I want to first thank Girl Sam for the inspiration for this post and many others this past year. She has been so open and honest about who she is and what she's been through in the last year or so.
This is about how different things have been over the last year for me. Every four months or so I changed location and what I was doing, so it was a whirlwind of a year. I started the year with a drive across the country from Wyoming to D.C. I had only been in Laramie since August 2010 and I was already packed and headed across the country to work for National Geographic. The opportunity was once in a lifetime, and I took it for everything it was worth. I loved working there and the people were amazing. The people I met and the connections made were ridiculous, and the only thing that came in second was the things I got to see and events I was able to work and attend there at head quarters. I lived in DC proper which was a totally different experience than anything I had ever done, and was able to get reacquainted with many friends from the past and got to know new ones along the way. I loved when Rob came to visit and we got to have a complete weekend with Auburn kids and ex-Atlanta people. I was able to play frisbee with two ex-Tennessee girls and that was one of my favorite things all semester. I think the best thing though was getting to be around my brother so much, something that hasn't happened in years.
Unfortunately all good things had to end, and before I knew it it was the end of April and my Jeep was once again packed to the gills and I was driving south for a summer in Atlanta. I spent the majority of the summer working at an after-school turned summer-day-camp program in Morningside. There were days that I hated it and days that I loved it. I think the loved days outnumber the hated days, but that's questionable. I got to play frisbee with my favorite people (Stranger Danger forever!) and we did well- really, really, REALLY well. We were ranked 2 in the league at one point, which is no small feat in the AFDC. I didn't actually play in either tournament, but whatevs- weekday stuff was the most fun. I made my 9th trip to Poultry Days (it's a marathon, not a sprint) and am already looking forward to a 10th trip and a 5th tournament with nooga folks.
But once again, it was over and I loaded up my car to bursting (all the other stuff plus a bike!) and headed back to Laramie for my second semester of graduate school. I moved back into my apartment, got settled officially and permanently, and started working and classes. The semester over all isn't anything spectacular, but I felt a little more at home. I have people there, or at least we're working towards that, and I'm more focused and committed to working out and eating right than I ever have been (or was before the holidays started). My goal is to compete in an indoor triathlon in April, so we'll see. I like running as it turns out, and I already can't wait to get back and get back to training for that. I want to explore the west some more and hope that my car and my finances will allow for that.
It was a good year in retrospect. I learned a lot about what I can and can't do, as well as what I will and won't but up with. I learned who's important and what my goals are for the future. I am looking forward to lots and lots of adventuring, visitors (hopefully), finishing school, and (finally) having a grown up job. 2012 will hopefully be just as exciting as 2011 was.
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