It is the first day of 2009, a year I never thought would get here. So much has changed in the last 365 days; I can only imagine what will come in the next 364.
2008 brought…
The beginning of my Super-Senior year at Simpson, a milestone I would have thought I could avoid, but when you add majors and minors every other day, it is truly hard to avoid.
The house shape (yes Jess it’s a pentagon) I entered 2008 with my best-friend leaving me for all of the allure of Europe and me stuck in the snow of Iowa, but I became unbelievably close with the other three corners of that house (EmK, Tasha and Jess) and wouldn’t have it any other way.
The reunion of everything that is Emily and Meridith, I never have more fun and randomness than when I’m with her, and after four months apart, we made up for it with the remaining eight months.
A semester in which I actually passed a science class. I had been running on a bit of a slump and had a few rough semesters in Carver, but Fall semester brought about a return to good grades, and so much less stress.
Another mid-life crisis… it’s official I have absolutely no idea what I want to be when I grow up, the only problem is, I am officially four months from growing up. I have decided that I will be taking suggestions from anyone who has any, then I will put them in a hat on May 16th and whatever I draw out, I will pursue.
More “littles” and sisterhood. I am becoming more and more of the sorority girl that I used to avoid; I honestly don’t remember where I was before I joined, or who I was that first year. I collected two more littles in 2008 and get more slack for it than I should, but the sorority consumes my life and I’ve become pretty proud of being that girl.
The discovery of 14-hour days. Working two jobs and going to school has become my life. This summer I worked one full time job (for no pay), one part-time job and went to school. I’m not sure that I actually ever saw the sun, except when driving from one place to another.
A new hobby. I am officially a knitter, although I’m not sure any self-respecting knitter would claim me. I am not able to make anything except for scarves and unfortunately everyone I know already has one, so I will continue to stock up at my house, just in case there is a national shortage and orphans from across the country have very chilly necks.
A new passion. The unpaid internship that I had this summer has turned into a job that I love. The organization is amazing and the kids that we serve mean the world to me. They are truly amazing individuals. It makes the Saturday morning drinking while riding a big wheel totally worth it, and I’ve dragged Emily into it, and she’s doing amazing things there, I think I can leave them in good hands.
The return of the daddy’s girl. This year was a year that I was soo proud of my dad. He gets these crazy ideas in his head and goes for them (obviously a recessive gene I didn’t get). He decided at 52 years old he wanted to do a triathlon. Pretty cool, but even cooler was his reasoning. He has a very good friend that was diagnosed with ALS over a year ago, and my dad wanted to do the triathlon for and with him. He practiced for just a few months, swimming in dirty ponds, riding his bike to the moon and running until he couldn’t run anymore. He pulled his friend in a kayak for the beginning of the race and then did a pass off for him to be pulled behind a bicycle. My dad completed the whole triathlon, and I’ve never been more proud of him.
My sister the doctor. Morgan officially has her doctorate, which I am also very proud of, but she has set the bar very high. While I’m sure no one really considers me to be the failure of the Sayler girls, I’m not sure my high school diploma and bachelors degrees in Biology and Applied Philosophy will look as impressive on paper.
“L-Man Presents.” That house shape has the greatest room in the entire sorority house, and we had to celebrate by inviting everyone over. The Rave that started as a joke turned out to be a great success, with the end of the year Nerd-themed bash being a truly amazing time.
An obsession with Heroes. The TV show took over my life for most of the fall semester, Emily and I watched two seasons on DVD and are now counting down the days until next fall when we can finally watch the season that is currently on, damn you NBC.
Another step towards making a complete ass of myself. This year brought about another homecoming skit (award-winning, no fruit baskets necessary), a show choir-esque performance at All-College Sing (probably never to be repeated, a girl has to accept her weaknesses) and a full-fledged Lip Sync routine (A very rousing performance of “Ain't No Mountain High Enough” if I do say so myself). Oh the things I do for Emily…
A life-changing trip to Namibia. May term 2008 was amazing, the impact that three weeks can have on one life is unbelievable. Despite the near-death experience and the loss of my journal, the trip was perfect and planted a seed in me that will hopefully help me change the world.
There were both highs and lows in 2008, but they were exciting all the same. Even more excitement is to come in 2009, what will happen? Nobody knows.
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