It's almost 2009! Like most people, these last few days of the year leave me time to reflect back on where I was last year, and where I would like to be next year. It also gives me time to be thankful for the experiences I have had, and I think that '08 may go down as the best and biggest experiences for me yet.
Last year I had just started at the Treatment Center, my first big girl job since finishing grad school. I was just beginning to figure out how to balance a career, a social life, and my own needs and dreams. I had a great support network of friends here and afar. I was single, but no longer as broken, and much more open to the idea of not being single any longer; unfortunately I was still unable to meet anyone that I wanted to give that up for. I was looking forward to '08 for what it would bring professionally, but also still hoping and praying for what it might bring me personally.
This year I am in my second big girl job, after moving on from the Treatment Center into a position that I felt would be more beneficial to my long-term goals. I am thinking more in the long-term than I ever have - I have started to think about 401k options, mortgages and babies, and where these things fit into my future. I am still surrounded by a great support network of friends, and feel closer than ever to some of them after a year of ups and downs and times of need when you see who your truest, bluest friends really are, the ones that will be there for 401ks and mortgages and babies, but also right next to me when the clock strikes midnight tomorrow night. Finally, and obviously, I have met the person that I have hoped and prayed for, and been surprised at how much more than that this person is. I have found my best friend, my lover, my rock, my everything. He's helped me to continue to grow into the woman that I want to be, and has made me a better person for it. He supports me and my crazy notions of saving the world, and he believes in me for who I am and what I fight for. Our relationship is unexplainable in it's genuineness and beauty, and I thank God for it every day.
Looking forward, I'm excited to see what the New Year will bring. I'm not necessarily one to make resolutions, as I'm more prone to call them goals and keep evolving them throughout the year, but if I were to make a list, it might look something like this:
1. Like most people, it's time to get my ass back to the gym! Not just to take off the proof of my great holiday baking skills, but I am also going to take indoor cycling classes in preparation for the 50 mile Hub on Wheels this Fall and I want to get back into my regular yoga schedule, which is my saving grace after stressful days with my clients.
2. Continue to volunteer project lead at least twice a month with Boston Cares, and encourage my friends to come with me and find projects that they are passionate about too. Hopefully I can get back to New Orleans at some point in '09, either with Boston Cares or independently.
3. Keep working on finding a balance between career, friends, Matty, self and faith. These are all things that make me whole, and I need to ensure that I am balancing everything and paying attention when certain areas need more attention than others. This is a hard one, but I am slowly getting better at it.
4. Solidifying my dreams - the mortgage, the savings account, the trip to Turks and Caicos - these are all things that I want and can do, but I need to make realistic plans and goals to attain them.
5. Continue to strive to be the best friend, girlfriend (hopefully more, ahem), daughter, project leader, case manager, granddaughter, Catholic, dancer, etc., etc. that I can possibly be.
This year has been so incredible, and I can't express how blessed I feel to have had such wonderful experiences and to share my life story with such amazing characters. On the heels of one of my best Christmases yet, I hope you all have a safe, healthy and happy 2009.
XoXo
Last year I had just started at the Treatment Center, my first big girl job since finishing grad school. I was just beginning to figure out how to balance a career, a social life, and my own needs and dreams. I had a great support network of friends here and afar. I was single, but no longer as broken, and much more open to the idea of not being single any longer; unfortunately I was still unable to meet anyone that I wanted to give that up for. I was looking forward to '08 for what it would bring professionally, but also still hoping and praying for what it might bring me personally.
This year I am in my second big girl job, after moving on from the Treatment Center into a position that I felt would be more beneficial to my long-term goals. I am thinking more in the long-term than I ever have - I have started to think about 401k options, mortgages and babies, and where these things fit into my future. I am still surrounded by a great support network of friends, and feel closer than ever to some of them after a year of ups and downs and times of need when you see who your truest, bluest friends really are, the ones that will be there for 401ks and mortgages and babies, but also right next to me when the clock strikes midnight tomorrow night. Finally, and obviously, I have met the person that I have hoped and prayed for, and been surprised at how much more than that this person is. I have found my best friend, my lover, my rock, my everything. He's helped me to continue to grow into the woman that I want to be, and has made me a better person for it. He supports me and my crazy notions of saving the world, and he believes in me for who I am and what I fight for. Our relationship is unexplainable in it's genuineness and beauty, and I thank God for it every day.
Looking forward, I'm excited to see what the New Year will bring. I'm not necessarily one to make resolutions, as I'm more prone to call them goals and keep evolving them throughout the year, but if I were to make a list, it might look something like this:
1. Like most people, it's time to get my ass back to the gym! Not just to take off the proof of my great holiday baking skills, but I am also going to take indoor cycling classes in preparation for the 50 mile Hub on Wheels this Fall and I want to get back into my regular yoga schedule, which is my saving grace after stressful days with my clients.
2. Continue to volunteer project lead at least twice a month with Boston Cares, and encourage my friends to come with me and find projects that they are passionate about too. Hopefully I can get back to New Orleans at some point in '09, either with Boston Cares or independently.
3. Keep working on finding a balance between career, friends, Matty, self and faith. These are all things that make me whole, and I need to ensure that I am balancing everything and paying attention when certain areas need more attention than others. This is a hard one, but I am slowly getting better at it.
4. Solidifying my dreams - the mortgage, the savings account, the trip to Turks and Caicos - these are all things that I want and can do, but I need to make realistic plans and goals to attain them.
5. Continue to strive to be the best friend, girlfriend (hopefully more, ahem), daughter, project leader, case manager, granddaughter, Catholic, dancer, etc., etc. that I can possibly be.
This year has been so incredible, and I can't express how blessed I feel to have had such wonderful experiences and to share my life story with such amazing characters. On the heels of one of my best Christmases yet, I hope you all have a safe, healthy and happy 2009.
XoXo
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