I have a simple prayer at the beginning of this year, and every year: May this year justify our hope. -John

@al-ansarmo9198

Жыл бұрын

Thank you John

@spacey-sam

Жыл бұрын

That’s a wonderful prayer, Happy New Year John 🖤

@possiblypoet

Жыл бұрын

So much of this is beautiful- thank you 🙏

@gudetama27

Жыл бұрын

I personally may not believe in god, but that's a wonderful wish to have. I hope it comes true.

@cloudwaveASMRsleepsounds

Жыл бұрын

Amen.

I give Auld Lang Syne 5 stars.

@nadineebada6557

Жыл бұрын

i was waiting for him to say it and when the video ended i immediately went to look for this comment

@ToymakersToolbox

Жыл бұрын

I give this comment 5 stars.

@carlglick1990

Жыл бұрын

I guess this explains why Hank said in the trombone champ that John was a big fan of Auld Lang Syne.

@Ayesha_F

Жыл бұрын

❤️

@heather23renae

Жыл бұрын

+

This video is going to stand in VERY stark contrast to the one I have planned for Friday and I think that's for the best...

@d.a.f.

Жыл бұрын

The Duality of humans and emotions is fascinating and I particularly find solace in much of John's insights on life. I am still a young adult but hearing how John and Hank have overcome difficulty and found solace in one way or another has been comforting. Thank you for sharing your time, effort, and stories with us all. No matter how long the timer of my mortal life goes, if my memory serves me true, I'll remember that I shouldn't forget to be awesome. Thank you - Daf

@nickinpie

Жыл бұрын

And he said last week would be his last video of 2022, come on Hank, you can take NYE off.

@IrisGlowingBlue

Жыл бұрын

♡♡

@d.a.f.

Жыл бұрын

@@nickinpie He could find comfort in making it though so I just hope John does what makes him happy. Hope you have a good 2023 btw

I cannot express how it felt to see those seemingly perfectly timed birds fly past at the end. The thing with feathers.

@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721

Жыл бұрын

If I saw it on a cinematograph film, I would swear it was faked.

@kirathompson3653

7 ай бұрын

The birds were actually paid actors

John- a 20 minute musing on the nature of life and death that made me openly weep Hank- THIS BOBA LID LIED TO ME!! I love this sibling dynamic

@Gilliebeany

Жыл бұрын

If you haven't gotten your hands on the book the anthropocene reviewed, or the podcast reading of it by John, you should check it out. This is one of the chapters and it's just beautiful and funny and personal and will make you feel like maybe everyone actually does understand your brain. Or maybe just John does. Either way, those pages leave you a little less alone than you were before.

@awhite1212

Жыл бұрын

im a baby rn. I'll be an adult again tomorrow.

I am at my grandmothers house as she passes today. I needed this moment of peace and forethought today. Thank you for being here, John. ❤️

@vlogbrothers

Жыл бұрын

Sending you love and light through the ether. -John

@abdullahenani9670

Жыл бұрын

@@vlogbrothers we love you john. happy new years, hopefully a year where more hope could be found!

@truehope2344

Жыл бұрын

I am so sorry, I hope you get through this and get to the other side❤️

@samsmith5947

Жыл бұрын

The love your grandmother poured into your family lives on. My condolences.

@3countylaugh

Жыл бұрын

May her passing be with ease and her memory a blessing.

“Walk in the forest with John and soft background music” is exactly the kind of content i was hoping for this time of year

“‘Cause here’s the thing: To know how it ends And still begin to sing it again As if it might turn out this time- I learned that from a friend of mine.” - _Hadestown_

@jessicasnow9007

Жыл бұрын

I love this quote. I’ve thought about getting a tattoo of it!

@laurasosnow7507

Жыл бұрын

"Can you hear it? Can you see it?? Can you feel it??? Like a train. Is it coming? Is it coming this way?"

@odysseuz2125

Жыл бұрын

GOD not the hadestown quotes. i already cry every time i hear this podcast episode. i don’t need to also cry reading the comments

I usually don't make a habit of re-listening to podcast episodes, but this one is certainly an exception. Aside from this time, I've listened to it when my friend and I were drifting apart, when I felt like my life completely lacked direction, when my boyfriend's mom was in the hospital for months, and just last week, when my boyfriend's mom passed. And I still remember the very first time I listened to it. I was cleaning the bathroom, and when I heard the line about the seas between you and the past, I just sat on the ground and cried. There is so much to be gained from the honesty and the wisdom here. I'm 19. The world is so big and I am so scared. We're here because we're here because we're here.

@ramblinentertainment1922

Жыл бұрын

I listen to it every year at New Years, It causes/allows me to reflect on what I’ve gained and lost in the past year

@JustinWoo

Жыл бұрын

At 39 I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but that would be a lie. But you get stronger and you keep going. Maybe it doesn't get easier. But you get stronger. You're here because you're here. But you're still *here*.

@mikkosaarinen3225

Жыл бұрын

When I read the end of your comment I cried. I'm 37. The world is so big and I am so scared but we're here because we're here ❤️

@rileyk.1963

Жыл бұрын

i’ve not listened to this before, although i’ve heard the story at a previous book tour, and i just got to the bit you mentioned in your comment. had to pause it because it immediately made me start crying in the middle of an ikea

@IngloriouslyRandom

Жыл бұрын

I'm 32. The world is so big and I am so scared. We're here because we're here because we're here.

