Friday, December 30

This Year

This year, I...
turned 26

celebrated valentines day with 20 kingdergarteners
taught children how to read
started teaching 3rd grade
had my first disagreement with a parent (at school)
managed 26 students in one classroom
attended numerous workshops
observed the life cycle of frogs (from start to finish...well, basically)

wrote three songs
sang in a wedding
bought a piano
took guitar lessons
read books by Eldridge, C.S. Lewis, Nouwen, Bin Laden, God
went to the music store and listened to the music of guys I knew in college
brainstormed business ideas with my sister

learned how to salsa

enjoyed dancing for the first time in my life
was invited to mexico city
was inspired to really pursue Spanish and finally become fluent
went to Catholic mass
attended my roommate's graduation and felt like I graduated all over again

bought a digital camera
took a road trip from OK to FL to SC to NY to PA to NC and back to FL
visited dallas, l.a., nashville, philly, savannah, rochester, greenville
stood on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean
stood on the shores of the Pacific Ocean
got pulled over for the first time (received a warning for my headlight)
watched sharks get caught off the pier near my new apartment (scary thought!)

saw my brother three times
graduated to friend and colleague of my college professor (not just her student)
watched my "second family" grow to 6 children and spent lots of time loving them
held quite a few new babies of friends that I knew even before they were together
helped my sister and her best friend get to ORU...so excited for them!
came upon an accident and did not see the person survive
saw two soldier friends return safely home from Iraq
reconnected with a friend from primary school
gained a sister (kaitlyn...lived with us for 5 months)

said goodbye to tulsa
moved to florida (along with my goldfish)
lived with my parents
found a new church home
moved into a new apartment

joined MySpace and found friends that I've been looking for for years (and vice versa)
made a few new friends in Florida
joined 2 online relationships sites
met people on those sites
took my profile offline
decided to wait awhile and see what God does
paid way too much in cell phone bills
broke my record for text messages

laughed, cried
felt lonely
struggled
have missed people I love in NY and in Tulsa

asked, "how did i get here?" "am I supposed to be here" "what's going on?"
hoped for new opportunities
dreamed of more
told the truth
prayed for and with friends and family
heard God's voice
went out on a few dates
let go of a few relationships

found healing
learned to trust God more.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing the memories of your past year. that was a great idea. it made me wish so much that we could have shared some of those memories together.

April said...

Oh, but we did. :)