Humans are genetically programmed to think of the world in terms of narratives. It's a mental safeguard, in a way. If we considered all the information at our disposal equally, we'd go crazy. Going crazy is not an evolutionarily advantageous tendency.
So instead, we make up comprehensible stories about how things work and exclude all data that contradicts those stories. Scientists of various stripes—neurologists, psychologists, sociologists, and even economists and political scientists—have pointed out this psychological trope in recent years. We keep doing it anyway. How else are we to stay sane?
Like most people, I spend time around the end of each calendar year making up a story about the preceding twelve months. This year, that story was mostly positive. After the clusterfuck that was 2010, 2011 was kind to me. My band lasted for another year, and we put out an album that some people really liked. I switched from full-time to part-time at my restaurant job and started working as a tutor. I added another, higher-profile writing position to my résumé. I made some new friends and retained most of the old ones. My girlfriend and I continued to help each other get through life. There were setbacks, yes, but I thought 2011 was a 'good' year overall.
