We're here because were here. 

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

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...

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

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

I give Auld Lang Syne 5 stars.

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.

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.

“‘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_

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.

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

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

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

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. ❤️

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

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” ❤

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.

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.

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😊

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

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

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.

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.

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 ❤️

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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. ❤

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 ❤

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."

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 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.

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’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

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 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.

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'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

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.

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

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.

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?

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

We're here because

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’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!)

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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

this made me cry heavily this is so beautiful

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.

‘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

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.

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.

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!

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 🖤

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.

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.

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

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'm in tears. That is all.

That episode of the anthropocene reviewed always makes me cry

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!

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.

it’s become a tradition for me to relisten to this essay on New Year’s eve since it first came out on the podcast. every year something new sticks out at me. every year is makes me cry. thank you for all of it.

John, a men's choir made an absolutely breathtaking performance of the truce for the centennial. It's called All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. They tell the story by quoting journals and letters and singing the songs the soldiers sang. The harmonies and power of their voices alone stuns me, but the context behind it makes me cry. My family listens to the CD every Christmas now after we saw the live concert in 2014. You can find it on PBS. I give it 5 stars

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

Wow, this is so coincidental. I just read Turtles All The Way Down literally this morning for the first time (like just finished it an hour or so ago) and at the end of chapter 12 this is the lullaby Aza’s mom sings her. Had this been more than a day or two later that I saw this video, I probably would have forgotten this connection. Had I not gotten Covid and felt too ill to do anything but read, I wouldn’t have been reading TALTWD this morning when you posted this. Wild. Happy New Year.

Four days ago, when I heard the beginning and recognized it, I paused the video. I have saved it for today, actual New Years eve, so I could enjoy listening to it alone in the very last hours of the year. It always makes me reflect on my life, my past and my future in a different way, and I think that is the perfect way to end a quite weird and sometimes scary year. Happy New Years Nerdfighteria, here is too more hope and less suck in the year to come.

Am I the only one who takes extreme comfort in the idea that, whenever I could possibly have been watching this in relation to its release date, somewhere there is a member of Nerdfighteria who is singing with me and John.

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.

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 ❤️

New Year’s Eve was always depressing for me. I‘m never in the mood for a NYE party, so I always stay home and just text my friends to wish them a happy new year- which only makes me feel alone. I never felt like I could end the year in a meaningful way by myself. I’ve made it a tradition to listen to this podcast episode each NYE and it helps so much. It’s thoughtful and meaningful and honest, but it isn’t forcing me to celebrate. I can listen to this and enjoy my solitude without feeling alone. It’s exactly the quiet punctuation to the year I need. Thank you for this.

Ah yes these are the good tears i did not know I needed to shed. I am glad to be here with you all because we are here

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 RU-vid, 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!

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.

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

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.

Can't listen right now. I've loved this in the past, but am feeling too vulnerable right now. Everything is hard. I've been in constant pain for over a decade and everyday is a fight. I'm so tired of everything being hard. Will listen when I'm not drowning.

We're because we're here because we're here because we're here

I already loved this review when it first came out on the podcast. And then on the day after Christmas in 2020, I found myself in the back seat of my mom’s car, driving through a rainy night, to see my grandfather one last time before he died. I didn’t want to listen to my own thoughts, so I put in my headphones and listened to the Auld Lang Syne review three times in a row, until we arrived and found out that my Grampy had just passed. I’ve held the Auld Lang Syne review close to me ever since. I listen to it multiple times a year, but always near the end of December. The time between Christmas and New Years is strange now. I haven’t gotten out of bed before noon this week, and I don’t know if it’s well-deserved relaxation or crushing depression. Listening to this keeps me going. It helps me push away the hows and whys. We’re here because we’re here. I don’t have to know more than that. The song, and this review, have become a kind of sacred text for me. Thank you, John.

Again, poetry. You are such a wonderful speaker, john. I sang along alone in my car. Extremely touching and wonderful