Honestly, it's such a good idea to have someone walk around and give out compliments.

@TyphoonJohnny

Жыл бұрын

I do it every day but no one pays me. ):

@emilytetreault2516

Жыл бұрын

@@TyphoonJohnny turn that frown upside down! Here I am to pay you fake internet money ( $ ) ( $ ) ( $ )

@geekgroupie42

Жыл бұрын

I LIKE YOUR USERNAME!

@katiegriffitts4311

Жыл бұрын

@@geekgroupie42 ohmygosh u are so right that is an incredible name “shadowofthecandle”

@Jasmine-mt5xy

Жыл бұрын

I do this every time I leave the house habitually. It’s so important to put goodness into the world.

Thank you John. I had no idea what a journey watching that video would be but I treasured every bitter sweet moment, culminating in singing along with you in Australia with tears in my eyes and my children in the back seats of the car on the way home from the hardware store. Life is made up of these tiny moments that give you a glimpse of both your insignificance, and your significance, at least to each other. Thank you for sharing that moment with us, and with me.

@ariana.cherise

Жыл бұрын

seeing my favourite creators interacting with each other makes me so unreasonably happy. i couldn’t agree more w your comment, too!

@allyson--

Жыл бұрын

Your hair looks gorgeous! 🍋 🍓

@ErrSid

Жыл бұрын

Nice to see you here Jazza

@derpatel9760

Жыл бұрын

Hey Jazza! I just want to say it's really cool to see artists reactions to eachother's pieces.

@ariana.cherise

Жыл бұрын

@@allyson-- thanks so much! 🥰

My sister made me drinking glasses with “were here because” etched into them and I love to sit around my table and share a drink with my friends and family

@IrisGlowingBlue

Жыл бұрын

++

@jacejunk

Жыл бұрын

Does the etched phrase extend around the entire circumference of the glass such that there is a (approximately single character width of) space between the ending 'e' of "because" and the 'w' of "we're"? So that the phrase appears to repeat like the chorus of the song?

@ktw72

Жыл бұрын

this made me tear up

@Oorealm

Жыл бұрын

@@jacejunk no, but that sounds like an awesome design that you should do! Each glass had different drawings of places I love, space, my local cemetery, my neighborhood, my library (with my cat)

This video is like going to the dentist for me, I dread it because I know it will hurt (emotionally) but I need to in order to clear out the plaque of nihilism that builds up in my soul as a byproduct of the modern age. But unlike the dentists, I feel better after watching it, like a weight that I didn’t notice was pulled off my shoulders, and I realize that I can stand straight again.

@nadineebada6557

Жыл бұрын

i love this comment

@NinaDmytraczenko

Жыл бұрын

Just a helpful tip for your health: if you actually feel bad after going to the dentist, this is a sign that you may need to up your dental hygiene. It's not supposed to hurt (⁠･⁠o⁠･⁠;⁠)

@Hayjul

Жыл бұрын

@@NinaDmytraczenko lol thanks for your concern. I don’t feel bad afterwards, I just don’t feel good. Mostly I feel relived haha.

@kaylachrisman3189

Жыл бұрын

I agree wholeheartedly

@GratsielaLily

Жыл бұрын

How interesting...I feel the exact opposite :( like the weight is crushing me...

On the version of this video from 2020 I wrote the comment "Every time I rewatch this I cry", still true

@bouncingbean

Жыл бұрын

Yes. So true. Every time.

@rebeccaf.4069

Жыл бұрын

Same. Like a big baby. Hits me right in the feels, in a good and bad way (sort of like ripping off a bandaid).

@amayuk9016

Жыл бұрын

Every. Damn. Time.

I love that almost every step he took on this walk was on top of other footprints or hoof prints…little symbols of “we’re here” ❤

“Because love lives on, even though we do not.” Bless you, John. Also - This monologue breaks me open EVERY. DAMN. TIME. 😢

I have, by almost any metric, had the best year of my life. After years of self hatred, I finally accepted myself, clued in my family about who I am, and found that actually, I love who I am. I'm here because I'm here, and I'll give that 5 stars.

@Supergamer8100

Жыл бұрын

Interminable congratulations from a random person you'll never meet who resonated with this. The world is happy you're here.

@halicusnguyen8864

Жыл бұрын

Cheers! I'm still on that journey, as young as I am, and I hope to find myself in a place that mirrors yours. Be proud!

@NinaDmytraczenko

Жыл бұрын

I give you 5 start too! ; )

@hughcaldwell1034

Жыл бұрын

That's fantastic. I wouldn't say I love myself, but I've at least excised much of the poisonous self-loathing that I'd been carrying around for almost a decade. The friends to whom I could talk about it all have been generally amazing. Hope you keep doing well, and keep loving your true self.

@RJeremyHoward

Жыл бұрын

My unknown friend, we are both here because of the core of us never completely lost the will to hope; despite all evidence to the contrary. You are welcome here. I am glad to have had this moment with you.

