Fresh page, 2008

New Year's has a way of seeming to occur more often than other holidays. I'm sure that's not true, but I feel like I've eaten a lot of rum cake and [nearly] exploded a lot of lawn mowers.

As far as years go, I guess this one's been pretty good. I had several good semesters at school, and... yeah, basically I go to school. I also spent a couple of months at home during the summer break, but seeing as I did absolutely nothing, I'm not especially proud of it. But there are a few things I am more proud of:

Notable Occurances

1. Wrote my first resume / coverletter
2. Considered becoming a doctor
3. Became a senior in credits at my university
4. Realized that despite being a senior, I would not graduate this year. Or next.
5. Had a close friend become engaged
6. Learned to play guitar with a capo
7. Asked a boy on a date
8. Played an actual sport on an actual team in an actual tournament (we lost, but still)
9. Got pink eye
10. Wrote notes in a book (this is still very difficult for me)
11. Finished the Bible, cover to cover (a multi year project)
12. Submitted a paper for publication
    
13. Went to Canada
    

Fascinating Observations / Discoveries

1. I am not as emotionally mature as I once thought
2. Parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. are very human.
   
3. Some of the aforementioned relatives had remarkable lives before you even existed
4. It is possible to do homework before the last minute
5. Manatees kill an average of two humans per year
6. Most people you try to talk to on Facebook will just think you're weird
7. You can be attracted to someone without having any desire to be more than friends.
8. Chopin is pretty darn fantastic
9. Eating healthy really does make you feel good
10. When you stay up past minute 90% of the time, New Years isn't quite as special
11. English is relatively useless in the "real world", but lots of fun to talk about
12. Confidence appeals to almost everyone

I love new beginnings. There's so much potential. And while I may regret not being perfect, and lament my many shortcomings and lack of skills, I am grateful for the fact that I can still see ways to improve and that I am moving upward. I can think of few things more terrifying than realizing this was as far as I could go. But here I am, at the start of another year, about to begin a new semester, a new period of my life. I have grand aspirations, as always. I guess the only thing to be done is to aim high, run fast, and hope for the best. And I suppose a few laughs and some good friends never hurt anything.

Ready, go.