Happy New Year

Well, it appears 2012 has come and gone. Perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of humanity has survived and we continue to live on.

It was a big year.

I graduated high school, one of eleven valedictorians of my class.

I helped my We The People team win at the state level and continue on to nationals, as we all went to Washington, D.C. and had the time of our lives.

I started this blog.

I celebrated the one-year anniversary of my job at McDonalds.

I went out with (and later ended up breaking up with) a really great guy.

I wrote a fanfiction. And finished it.

I (and my friend) wrote a story. And finished it.

I started my first semester of college.

I voted for the first time ever.

I survived my first semester of college.

I started building a harp. (Can't say it's finished yet, but we're close.)

I made some fantastic friends.

I kept some fantastic friends.

I attempted to do NaNoWriMo. Started revising my own manuscript for the first time ever.

I learned a lot about art. Film, books, human nature, life.

I got a lot more comfortable in my own voice, sharing my own opinions.

I learned that being alone and free is far more fulfilling than being with a crowd stuck in a box.

I learned that sometimes being alone and free is lonely and sad.

I learned people are sometimes really really stupid.

And then sometimes they're also really awesome.

Disagreeing doesn't always mean you don't love someone, and sometimes preserving a friendship is more important than being right.

I'm awfully inconsistent, occasionally tactless, vain, willful, stubborn, prideful, provocative, and impulsive.

I'm also witty, smart, funny, willing to listen, loyal, honest, hold myself to high standards, determined, and working on seeing the best in people instead of the worst.

I learned to not be so quick to judge people. I learned to question even my judgements, for I am sometimes wrong.

I learned that the best way to learn is to ask questions.

I didn't die.

Perception is stronger than reality, so if you think the world is a certain way, it is, at least until you learn to see it differently.

Laughter is better than crying any day, and if it's good enough laughter, you'll get to cry as well.

Happy New Year my dears, and I hope 2013 is good to you and yours.