As soon as I got two seconds into this video, I paused it, put on my snow suit, and marched out into the upstate New York outdoors to go on a walk with you, John. I forged through the nature walk right down from my house and walked through three feet of snow. Now I am at the overlook that sits out over the frozen lake and by god, it’s a beautiful place to be here because we’re here because we’re here. My sentimental tears are freezing to my face, so I’m going to head back. But thank you, John, for the walk and the talk.

I tried to sing along, but it came out as a low whisper because like John, it doesn’t take much to make me cry. Also I know he jokes a lot about not being able to sing but John actually has a pleasant, very nice singing voice!! And to the Green bros, nerdfighteria, and anyone else who reads this: Thank YOU ALL for being here.

When the episode released Auld Lang Syne was the most intimate moment I ever had with an audio recording. It was so raw and powerful. I lack the words to describe it. I didn‘t expect to cry listening to one of my favorite podcasts and I didn‘t expect to sing a song I previously didn‘t know. But I did. And I‘m glad I did. Thank you, John. To old times, and better times yet ❤️

@maggieo

Жыл бұрын

You and I had the exact same experience. This is one of the most profound moments of my life, honest.

@superschmolz

Жыл бұрын

I didn't cry, but We're here because we're here hit my husband and I shared a look and shuddered

@kimeikeo

Жыл бұрын

I shared in this experience of this audio. It's one of my most favorite things to listen to. I'm so thankful it and the people that sparked it existed. We are all here.

@laurasosnow7507

Жыл бұрын

I too had that experience. I looked up into the middle distance and closed my eyes and savored John's words, and Robbie Burns', and the music playing behind them, and was just *here*, with every fibre of my being. Tears didn't fall, but they were there. They're always there when I listen to this, which I suspect will happen every Christmas season & New Years'. Thank you, John. A thousand thank yous.

The scenery is so pretty and goes wonderfully with the words. I also love how the sound of the footsteps were not edited out. Also, we Bengalies have a song similar to this tune and it is about old friendships and how all of the friends in said song had moved on and were mourning their past friendships. It was written by Rabindranath Tagore and is one of my favourite songs. Everytime I hear it now I think about The Anthropocene Reviewed😊

@abhishuoza9992

Жыл бұрын

Just linking it here for people to refer! - kzread.info/dash/bejne/g2aVsqyNYajeYM4.html p.s. I am an Indian and had also heard this song somewhere so found a hindi translation of Tagore's version! - kzread.info/dash/bejne/p5qfxrCwfdDNaMo.html This video and comment truly made me realise just how universal this song is.

Beautiful. Thank you John for sharing my favourite Anthropocene Reviewed alongside a relaxing walk. Wishing all Nerdfighteria a great 2023 🧡

My yearly new year's cry is here already?! The melancholic joy this essay brings me is transcendent, genuinely. Thanks.

@mauricereeves7642

Жыл бұрын

Right? Wasn’t expecting it so early.

@hhwilliams2214

Жыл бұрын

This is such a good description of how this essay makes me feel.

This year was meant to be a next big step for me, and many exciting changes happened. However in April my Dad died, and we're going through the firsts without him now. I don't even know if this was the worst year of my life or one of the best, because both sides have happened. This video is reminder that no matter, it will all be the old days soon enough and I'll be carrying on regardless

@OneTraveller

Жыл бұрын

Sending love your way 💜

@Geekus

Жыл бұрын

It was very similar for me this year, too. My mother and last grandparent both died this year, but I also married my wife and got my first full-time teaching job. The year has held many joys and I couldn’t share them with two very dear family members, but knowing the bleakness of that grief and the luminance of positive change, I share in the spirit of those depths and heights with you and wish you solace in the former and delight for the latter. I sing it with you and the rest of us here in the VB community: indeed, we are here because we’re here because we’re here.

@likejohnnyandjune2024

Жыл бұрын

I'm 2 years into the dead dad life, and it's my new normal. But sometimes even now the grief will hit me like a wall and it's all I can do to breathe even though even that feels rather impossible. But 99% of the time, I'm happy. Dad is at rest. The struggle of the end of his life is now the past. And that's a blessing.

@Meadowmeadowmoo

Жыл бұрын

❤

@TheLovelypecan

Жыл бұрын

My dad died the year I got married, 2020. I still can’t figure out how I could be so joyous and then feel completely devastated within a couple of months. My heart goes out to you and everyone else going through something similar

The general store my family has owned for the last 12 years burned down early this morning. I've worked there every summer since I was nine and it was my saving grace early in the pandemic. It was a community center in our small island town. I needed this moment of peace and rememberance so badly.

@imadragon069

Жыл бұрын

Oh man, I'm so so sorry. I hope you're ok, friend. Hugs from me (if you want them, of course)

@mikkosaarinen3225

Жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry for your loss ❤️ I hope your community will come together and help build itself and maybe even your life a new center.

