Boulder Weekly has a tradition: The editorial staff at BW uses the last issue of every year to write a personal essay. These personal takes on the world around us can be about absolutely any subject and this year is a good example of that. A little politics, a little nostalgia, a lot of self-reflection; add it all together and you get our annual essay issue. We hope you enjoy this issue which, to be honest, is a bit challenging for a staff who spends most of the year trying to keep themselves out of their work. Thanks for reading and supporting our paper all year long. Have a good week of celebrating and well see you next year. The links to our essays are below.