2012

I just wanted to take a moment to reminisce about the best year of my life. 

In January, I moved in with someone who would not only become my best friend and ultimate inspiration, but would teach me more than I ever thought possible about optimism, joy, and love. We watched movies and listened to music and stayed up late having pillow talk, and it was the first month of the happiest semester of my life. 

By spring, I had celebrated my 19th birthday, seen the Avett Brothers live, made some great new friends, became closer with old friends, saw the posse, and managed to squeeze in some time for school and work too. I was hired at Red Mango, I was working at the music library on campus, and just generally having a great time at UNL. 

Once summer rolled around, I moved into my own little studio apartment and spent my days at work and my nights with the posse. I spent hot days at the fair and at Czech Days in Wilber, Nebraska with Rachel. I took adventures. My summer was full of live music - I saw one of the best concerts of my life (Mumford and Sons) and heard a great musical legend, too (B.B. King). I traveled with the family, spending one last summer at my childhood cabin in Minnesota, and applied for my visa to study abroad in Chicago. I hugged my friends and family, and I tried to come to terms with the fact that I was leaving. 

Southeast Graduation - Wanufi and Becca

Mumford and Sons - Pinewood Bowl

Mumford and Sons - Pinewood Bowl

Alli and I appeared on our friend Beau's morning radio show

Olivia and I taking year-end pictures

More graduation pictures

Red Mango

Chicago - Summer 2012

Moving into the apartment!

Minnesota - Summer 2012

Minnesota Zoo - Summer 2012

And then September 2nd came and I found myself on a plane on the way to Milan, Italy, where I spent three and a half months on the biggest adventure I'd ever taken. I traveled far and wide, seeing Scotland and France and Switzerland, getting pick-pocketed in Spain, and swimming in the Mediterranean in the early fall. I met some of the sweetest girls I could've hoped to live with, and we had fun studying, traveling, and partying together. I realized that the vision of the world and my future that I had when I arrived was inaccurate and incomplete, so I changed it. I ate the best food of my life, including an exquisite pizza in Rome that changed my entire definition of pizza. I got to travel with my biggest ally and my greatest friend, my Mom. Mom, just so you know: you gave me the greatest gift I ever could have asked for by allowing and funding my trip to Italy. I learned the most about myself while I was there, and if I hadn't gone I don't know that I ever would have figured out what I wanted. Thank you for being endlessly supportive of me, and for never giving up on me, even when I was confused, hot-mess. You are the best mom in the world and I love you so much!

The Duomo

Best girls in all of Italy - Morgan, Anne, Marissa, Nicole, Celynna, Rachael, Kristin, and Elyssa

Cinque Terre

Lake Como

Lake Como

Fabbrica's Pizza - Milano, Italy

Lugano, Switzerland

Lugano, Switzerland

Scotland

Scotland

Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona

Rachael's Birthday

Thanksgiving

Paris

Paris

Paris

Kristin's Birthday

End of the Year Party

End of the Year Party

Rome

Rome

Finally, I returned home to the loving arms of the best friends a girl could ask for, and my year came full circle as I rang in the New Year with the people I love most in the world. 2012 has been one of the most fulfilling and enriching years of my life, and I can only hope that 2013 will be equally joyful. 

My Dear Acquaintance

New Year's is my favorite time of year. As cheesy as it sounds, I like the idea of starting over as soon as the clock chimes midnight, and I love the idea of New Years Resolutions. I make them every year, and while oftentimes I lose track of them after February, there have been a few important ones that I've kept the whole year and into the rest of my life. I don't do New Year's Resolutions like everyone else, though (because I'm a hipster, duh). My resolutions are never "I'm going to lose 10 pounds by Memorial Day" or "I'm going to stop drinking caffeine." My resolutions usually have something to do with expanding my creative base, or updating the way that I view the world, or ceasing to be so afraid all the time.

This year, I have four resolutions: 

1. Cross off four things from The Bucket List

2. Finish editing one of the last two National Novel Writing Month novels I've done. 

3. Keep a book of one wonderful thing happened each day (with a physical reminder) - something to be thankful for. 

4. Keep a 2012 box (This is something I did this year, too. I have a green 'photo box' that I bought from Target at the beginning of the year, and as the year has gone on, I've filled it with ticket stubs and letters and physical reminders of things that have been wonderful in my life. And now I can go back and look through that box and see how my life progressed). 

I'm hoping to cross of some of my Bucket List items while I'm abroad in the fall - I have plans to travel to Florence, Rome, and Venice while I'm in Italy, but I'm also hoping I can visit Greece and Austria, too. I am so excited for my study abroad trip, and I just hope that it works out as I intend for it to work. 

This year I'm also hoping to re-evaluate some of the relationships in my life. While this semester, I felt like I really needed to hold on to a lot of my high school friends, I am starting to wonder whether or not this is the time to start letting them go. We've become very different people, and we've started to want very different things. I'm not saying I want to abandon them entirely - I'm just saying maybe it's time to ease up a bit on the friendships I used to have, and start to look forward. 

Finally, this year I'm hoping to become better friends with the people I've been seeing during Friendsgiving and Friendsmas. I've known most of these guys since high school, but I wasn't friends with most of them, and we definitely weren't close. But now I've started attending these events, and getting to know them better and I think the relationships and friendships they have to offer could be really beneficial. From what I've seen, their friendships are based completely on selflessness and mutual respect. They support one another entirely in their respective endeavors, and they respect the talents each of them owns for themselves. They tease each other and they wrestle each other and they're clearly grateful for one another - to be invited to join in with that group is sort of a small honor. They make me want to better my own friendships and find people who want that kind of friendship with me. The atmosphere they create is very open and very loving. There was never I time I felt like they weren't trying to make me feel more welcome. So if I can be a part of that for even a moment...I'll take it!

I hope your New Year's is wonderful and full of new resolutions and new ideas. Now is the time to re-invent the pieces of our lives that are messy. I plan to embrace it 100%. 

Happy New Year!