John, this is actually the first comment I've ever made on youtube, but I felt the need to reach out and thank you from the bottom of my heart for this video. My mother died on Christmas morning after a year and a half battle with cancer, and I just watched this on the morning before her funeral. I hadn't been able to cry yet. I drove across the country and three different mountain passes through snow and ice so I could be by her side, and fell straight into trying to help with arrangements, family support, and all the other things involved. Thank you, John, for giving me the opportunity to feel the things I really needed to feel before I had to go be strong for others that are suffering. I wish I could plagiarize this entire video for the eulogy, but I think the parts about being a successful writer might cause some confusion. What I end up saying will probably be just as monumentally stupid as your yoga statement, but wish me luck. Once again, thank you for everything that you are and everything that you do, and know that on this day you deeply helped a person on one of the darkest days of his life. I'd say don't forget to be awesome, but you never do.

@gemmacassells

Жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry for your loss. There are no words for this kind of pain. You will get through this, in your own way and in your own time.

@actua99

Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry for your loss, and wish you the strength to get through this. On the topic of the eulogy, you comment on being a successful writer: You made me both cry and laugh with what you wrote, so it's not as bad as you made it out to be.

@AludraEltaninAltair

Жыл бұрын

Sending you and your loved ones light on this dark day. I wish you peace and some sweet moments reflecting on the good things you cherish that are part of what makes losing them so hard.

@zigzaq

Жыл бұрын

I’m sorry for your loss. Wishing you the strength to get through these difficult times. Good luck with the eulogy; I’m sure it’ll be great, but if it isn’t perfect, don’t worry about it. Sometimes we don’t always say the exact right thing and that’s okay. I hope all will be well with time, and that you can take your time to grieve while continuing to move forward. Again, sorry for your loss.

@ethanschulze557

Жыл бұрын

I’m so sorry for your loss. Whatever you say in the eulogy, I’m sure she’d be happy just to know that you are here thinking of her.

I told my mom something 2 days ago and her response has changed the way I think I will look at her for forever. I have been a nerdfighter since middle school. You have been here with me through finding friends in high school and loosing them in college. Starting a degree and not being able to finish it. A worldwide pandemic I wasn’t convinced wouldn’t end us all. This year has been one of the worst for me. My brother died this year. I have hopes for next year but the best way to get flowers is to plant them yourself. I’ve got a lot of good coming my way. I will make it so, to anyone else out there reading this. We’re here because we’re here because we’re here

@Jasmine-mt5xy

Жыл бұрын

I too lost my brother last year. I’m sending you feelings of acceptance and healing. Sometimes I think the hurt may never diminish. My heart goes out to you.

John, this is one of my favourite chapters in The Anthropocene Reviewed and it never fails to make me cry. Thank you for the book. Thank you for this video. Thank you.

@muskanchoradia

Жыл бұрын

Mine as well! Listening to the audiobook and singing with John was emotional. I still sing "we're here because we're here" :')

Terribly glad to have this with you today, John. Thank you.

As emotional as the ending has made me, I probably shouldn't have listened to this at work. With how the past few years have gone it's quite cathartic, for me at least. Thank you for this

I can’t help feeling in absolute awe when I experience moments of synchronicity like this… especially when considering that everything comprised by the universe originated in purely random chaos… My reason for even mentioning this, is because I was just diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia today. I turned 23 just over a week ago, & I am a father to two little girls; a 2.5 year-old (not blood-related, but I love as if she were my own), and a 4 month old (the happiest, most precious baby I’ve ever laid eyes on). I don’t even know why I’m sharing any of this, but I just want to say that this video found me at the right time. Thanks, John.

@GaelyneGasson

Жыл бұрын

As I've read comments and given likes, they feel like I'm giving hugs. This hug is for you, your partner and beautiful girls. ❤

I’ve listened to this episode maybe 5 times. I learn something new each time.

Sang this at the turtles all the way down book event a few years ago. Such a magical moment shared with fellow Nerd Fighters and book lovers alike. Thank you John.

@erinncg735

Жыл бұрын

Same. And now it makes me cry every time I hear it!

@sydneyd7054

Жыл бұрын

@@erinncg735 same I was in tears by the end of this video

@rainyjreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, me too. Crying rn and only half way through this video. That was my first and only book tour event and I went alone and felt so connected. ❤️

@PixelFoxCrochet

Жыл бұрын

That year was a rough and lonely year for me, and going alone to to that book tour was one of those moments that highlighted my loneliness. But singing along with both "Were Here" and "This Year" helped me feel so connected to everyone there. It was exactly what I needed.

@WulfTrax

Жыл бұрын

Yes, I did too. It's a memory I'll treasure for the rest of my life.

Johh, you were there, with her, in her time of need. You didn't fail anybody. You said something that's actually funny in a dark sort of way but I bet the person who engraved MM on your moneyclip would love that sort of thing. ❤

@Kazemba

Жыл бұрын

Yes, absolutely. Beautifully said.

@hopegold883

Жыл бұрын

That’s true! And didn’t occur to Mr.

@20burkt1515

Жыл бұрын

+

@anw903

Жыл бұрын

+

@juliaspoonie3627

Жыл бұрын

+

Today I am starting my 29th revolution around the sun. I have been searching for words - anywhere and everywhere on my little metal box screen I held in my hands every day for the past 2 years in a deeply depressed state while enduring some big life changes- that would bring me comfort, peace, hope, and the confidence to be ok with being here and not knowing why. Thank you so much. Thank you a million times. This is something I’ll share and take with me for the rest of my life ❤

This is a light for when I feel like I may have gotten to the end of the path and can't see more. I come back to it a lot. Thank you.

