Is it really going to be 2020?
It’s, like, really going to be the future…and nothing will continue to work properly.
This was probably my least prolific (most unprolific?) year since I really started scribbling about a decade ago, but I had some good reasons: two kids, house, promotion, more grad school, eating. You know, all the important stuff. Still, I think I penned some pretty strong stuff.
My life has changed dramatically over the past ten years and that is most evident in my writing. I very rarely watch TV or movies and when I do, it’s almost always with the family. I have two girls, so princesses and baking shows win out over NBA games and gangster films. Add to that the fact that I can’t stand 98% of new hip-hop (Griselda being the notable exception) and my main subject matter of a few years ago is almost nonexistent now. I almost never write about sports anymore and when I write about rap, it’s almost always a nostalgic piece about an album’s anniversary or the way things used to be.
As you’ll see below, most of my best stuff revolved around work and life — and the balance of the two. My side gig of reviewing books continued to prosper, bolstered by my monthly newsletter, so expect more of that in the new year.
I’ve been guilty in the past of promising things or talking about what I hope to work on and then it never happens, so instead of doing that I’m just going to say that I have plenty of thoughts and ideas and I hope to get at least some of them out into the world over the next twelve months.
As always, thank you for taking this journey with me, supporting me, clicking, reading, responding, and subscribing, either on The Passion of Christopher Pierznik or Medium. It means the world to me and if I’ve ever given you anything worthwhile – a smile, a chuckle, a different way of thinking about things, perspective, whatever – then it’s all worth it.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
My Very Best Writing of 2015
My Very Best Writing of 2016
My Very Best Writing of 2017
My Very Best Writing of 2018
Life
My Children Help Me Battle My OCD (Just By Being Themselves)
A Perfect Moment in an Imperfect Life
The Ten Words That Changed My Life
Book Reviews
Why Superman Doesn’t Take Over the World
John Adams’s Republic: The One, the Few, and the Many
Ruffhouse: From the Streets of Philly to the Top of the ’90s Hip-Hop Charts
Sweat the Technique: Revelations on Creativity
Music/TV/Film
So Much More Than Rap: The Life and Legacy of Nipsey Hussle
The Things We’ve Lost in the Streaming Era
The Return of the Purple Tape: Raekwon’s Classic Sequel Turns Ten
Career
Walking Away from My Dream Career Path Saved My Life
My Career Changed When I Began to Treat My Job Search Like Free Agency
All of the Successful People I Know Have One Thing in Common
Creativity
Don’t Break the Chain: The Value of Persistence
I’ll Never Make a Living from My Writing
I Approach Writing the Same Way the Coen Brothers Approach Movies
Sports
NBA Superteams Are Nothing New
Christopher Pierznik’s nine books are available in paperback and Kindle. Check out more of his writing at Medium. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Subscribe to his monthly newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Please feel free to get in touch at CPierznik99@gmail.com.
The Passion of Christopher Pierznik 