you and your loved ones this coming year.
And see you soon with more stories.
-Brandon
Happy New Year!
Hope your 2022 is your best year yet, @trincowski !
Dear @fedoraonmyhead,
The previous HiveBuzz proposal expired end of December.
Do you mind supporting our proposal for 2022 so our team can continue its work next year?
You can do it on Peakd, ecency,
https://peakd.com/me/proposals/199
Thank you. We wish you a Happy New Year!