I can never get enough of this episode. It saved my life when I was drowning. I have “We’re here because” engraved in my class ring, embroidered on my coat, and written all over my room. Thank you for helping me see that “hope is, for lack of a better word, true”. Signed, an internet stranger

Very glad you posted this again. It’s amazing how the same writing can mean something so different listening to it a little further down the line.

@ramblinentertainment1922

Жыл бұрын

Couldn’t agree more, every year I listen to this around New Years and every year it has a different significance to me

@Nicole-zy4vb

Жыл бұрын

There are a few pieces of literature or film I’ve revisited as often as this podcast, and I agree. I first listened to this on the day it was released, my 26th birthday. I’m now 29 and it’s been a WILD ride and I’m so in love with this.

@Nicole-zy4vb

Жыл бұрын

It just hits DIFFERENT and also like exactly the same

My grandmother passed away on Christmas Day. We knew it was coming, but it's been hard. We've spent the last week thinking about the good old days. Not just our good old days, but hers as well. She saved everything. She was 90 years old, we had just celebrated her birthday a month prior. It was a surprise tea party on her mother's crystal.

@alexandriaglumb792

Жыл бұрын

So sorry for your loss. May you find comfort and peace in this new year.

Always been my favorite Anthropocene Reviewed. This and Googling Strangers. Makes me cry every time.

@haysturner9510

Жыл бұрын

Literally just read both of those. Little late to the party, but loving it all the same

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is how I found you guys and I'm so grateful for that. A while back, I taught an author study on her in my preschool class, and a parent in the class knew her, but said we probably couldn't connect to her because she wasn't well. The children loved the books. Fast forward a few years and I found her book Textbook in a bargain bin at an Office Depot, not sure why it was there, but I'm glad it was. I bought it and held onto it for a while. I finally read it during the early lockdown times of the panaroma and it was such a lovely uplifting thing to read. It lead me to her videos of the gatherings of lovely, and therefore to John and then to watching every single vlogbrothers video. So much serendipity, and joy, and thoughtfulness from Amy to you. Thank you.

@Luneowl

Жыл бұрын

I kind of like that “pandemic” was auto-corrected to “panorama”.

@kongqianfu

Жыл бұрын

Ok I'm crying now 😭😭

@ezm4729

Жыл бұрын

I-. I have no words.

Thank you for this piece of serenity. I’m having trouble finding these bits of slow, gentle beauty for myself as of late. It’s lovely to know that they do indeed still exist and sometimes one just needs a new perspective. Thank you for treating Nerdfighteria gently.

I'm willing to bet that most of the people who sing with you do so quietly, gently, and mostly to themselves. But even so, throughout time, those voices build and build until we are a thunderous choir of people. And we - all of us - were here. Thank you

As someone who I know nothing about, will never meet, and only know of because of their impact on one of my favorite authors Amy Krouse Rosenthal has had such a profound impact on my life simply by reminding me that "we're here, because we're here, because we're here."

I have loved my boyfriend through chemo and lost him, not in death but in a break-up. It hurts so bad to have been through his treatment together and then still know the relationship doesn't work. I'm so glad he's still around for others to enjoy. My thing with feathers sings to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. It sings without the words, so sometimes I hear it as an ode to the good old days and sometimes as a reminder that we're here because we're here. But whichever it is, it never stops at all. Thank you, John.

I am currently going through a break up with someone I loved for over a decade. I know it’s not a death but it sure feels like it.

@WenzelSays

Жыл бұрын

Well, it is a death of sorts. It's a death of your relationship and of who you used to be. It's alright to mourn it

@corrinneleahy3426

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

@fugithegreat

Жыл бұрын

I think a breakup can hurt even worse than death. With death, it's not their fault that we're no longer together, but with a breakup, it was a choice not to be together and that can be so painful. Especially if it's a long-term relationship. Sending you hugs, wherever you may be!

@corrinneleahy3426

Жыл бұрын

Yes I completely agree. Thank you so much 💛💛

@radjago

Жыл бұрын

It is a grief and a loss. I wish you the time and space and energy to fully feel and process all that brought you to this moment and find your path forward.

This whole monologue always, *always* makes me cry. I will start crying at the first word, just because I know I'll be crying by the end. I love it.

I come back to this a year with fresh tears in my eyes for old times sake! We’re here because we’re here

I needed to hear this. This is my first time going through the end of a year as an orphan (although I am 28, orphan is the word that resonates most). Your words pierced through the wall I built between me and my feelings.

@mikkosaarinen3225

Жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry for your loss ❤️ I wish I had adequate words of comfort to offer but all I have is this verse. We're here because we're here because we're here, because we're here ❤️

The gritty persistence in John's voice when he's reading something he knows will make you cry.

I’m currently booking flights to leave my holiday to go say my final goodbyes to my grandmother, she read the Anthropocene reviewed before she was hospitalised, and she loved it. I’m so glad I got to share that with her before now. Thank you Update: she passed this morning

@DCsk8rgoelz

Жыл бұрын

I don't have a terribly great reason for this but I want you to know that someone saw your update.

@JJamahJamerson

Жыл бұрын

@@DCsk8rgoelz thank you.

