Monday, August 8, 2011

What 20 Was


Twice a year, I take time to reflect on my life. Really reflect. I do it on New Year's Day and on my birthday.

On New Year's Day, I read through my entire journal from the year before. This can literally take hours because my pen takes to paper on a daily basis. It's a really neat way to start my year... I can read with a sense of retrospect, sort of knowing what will come next. Then again, there are little things I completely forget about that come to mind... making me smile, causing me to shed a tear, helping me to make an awesome connection...

And on my birthday, I come up with words to describe my past year. Today I'm happy to be celebrating my 21st birthday, so I made a "20 words that were 20" list. I can think of no way to explain this list to you without simply...well, listing it. So here is my (slightly edited, hehe) "20 words that were 20" list:

1. Levi! Havin' this boy in my life has been awesome. I got to see his little face this morning and he did his new "shrug your shoulders" bit for me.

2. Spiritual growth. From taking Theology I first semester and Theo II second semester, to attending a very theologically different conference in January, to putting Theology to practice this summer... see a theme?

3. Anxiety. Not a word I want to see in my list of "21 words that were 21".

4. Goodbyes. Saying goodbye to my brother and his family in February...saying goodbye to new friends in Turkey...saying the goodbye to Jamie that so annoyingly comes twice a year...

5. Apartment! My first independent home. I am thrilled to be moving into apartment #2 this weekend!

6. Cooking. I learned what I like to stock up on in my pantry... invented a few new recipes, and fed my hungry roommates on more than one occasion.

7. Grace. Oh, His abounding grace... I experienced it in entirely new ways this year. God is so good. And his people; oh he makes them so good too!

8. Naps. Though taking a nap is great, this word is a little hard for me to reflect upon... naps have been needed this year. They are now, and very well may be part of my daily life for a long while. But then again, grace. Ahh.

9. Tattoo. Sorry myHandH readers, I forgot (well, didn't forget, but...) to tell you I got a tattoo! It's a little heart on my ankle, and well, it happened this year!

10. Assertiveness. Decision-making is becoming an ever increasing part of normal life.

11. Family. For 6 sweet months, all 8 of us did stuff together on a weekly basis.

12. Alone time. I broke away a number of times for quiet Sundays, weekends, single hours...

13. Commuting. Oh, never again, please Lord. Though I'm grateful to have Shamu as my faithful minivan, I got to know him a little too well this year.

14. Cohort group. For some reason, my Theology cohort group stands out in year 20. Maybe because we met at 7am every week? That sure makes for a memorable discussion time.

15. Long Tuesdays. Marathon Tuesdays is what I called them sometimes. 5 classes in one day; 7am-9pm nonstop. Yikes!

16. Soiree. The Sleigh bell Sisters' Soiree at Christmas time, that is!

17. Turkey #2. An experience filled with culture, service-opportunities, and character-building challenges.

18. Trials and growth. Again, please refer to #7. God is so good!

19. Summer with Jamie. Daycations!

20. New friends. New friends that sometimes cause me to think about my future in a whole new way... lovely.






1 comment:

Eileen said...

Me gusta! :) (And I think it's super cool that you read through your entire journal every New Year's Day!)