Hey, it's 2008! It's a leap year! It's 2 weeks until my 23rd birthday!
That nebulous period between the start of Christmas break and the end of January, between the death of one year and the beginning of another, is always such an interesting time for me. I go from being exhausted with school and dying for a break to weeks of sleeping til noon and ingesting all sorts of substances that are bad for me to swearing to God I won't go back to school, I just can't handle it (happens EVERY year), to going back to school and then turning another year older. I inevitably beat myself up around my birthday for not feeling like an adult yet when my age dictates that I should be. I'm almost 23-years-old and lots of times I still feel like an emo kid at heart. I think I'm getting better at the adulthood thing, though. I'll go ahead and say 2007 was the year I starting becoming a grown up.
2007 was a good year for me. Lots of exciting things happened: graduated from college, moved farther from home than I've ever lived before, started grad school, went to NYC. I've got so many great memories with my friends, from our wacky Spring Break camping trip to the numerous (perhaps 3?) goodbye parties that were held in my honor this summer before I left Conway. And I can't forget about my work with the Writing Project. It was a wonderful way to spend a month, meet great people, and learn so much about teaching writing. In 2007, I learned I can live by myself, manage my finances quite nicely, hold my own in front of a classroom, and that just maybe I'm an alright guy. I think I can chalk 07 up to the best year of my life so far. Here's hoping 2008 tops it. Sounds kind of like a resolution...
Now, I'm a New Year's resolution maker. Though I've yet to see one through an entire year (I start over again at Lent, and I'm not even Christian...eyeyeye), I enjoy making pronouncements for my life. Last year I vowed to be more attitudinal and independent like R&B singer Beyonce, mainly because a.) her empowering song "Irreplaceable" had just come out and I liked it and b.) my one-time live-in hated the song, and I was getting to the point where I hated him. So I needed a justified excuse to blast "to the left to the left/ everything you own in a box to the left" each morning as he slept and I got ready for school.
My resolutions for this year may not be as catty or silly. I'm going for the health factor in 08. I see my aunts and uncles and parents who aren't that old dealing with health problems brought on by their lifestyle choices, many of which I share since, duh, they raised me. I don't want to struggle with heart disease and emphysema. I don't want type 2 diabetes when I'm 44. Therefore, my NYR is to lay off the carcinogenic/trans-fatty/high-calorie/habit forming substances I'm so fond of. I started eating better when I moved to Knoxville. No fast food, very little meat. But that was a budget decision more than a health one. I'm gonna keep it up, though, this year with my health in mind. And damnit, I'm going to drink more water.
I'm sure there are other things I should resolve to do, but I'll just leave it at that. You know what they say about too much of a good thing.
Happy New Year, y'all.
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4 comments:
Keep in mind this is the personal New Year. As a teacher you get bonus New Year's Resolution time in May, when you make the resolutions, and another in August when you work your ass off to implement them.
That's three fresh pages a year. Good reason to teach.
I don't feel like an adult yet, and I'm 42. But I remember thinking at 23 that I should feel like an adult. It took well into my thirties before I realized that it would probably never happen and I should quit worrying about it. We're all so vulnerable underneath -- and when you say "feel like an adult," you mean "feel tough and in control, like we believed our parents were when we were kids." I still feel like I shouldn't be allowed to fly alone or drive a car, because I know how irresponsible and ignorant I really am -- nothing like my dad, who always knew what he was doing.
You know what? Maybe it was a different time then, and people actually did grow up and get that adult self-confidence we crave. Or maybe they were just like us.
Happy New Year to you, too!
I like most of the Rugrats, sadly enough. I will even watch them when the kids aren't around ; ) My favorite is probably Susie, even though she is a little bit of a goody-goody. She is such a great foil for Angelica.
i'm glad you made it home safely. and hey, you did a good job of being a powerful black woman in 2007. :)
happy new year.
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