Every time I hear this I cry. And that's a good thing. It's like a emotional thermometer. Did I cry? Did I feel more hopeful afterwards? Then I must be doing okay. Thank you John.

I remember hearing John tell the story of "We're Here Because We're Here" on the Turtles All the Way Down tour in Nashville, and everyone singing the words softly together...it was so powerful. I cried--not a lot, but a little--and haven't ever forgotten that experience. Thank you, John, for bringing Amy Krouse Rosenthal into all of our lives. Though we may never have met her, we feel that connection with her and you even years later.

This particular essay never fails to make me cry. Damn it, John, I'm trying to cook dinner.

I've heard John tell this story at least ten times in various formats, including in person at an event, and it still makes me cry EVERY TIME.

I’m not that given to commenting, especially months on, but this one needed a response. Today I live abroad, for the first time in my life, and it has been an incredible experience. I moved here 8 months ago, to the other side of the world from my home, to a country where I didn’t know a single person and where I couldn’t speak or read the language. I have a life here now, one that I will be again leaving in 2 months, and it has made me acutely aware of how precious every moment is. I don’t have an infinite amount of time to see the trees- I have a flight that will take me away from them again soon, and while I can’t wait to be home again, this too has become a home to me. Every new year I sing Auld Lang Syne with my family, apart from this year where I sang it 9 hours early and with a group of friends and strangers. The line about the ‘roaring seas’ that separate us is quite literally true for me, and it will be true again for the rest of the years of my life. The people who make up my existence will never again be in the same place, never mind the same country, and so I can only hope that we can continue to remember each other fondly as we continue on our separate paths. I appreciate this video more than I can say (although I’ve said a lot!)

I have heard versions of the Amy Krause Rosenthal/Auld Lang Syne story several times (I think my first was on the Turtles All the Way Down book tour), but I never tire of it. And the version from Anthropocene Reviewed is always so beautiful and full of hope. Based on the title I knew exactly what to expect clicking on today's video. What I didn't know was how badly I needed that dose of hope today, as well as the tears that escaped while singing along to "We're Here Because We're Here." Thank You John.

@Melissa-kq4ss

Жыл бұрын

Couldn’t have said it better myself! The tears escaped me as they needed to 💓

John, thank you for this. This is my favorite review in your book, and one that truly changed my life, without hearing you say this, I wouldn’t be alive today. Thank you so much.

This is our New Years eve tradition. We are here.

Wow. I regret nothing now, everything has led me here, and i’m glad.

I always look forward to an introspective video from you, John. Over the last 10 years, it's wonderful to think about how much you and Hank and the Nerfighters have helped show me, then a scared, lost college kid, how to be a thoughtful, enthusiastic, silly adult. Now, looking back over those 10 years, it's clear how much it meant to be shown that path, and I'm so glad that I walked down it. Here's to a new year, Nerdfightaria, may we continue to be inspired by those around us, and strive to show others that path.

@NinaDmytraczenko

Жыл бұрын

This community and Hank and John have really helped me with the thoughtful silly adult part as well. I love being a literal Nerd Fighter unashamedly enjoying stuff, and doing my best to decrease suck and increase awesome. And I love that I get to use such silly words to describe it!

@allisonreinheimermoore1746

Жыл бұрын

+

@nancyclark2722

Жыл бұрын

+

As a sensory person, thank you for making videos that I can get housework done while watching. Your poignant reflections and audio that gets me thinking allow my brain to chew on something, learn something, and engage my emotions, while the simple visuals (with the corresponding and unobtrusive audio in the background) give just the right level of satisfaction but not distraction for my eyes that I can keep focused on other things and this at the same time. I love this one and your other videos just walking in the woods and talking. Much love!

@shawnmurphy2900

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely same

"I'll never speak again to many of the people who loved me into this moment as you will never speak to many of the people who loved you into your now and so we raise a glass to them and hope that perhaps somewhere they are raising a glass to us" it is okay to question why we are here, what we are supposed to do, that do we matter, but in the end we are here and we will always be here, and nothing is gonna change that.

@mnm1273

5 ай бұрын

"we will always be here" will we?

Thank you, John. My wife's youngest brother died a week ago. Besides the absolute beauty of this 20 min video, you have helped me grieve his death. Though you don't know me, you are one of the BEST people that I KNOW! Thank you for being the human being that you are.

John, I don’t think I can fully express how much that chapter of TAR has changed my life. I was first introduced to TAR at my camp, where my counselor read us a chapter each night. She saved Auld Lang Syne for the last night and we spent 20 minutes on floor sobbing as we held onto one another, knowing that we would never be together like this again. I have since read the chapter during the hardest nights of my young life so far. The day my grandfather died, I lay in bed sobbing and reading your words. You taught me how to say goodbye. We have also started a new family tradition of reading the chapter aloud during the final minutes of each year and singing together. So, thank you John for giving me this text and this book that has brought me so much closer to the people I love. You have taught me how to say goodbye to people who I never see again, and to a year that has brought so my light into my life.

My Ma and I sang Auld Lang Syne for hours when putting up the Christmas tree this year. I told her about this podcast episode and I can't wait to send her this link (she doesn't have Spotify so this is now accessible to her). Thank you John for this cup of kindness.

