All right, now that Christmas is over, it's almost time to ring in another brand-new year. But we're also ringing in a new decade, which makes this year more special. Think back over the year, over the decade. What do you remember most in both cases? What are the bad things that you can't wait to leave behind in the Aughts? But also......what do you hope for? What are you looking forward to? Any New Year's Resolutions? Even though I was only in first grade at the time, I can still so clearly remember the 9/11 tragedy. I think that that day and that event is probably the defining moment of this decade, the end of us feeling safe and secure. From them on, air travel complaints grew even more common, and Homeland Security and Threat Level are phrases everyone knows. So many horrible things came out of that day, but it was a time when we all grew closer, became one again. People hugged strangers on the street, were more kind to fellow Americans. Out of tragedy came hope. I can remember Hurricane Katrina, too--seeing the devastation and wishing I could help in some way, but I was powerless. Out of that, too, came hope. It was another situation that we all came together in. But this is the decade I grew up in, learned in, loved in. So many hopeful things came out of this decade, and more are still to come. It wasn't all bad. So let's look back and remember it all, when we're so close to the end of this era.
I plan on enjoying 2010 as much as possible. I spent all of last summer working on my projects, and this year I’m gonna take it easy, and do things that are fun and relaxing.
Actually, the decade doesnt end until we ring in 2011. You've still got another year to make memories. And is that what we're callling them? The aughts? (Why?) I've been calling them the zeroes and the naughties. I dont have any specific hopes for this year, just that it's better to me than 2009 and 2008 were. It would be nice if I had a smooth entrance to university life. 2009 and 2008 excluded, the decade thus far has been pretty nice to me. After all, life is what you make it. I grew up, definitely, as I remember ringing in the new millenium. I was at my best friend's house, and to keep awake, we had done cartwheels all around the house and even down the stairs (which hurt). It was that day I was convinced I could fly with the right makeshift parachute (AKA bedsheets) as well --so I jumped off a ledge on the roof and wound up dislocating my shoulder. When the new year rang in, we banged pots and pans and shot Silly String into the sky. The decade in general has held many fantastic and awful memories, but the ones that come to mind arent of national or international disasters; they're more personal. (Perhaps I'm just selfish. ) I would like to surpass both the wonderful and the terrible memories of the 2000s decade in 2010 though. Best to go out with a bang, eh? I have two specific resolutions that I've written down and outlined. I want to continue an upward curve with my studies, so I can test out of a lot of freshman courses at university and can gain entrance to the Hutton Honors College during my frosh second semester. I would also like to look nicer than I currently do when I reinvent myself at university, which means, for me, dropping about 20 pounds.
This decade has actually been a pretty big one for me. I started high school in 2000, graduated in 2004, graduated from college in 2008, and then got engaged in 2009. Those would probably be my biggest milestone-related memories. Here's the thing about me. I used to be very, very shy and fairly insecure. Consequently, I made some pretty bad calls when it came to who I was friends with and what guys I dated. I went through a lot of crappy friendships and some even crappier relationships before I finally got the push I needed to really start believing in and respecting myself. Looking back on the past couple years since then and comparing them to the person I was before, I can hardly believe I'm remembering the same person. I think that my insecurity and the consequences I let it subject me to are what I will be most happy to leave behind. I think it goes without saying that I'm looking forward to getting married in February. I'm very excited to see how being married changes my relationship with Joel. Also, Joel will likely be getting a pilot job in Vegas at around the same time that we get married, and while I'm nervous about making the move to Vegas, it's also a little exciting to think about us really starting life on our own. Last year, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to lose 15-20 pounds, and I am very happy to report that I did just that. I read a lot of stories, though, about people who get down to the weight they want, say to themselves "hooray, I did it!" and then slowly creep back up to the weight they were before, and I don't want that. This year, I want to be better about eating healthy at home rather than going out to eat, finding new, healthy recipes and learning to cook them, and getting into a solid workout routine. There are lots of other goals that I have, too, but I need to really refine them and make them specific things that I'll be able to accomplish this year, rather than the broad, unclear ideas I have now.
All right, to answer my own questions. I tend to remember events on a national and international scale more than personal, because to be truthful, nothing huge has happened to me yet. Going to Washington DC was the biggest (and most wonderful and mind-blowing) thing that happened to me, and I'm so grateful I got to go. What I hope to leave behind is the disaster. I want us to always remember 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and to honor the people who died in both. But I also want that sort of thing to never happen again. I want our economy to get better, and our president to do a better job. Most of all, I want our troops to come home. They've been gone too long, and even though I don't know anyone in the military, I'm so thankful for their sacrifice. They deserve more than anybody to come home and live beautiful, full and happy lives. I know that this decade will be better, because we've learned a ton of bad lessons this decade. My New Year's Resolution...... hmm. I'm already underweight, but I don't want to gain weight. I want.....to be happy. To be loved. To help people. That's what I want.
