Tuesday December 31, 2002

The year in review

New Year's is supposed to be both a time of anticipation for the new year and a time of reflection for the events of the last year. So, I've decided to play along, and write all that crap down. First, this last year:

I finished my first full year at BW, where I was plagued with constant doubts about my future. That part sucked. But I got straight A's for spring semester, and pocketed $250 for winning first place in the annual student art exhibit. Unfortunately, I left the show's opening 15 minutes before the results were announced, but I found out early the next day when I strolled past the gallery with my best friend Sarah.

The summer was a bust, but I started the new school year in a huge double dorm room, sharing it with my friend of eight years, Stephanie. We haven't killed each other yet --that's cause for a celebration.

I started attending a Methodist church for kicks, and met the most awesome Pastor, Valerie Stultz.

The rest of fall semester, though, was not that good to me. I lost two people I cared about, had more of those doubts about the future, and worked harder in school than I ever have in my life. My classes were rough, but I did well. I got an A on my 30 page research methods paper, and brought another grade up from a D to an A (my first test was bad, but I aced the next four). I ended up with a 3.6 (not too bad). That was my year.

For this coming year, I'd like to win the lotto, date Josh Hartnett, and become a size 6. I think after the last year I've had, I deserve that. But, as my luck would have it, those things probably won't happen. So I'll settle on graduating from college (Magna Cum Laude), getting accepted into grad school, and finding a job good enough to keep my parents from nagging me about my career. I don't doubt those things will happen. But there are other things I'm gunning for this year, too.

I'd like to start focusing more on things that matter, and stop worrying about things that don't. I've been doing that on and off this last year, but that new focus needs to be a consistent one.

People matter. My GPA really doesn't. Being an accepting, forgiving, and welcoming person matters. Racking up goodie points doesn't. Being faithful matters. Being religious doesn't. These are the things I need to focus on. People, acceptance, faith... Being the brat that I am, this won't be easy, but if I don't even bother, what's the point of living another year anyway? So those are my New Year's goals. I hope that on December 31st, 2003, I won't be blogging about how bad my year sucked, but about how I made someone else's life better.

But I'd still like to win the lotto. Happy New Year.