John, this video will never not break my heart in the most beautiful way. My mom passed away over 5 years ago now from colon cancer. We have a video of her singing “we’re here because we’re here because we’re here.” I don’t know if she knew this history of this version of the song, but I know I am so grateful to have her voice in my head singing it. Thank you forever for reminding me of it every year.

I know I have some pent up emotions when I hear Johns review voice and I immediately break out in tears. Thank you for bringing peace in my life John. Thank you for a pause.

I listen to this episode of the Anthropocene Reviewed on New Years Eve every year since it came out, and this episode always makes me sob like a baby, and I’m so grateful for it Thanks for being here John and Hank. Thanks for being here Nerdfighters. Happy New Year, I hope we all have a wonderful 2023 🖤

When my boyfriend passed in 2020 my friend likened death to a quienceañera, something that happens to everyone. Of course quienceañeras are not a universal experience, let alone an experience my friend or I had had. It was silly and cheered me up, much like your yoga comment that made me giggle listening to your book as I approached the one year anniversary of losing Sam. Thank you John, Hank and nerdfighteria for being here because you’re here. Happy new year!

My high school band took a trip to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in 1981. While in Vienna, we took a day trip up to a small town called Mank to play a concert. As our buses rolled in, we were met by an impromptu parade and the town's civic orchestra. We played our concert to nearly a thousand people (in a town of maybe 3000), then were invited into the basement of the town auditorium and fed a wonderful dinner (cows were pastured nearby and we wondered just how fresh the schnitzel might be), joined by their orchestra. As the evening wore on and drinks were had, we began teaching them American drinking songs, and they taught us Austrian drinking songs. Then one of them stood, and in his best broken English, said, "Put your finger on your nose and hum Auld Lang Sine." A hundred musicians simulated kazoos and performed a perfect rendition of the song, followed up with Amazing Grace. An experience of a lifetime.

I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to get through the singing without crying when I started, but it was lovely. Thank you.

‘Why are we here? Because we’re here, Roll the bones. Why does it happen? Because it happens, Roll the bones.’ - Roll the Bones, Rush

@xrockangelx

Жыл бұрын

I, in my ADHD weirdness, am watching this video on my phone with my Rush playlist playing on my bedroom speakers in the background at the same time. This song hasn't come on yet, but it's a favorite so I hope it will soon. I was 4 years old when the album came out. I remember going to 5 different stores with my mom to find a copy of the cassette tape to give to my dad for his birthday.

John, thank you for sharing this with us again! I'm 54 but sometimes we just need a friend to walk in the snow with us and talk to us while we listen to their amazing words! My Mom passed away on Dec 4 2020, she had dementia and was in a nursing home. Because of C19 the last time we saw my Mom was Christmas 2019 and New Years Day 2020. Her birthday was Feb 28, but the nursing home was already not allowing visitors, so we lost the entire last year of my Mom's life, didn't get to see her at all. And I'll never hear her sweet voice and loving words ever again. But she was here! Love you Mom!

@OneTraveller

Жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry. Sending love your way💜

You didn’t fail her, John. And what a beautiful tribute this essay is to her. I had no idea you were friends with Amy. I’m a preschool teacher and reading her books to my students is always a treat- they adore her sweet little stories. Happy New Year.

Thank you for putting this here so we can easily come back to it. Needed it today (even though I'm a month early). I appreciate you.

Thank you for reminding us once again this year. I cried when i listened to this chapter for the first time, when i read it again in your book, and when i watched your narration in 2020. when i thought i wouldn’t this time, i was wrong. I guess that’s just how it is.

I just re-read TATWD yesterday. Immediate tears in my eyes when I read the part about Auld Lang Syne, immediate welling when this notification came through! Thanks John ❤️

It's almost June. I watched this on accident - I was just, you know... I was curious. And now I'm heartbroken, and weeping, because I always think of my grandmother on New Year's. I miss her desperately, and this put some serious words to all of the emotions that ... we feel, at a base level. The experience of being here. Sobbing openly. Thank you?

Have you ever seen someone sobbing while scrubbing their sink because they clicked on the long vlogbrothers video instead of the short one to listen to while cleaning?

One of the things I find so fascinating about this essay is how impossible it is to talk about another person's passing without making it a literary device, our stories cannot contain meaning without truth, and the truth is we are nothing without those that came before us; our story a continuation of their story, our meaning comes from the influence we have on those that will come next.

It has been a rough year, but y'all's content, and Dear Hank & John especially, have helped how I think about hope. Nothing like this (like us, like KZread, like the internet) has ever happened before, and you have been instrumental in the story I tell myself to make sense of it. Thank you. Happy New Year!

"How can this be happening, You do so much yoga?" Is my new favorite phrase. . It encapsulates the longing, searching, and hoping that humans do when facing need.

"we are here because we are here" is a line I heard almost every morning from our shuttle driver Daniel on my way to class in undergrad. In the bustle of bodies, bleary eyed and counting down the moments until I could return to my bed, I would pause my music at the last turn before we pulled into the stop, just like most people around me, to hear Daniel deliver his iconic line as we disembarked, still tired but now with the wisp of a smile on my face. Thanks for the reminder John.

