I reflect on the year of Aces in the last hours of 2024 with open eyes.

I was ready for big moves, and honestly, in these last hours, I have no aces from this year left to play.
I played them all.

Carrying ace cards throughout the year has taught me that I am more gutsy and daring than I ever understood myself to be. They allowed me to consistently reevaluate my choices and look for the opening to make a new, brave, and bold move.

One of those moves was already set in motion before 2024 began, and I happily laid down the card when I was accepted into a master’s program in creative writing. But in truth, I continually remind myself of that card in every assignment and essay/chapter I write.

Another move was for my daughter. She changed directions in her educational journey when it became apparent that she would lose her confidence if she stayed where she was. It is a privileged choice, but one we don’t regret making.

The thing about Ace cards and the moves I made this year with them is that they are only pieces of paper, but their symbolism is a permission slip—perhaps the sly wink we need when we doubt.

Just days ago, someone I love said,

“Yes, you’re going to shake things up obviously, but I don’t think it will necessarily be viewed as reckless. I think it’s brave."

I admit the cards I played this year have set me on a trajectory I had no idea I was capable of. Given this, I will need to be more connected and anchored in my embodiment of myself and this life more grounded.
Above all the shifts, changes and opportunities, I am eternally thankful for the souls surrounding me and the air I breathe.

To play an ace is to live.

And this year, I have truly, deeply and evocatively lived.

Onwards,

Amy Grace wearing black holding ace playing cards. Font overlay reads: A Year of Aces - 2024 - byamygrace

ace1 | ās | noun

1 a playing card with a single spot on it, ranked as the highest card in its suit in most card games: the ace of diamonds | life had started dealing him aces again figurative.

2 a person who excels at a particular sport or other activity.

3 a service that an opponent is unable to touch and thus wins a point.

PHRASES

an ace up one's sleeve.
a plan or piece of information kept secret until it becomes necessary to use it.
hold all the aces.
play one's ace.

I took unusually long to find a word that would encompass this new year. In fact, I left it until the last twelve hours of 2023. What choosing a word for each new year has taught me, is that they are incredibly prophetic, delightfully inspiring and deeply powerful.

Why Ace?

Too long I have played it safe. I have played the lowest to lower cards in my hand because it kept me safe from criticism, safe from the unknowns and most importantly safe from risk.
I have flirted with playing more risky hands from time to time, but almost always I find my way back to that safe place where I feel sure that I won’t loose anything in the process.

In many respects this has served me well.
My professional and personal growth have all paced at a speed that I can manage, I have been able to maintain bridges with those who have come in and out of my life and for the most part I have been able to maintain my own desired lifestyle in a manageable way.

Yet this pace has become altogether too slow.
I have been holding on to projects, opportunities, ideas, skills, words and adventures as if playing them would risk it all.
Maybe it will.
But
Maybe it won’t.

This year I am going to be watching, learning and discerning how and when to play my aces.

This year I am going to learn to embrace the risks.

& this year, I am going to stop playing it safe.

Onwards,

PREVIOUS ONEWORDS

2023
2022
2021
2020