Well, it's that time of year kiddies (Okay, I'm a little behind the curve here but bear with me, I'm recovering from the stomach flu). It's a new year! Time to rehash the best and worst of the past twelve months. Why? I don't know. Because we all harbor a secret fetish for list making? Doesn't matter. Here we go...
Things I Loved in 2010
1. My friends
2. Being single
3. Lollapalooza
4. Community
5. Roadtrips
I'd spend all day explaining why I love all those particular things but I've already talked ad nauseum about each and every one so I don't think it's necessary. Here's what you really need to know: 2010 was a good year.
Yes, a lot of crappy things transpired. People got sick and hurt; my job is on shaky ground; I spent a lot of time being uncertain about things and life and myself; half the time I still do want to just get up and leave and start over BUT, BUT, BUT, life is still good. At it's core, at the center, when everything extraneous boils away, my life is good. And I could spend a lot of time searching through the thesaurus for a word that is less trite but honestly? It works. My life is good. As in, I know good people who do good things and make me want to BE good. I have it easy. I don't know how else to say that.
I began the year wanting to shake off the events of 2009. I wanted to start over and be different. I wanted a change. And maybe from the outside my life looks similar (I still work for the same company and live in the same house and hang out with the same friends) but I FEEL changed. If *poof* the "Shannon of today" could go back in time and replace the "Shannon of 2009" she would do things differently. Of course, I suppose that's why they say hindsight is 20/20. But hey, lessons have been learned.
Things I Did in 2010
1. Dyed by hair brown
2. Got a tattoo
3. Made out with a random stranger
4. Went on a blind date
5. Learned to like sushi
This list makes me sound like a rebellious teenager. And maybe that's what it is. Back in the day I was not a teenager that tested the limits. I've NEVER tested the limits. I am perfectly fine staying safe and secure behind the guard rails of life. So sure, dying my hair isn't death defying and getting a tattoo with my sisters on my 27th birthday doesn't exactly scream ANARCHY but for me? It's a huge deal. These are things that the aforementioned "Shannon of 2009" would not have done. So. Mission accomplished.
Wow. I suddenly sounds like some sort of wild-eyed, list making, Type-A personality who marches into each day with a to-do list and a growly face of determination. It's not true. Crap, I'm lazy as hell. See: The 2010 Project.
Let's revisit this shall we? Ten things I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year.
1. Submit something for publication
2. Learn 3 new things
3. Wear a bikini on the beach
4. Get a passport and use it
5. Sing karaoke
6. Make a new friend
7. Get a tattoo
8. Volunteer somewhere
9. Take a class
10. Read Time Magazine's Top 10 Novels
Right off the bat, I admit that I did not accomplish 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9. As for learning three new things - I didn't learn three new skills BUT I learned to like sushi. And I learned that I look good as a brunette. And that single life can be kind of awesome. So, that's something right?
I did really try reading those books on the Time Top Ten list. Miracle of miracles I made it through Anna Karenina. But something about that book exhausted the life out of me and I couldn't even fathom the idea of picking up War and Peace. Look, I know these books are classics, and I was an English major so I should have an appreciation for these literary offerings... blah, blah, blah. You know what? I'm okay not reading and enjoying these books. They're not for me. They never have been. When I read something I want to get lost and transported to another world. Not BORED OUT OF MY FREAKING SKULL. Hey! Another lesson learned - I DON'T have to like the classics. Sorry Tolstoy.
Make a new friend and get a tattoo. These are things I did. Sure, two out of ten doesn't sound impressive. But you know what? I don't give a damn. I could have accomplished absolutely none of the things on that list and it still would have been a good year. Lazy? Yes. Happy? Yes. So? Win-Win. I sat on my ass and watched a lot of television but life is still good.
This doesn't mean though that I'm not going to make another list and set more goals and strive to BE and DO and LIVE more. I'm always going to want that. It's human nature. If we didn't desire and reach and dream nothing would ever get done. We'd all be dead of the plague or traveling by carriage or living under Nazi regime. Progress only happens when someone, somewhere sets an impossible goal. Sure. It might end in utter failure and misery and heartbreak (or an ice-cream binge on the couch in front of the flatscreen) but on the off-chance of success, it's 100% worth it.
So there you have it. 2010 in a nutshell. A big confusing nutshell of opposing ideas and fun and laughter and awesome people and memories. I don't know what life will be like in 2011. I hope to laugh some more. And make some new friends. And dream some new dreams. And continue to let myself change.
Maybe I should dye my hair RED.
And to end, ANOTHER LIST!
Top Five Songs of 2010
1. Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
2. Humdrum Town - Theophilus London
3. Infinity Guitars - Sleigh Bells
4. Bitch Look At Me Now - Childish Gambino
5. Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons
Peace out 2010!
Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The 2010 Project
We will open the book. Its pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity and
its first chapter is New Year's Day.