I needed this today. My grandmother passed away on Christmas morning. My sister and I had spent the past two weeks caring for her. We need that reminder of hope and that we are, in fact, here. Thanks, John.

@WouldntULikeToKnow.

Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry for your loss. Take care

I usually watch new Vlogbrothers as soon as they come out, but I'm not emotionally ready to handle the Auld Lang Syne review on this cold, gray Tuesday morning. I'll come back later when the time is right for me. Happy Holidays all.

@ethanschulze557

Жыл бұрын

Happy Holidays!

I sang this with the crowd at the turtles all the way down tour. When my daughter was born, she was a poor sleeper who needed to be moving to fall asleep. I began singing this to her as I swayed and walked her back and forth across her nursery. It helped me cope with the nonsensical, unending fatigue of caring for a disconsolate child who was bad at sleep. Today she is 4 and she requests this song every night at bedtime. It is her favorite lullaby.

The part about the people who loved you into your current moment really struck me this time. I think it’s because i started college this year and finally got out of high school. I’ve been in the same school since kindergarten and have had many many experiences of people who came by past my life and loved me into the person I currently am. I think about my teachers a lot in particular. I don’t think people acknowledge how much teachers who teach kids over a longer period of time become a sort of a parent. So, this year, I’m really grateful for my teachers through the years who believed in me when not only my parents, but I myself didn’t. They saw that I could actually become the person I currently am. And for that I’m grateful. Thank you.

We're here because

@tashaswenney6433

Жыл бұрын

We're here because

@kieran163

Жыл бұрын

we’re here because

@MeepsNcheese

Жыл бұрын

We're here because

@issymcinnes8226

Жыл бұрын

We're here because

@ianlee4565

Жыл бұрын

We’re here because

Why does singing "we're here" make me tear up? Make my chest well, and words emtpy out of my mouth.

Thanks John. I don't know why I needed this again today, but I did. So thanks.

I remember this the most clear from John's book tour for Turtles All The Way Down 🐢 St. Kate's in Minnesota. As someone who is a lifelong battler of depression and sucidal thoughts, I formed a version of this in a time where I felt like I could not keep going. I decided to live "Because I can"; I'm here because I'm here. I've found other reasons and meaning in my life, since then. But on my darkest days, when nothing seems good enough to hold on to... I remember to be here because I'm here and because I CAN be here. It's my choice to keep going and not remove myself from this existence because of the actions of others and their choices to be cruel to each other. I didn't get to choose how others behaved. But I choose how I behave, and I want to keep going.

@phillyphakename1255

Жыл бұрын

This year I came to the realization that I am in the same boat. It isn't just a rough patch in my life, it's gonna be something that is a part of me forever. Like my other chronic illnesses, I do my best to keep it in check, but sometimes that isn't enough, and my best comfort isn't hope, but rather forcing myself to be persistent. I'm here because I am here. I will take a shower and put on ointments even when it hurts to get out of bed, when the shower hits my cracked skin and the needles stab my wounds. I will persist. I will keep going, I will do the hard thing, because I must. I will get better. When I was having my crisis last year, I said to myself that he's alive. He is alive. I must go on, I can go on. It's gonna suck, but I can persist, so I must persist. And it did suck, but I persisted. We are here.

@mimsydreams

Жыл бұрын

@@phillyphakename1255 I know exactly what you mean. I also have a slew of chronic illnesses and every day is a battle of the mental and the physical. We are stronger than we think and stronger than we feel some days. We keep moving forward!

During what is a chaotic time of year, this was refreshingly calm, and exactly what I didn’t realise I needed. Thank you John.

I just re-listened to the podcast episode just yesterday, it’s such a beautiful piece of writing, thank you for writing it and sharing it with us, we’re here because we’re here.

I like that, with only a small edit, that Emily Dickinson quote can be sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne (which is probably not a unique property to poetry written in that meter) “Hope is the thing with feathers that - perches within the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all"

I never thought auld lang syne was special, it was talked about in school in Scotland and we all knew the words. But it's not the words that bring us together it's the times we shared singing the song that brought us together. It's the shared times that we love

This year we sang Auld lang syne for our Nordic Lucia Celebration here at Kings Chapel in Aberdeen, Scotland. We were a mix of nordic strangers from different countries, brought together by our common tradition, in a country which was not ours by birth, but ours by choice. Singing this song at such an event brought something wonderful to this year. It made a lovely echo and tribute of the song which helped me and nerdfighteria feel connected in covid times

So evocative! In 1976, my elderly great-grandfather Schoenmann told me his memories of the Christmas Truce; he was in the German trenches in that war. When i was 12, my father became ill with what we'd soon learn was ALS; he died when i was 15. I'm now a decade older than he lived to be; which i never expected. His sister was the 4th to die of ALS.

I’m the lighting designer for an NHL team and I spent tonight building lights for the new year’s eve game, and we’re opening with auld lang syne. I listen to the tracks on a loop for hours as I work and I had, “we’re here because we’re here, because we’re here” playing in my head the whole time. thanks, amy. thanks, john. ❤

this hospice chaplain loved this video very much. and can attest to the difficulty of standing there, not just doing something. especially when it's someone you love.