Happy New Year

2009 is right around the corner. You hear a lot of people say they don’t make resolutions because it’s wack or they set goals for themselves all year. That makes sense. Still, I think the end of the year is a good time to look back and take stock of how you spent the past 12 months. What did you accomplish? What kinds of things do you wish you had done differently? Did you make friends? Did you lose any? Most importantly, what did you learn? Sure, you don’t have to make a “resolution,” but you might want to look around the bend at the new year and apply lessons learned to the future.

That being said, what did I learn in 2008? The beginning of the year was pretty fun. I went out a lot and made some new friends. School was pretty blah because I was just getting really tired of it all, being in the second semester of my second year of school. The summer was nice. I had a job that, while not initially my first choice, turned out to be really interesting and fulfilling. I went out of town a lot, spent a good amount of my time back and forth between Philly, NYC and NC. I guess you can say I met someone and in my mind things were just easy going all throughout the summer. Some highlights: I talked to my father more this year than I have my entire life to date. I met my sister from Germany for the first time and my mother accomplished one full year being drug-free.

Then fall rolled around. Ugh. Third year of law school is a complete and total bore. My car died on me then I just cut my losses on that altogether and got rid of it. The guy I spent the better part of the year with kind of checked out. I got REALLY broke after I decided I was going to Japan and had to rely on the help of my friends, something I hate doing. Winter brought anxiety about my upcoming trip, about finding a job post-graduation and taking the Bar exam. I can really say that after October, I went into a noticeable slump.

So now what? What did I learn from all of that? I guess I learned that things can turn around really quickly. Your ups can become downs faster than you can blink. That’s not really a new lesson, but one that always shocks the system no matter how many times you learn it. I do know that I have people around me who care about me, friends who want to help me despite all the times I might turn them down or criticize them or be a bitch in general. Thanks to you all.

In 2009 I am looking forward to graduating. I am looking forward to traveling to another country and learning more about myself as I try to stay afloat in another culture. The upcoming year is kind of a mystery since I don’t know where I’ll be in 6 months. Luckily, I’ve landed on my feet more times than I can count and I do not doubt that this year will find me firmly planted… somewhere.

Be safe tonight. Be safe in 2009. Learn lessons. Read my blog.