~Edith Lovejoy Pierce
It's a new year and a new decade and such an occasion calls for a little something more than just your average, ordinary New Years Resolution. Last year may have been a little tough or obnoxious or just plain boring for some people and the typical "I want to get in shape" goal just wasn't going to cut it for us this year. Let's face it: the average resolution is just doomed for failure and a crazed binge on an entire carton of Moose Tracks Ice Cream sometime in the middle of the month (not that I've EVER done that... ahem).
No, 2010 needs to be epic. It needs to be special. It needs to be FUN.
So a couple of friends and I have christened The 2010 Project. We briefly considered doing two-thousand and ten things throughout the year... Actually, I lie. We never seriously considered that. We are NOT that ambitious. The much more reasonable number was always ten. Ten things. Ten things that we each wanted to do, participate in or accomplish.
In the coming weeks and months the three of us will be posting about our year of adventure at The 2010 Project Blog We can't wait to see what this year has in store for us, where our lists will take us and how the back end of twelve months will find us changed. Here's to living determined, risky, creative, unexpected and full lives in 2010.
My List of Ten Things in 2010
1. Submit a piece of writing for publication
2. Learn three new things
3. Get a passport and use it
4. Take a class
5. Get a Tattoo
6. Wear a bikini this summer
7. Volunteer somewhere
8. Sing Karaoke
9. Read Time Magazine's Top Ten Novel List
10. Make a new friend
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Dear 2009...
I will not miss you.
Not one single, tiny, itty, bitty bit.
If 2008 was a year for change for me then 2009 was a year for... lessons. Lessons learned.
They were hard lessons but I learned them nonetheless.
I've learned how awful it feels to have your worst paranoia's and fears come true. I've learned that hearts can be broken even when it's not an "in love" kind of love. I've learned that I can be angry enough at someone that just the thought of them makes me break out in hives. I've learned that there are always strings attached. I've learned that sometimes you have to purge something from your life before you realize how poisonous it really is and I've learned that it IS okay to be alone.
No, I will not miss this year, I will not miss the crapfest of emotions that I went through while learning these lessons.
But I do have to say this: Amidst the heartache and change and betrayal and endless worrying, there has been a silver lining, a more hopeful lesson, something I hope to hold on to as the real take away from this year. While certain people were dashing my beliefs and destroying my trust, a few others were showing me what true friendship really looks like.
It's frantic 2AM text messages and midnight rescue missions and showing up with trucks to pack and move an entire life in under four hours. It's providing a place of escape and a shoulder to cry on. It's trips to the beach and Disneyland and Barnes and Noble and The Cheesecake Factory. It's the sharing of dreams and fears. It's planning and hoping and dancing and snuggling. It's laughter, oh my God, so much laughter - belly aching, rolling on the floor, crying, kind of laughing.
I've been so lucky during this year to have friends who have come through in a big way for me, have shown me the kind of person, the kind of friend, the kind of woman I really want to be. So to the amazing people in my life, thank you. Thank you for restoring in me, a little bit of faith.
2009, you will not be missed. I'm onto bigger and better things. But I have a feeling, that when I look back I will remember 2009 as a defining year, a shaping year. Those heartaches and pains have only made me stronger and I step into this new year with all those lessons, strengthened friendships and a steady resolve.
Watch out.
Not one single, tiny, itty, bitty bit.
If 2008 was a year for change for me then 2009 was a year for... lessons. Lessons learned.
They were hard lessons but I learned them nonetheless.
I've learned how awful it feels to have your worst paranoia's and fears come true. I've learned that hearts can be broken even when it's not an "in love" kind of love. I've learned that I can be angry enough at someone that just the thought of them makes me break out in hives. I've learned that there are always strings attached. I've learned that sometimes you have to purge something from your life before you realize how poisonous it really is and I've learned that it IS okay to be alone.
No, I will not miss this year, I will not miss the crapfest of emotions that I went through while learning these lessons.
But I do have to say this: Amidst the heartache and change and betrayal and endless worrying, there has been a silver lining, a more hopeful lesson, something I hope to hold on to as the real take away from this year. While certain people were dashing my beliefs and destroying my trust, a few others were showing me what true friendship really looks like.
It's frantic 2AM text messages and midnight rescue missions and showing up with trucks to pack and move an entire life in under four hours. It's providing a place of escape and a shoulder to cry on. It's trips to the beach and Disneyland and Barnes and Noble and The Cheesecake Factory. It's the sharing of dreams and fears. It's planning and hoping and dancing and snuggling. It's laughter, oh my God, so much laughter - belly aching, rolling on the floor, crying, kind of laughing.
I've been so lucky during this year to have friends who have come through in a big way for me, have shown me the kind of person, the kind of friend, the kind of woman I really want to be. So to the amazing people in my life, thank you. Thank you for restoring in me, a little bit of faith.
2009, you will not be missed. I'm onto bigger and better things. But I have a feeling, that when I look back I will remember 2009 as a defining year, a shaping year. Those heartaches and pains have only made me stronger and I step into this new year with all those lessons, strengthened friendships and a steady resolve.
Watch out.
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