new year.

Well, we are officially 5 days in to 2012, and I have yet to recap 2011. So...

2011 was definitely a year full of ups and downs.

January: Said adios to two amazing Spanish speaking friends for 4 months... sending one off to Costa Rica and the other to Spain. Not having them around for an entire semester was rough!

February: Said goodbye to another friend as she was off to study in Australia for 5 months! Getting through a second semester of physics without her to laugh and study with - also a little rough.

March: Left the USA for the first time, spent 9 days in the Netherlands, and talked to students from over 20 different countries about my faith and theirs (or their lack of it). I rode the metro, ate weird food, almost got run over by crazy Dutch bicyclists and a tram in Amsterdam, toured the Anne Frank House & Van Gogh museum, and even learned a little Dutch. It was by far the most amazing trip of my life.

April: Finished year 3 of college! Hokey petes, what a year.

May: Impulsive trip to Chicago to surprise the long-lost roommate at the airport. Her delayed flights home from Spain in combination with my work schedule resulted in my first shift back at Target being completed on zero sleep... But it was totally worth it!

June: Finished 2/3 of my summer classes, work work work, PT volunteer hours... and turned 21! With the guidance of my trusted big brother and the generosity of some strangers at the Pub, I successfully did 7 shots in less than 40 minutes. No puking or hangover occurred. Success.

July: work work work. PT hours. World Cup Soccer. Tigers game. Ikea. All in all, a good month!

August: Moved back in with the bestest roomie a girl could ask for, but this time in jank-a-lank land instead of Campus View. Weird, but good :)

September: The beginning of the semester from hell. Insane amounts of meetings, work, studying, etc. Submitted all my applications for PT School and began the waiting game.

October: My last Cru Fall Retreat. So great. Green River Ordinance & Boyce Avenue concert in Ypsi.

November: Trip to Nashville to interview at Belmont University. Loved it. Interviewed at GVSU. Hated it. After almost 3 years in retail, I worked my first Black Friday. Thank you, Target for opening at 12am.

December: Got accepted to CMU's program. Got rejected from GVSU. Made Belmont's wait-list. Finished the worst semester of my life (thank you micro, for wrecking my GPA). Worked like a crazy person over break. Brought in the New Year playing Blackjack with my two best friends.

All in all, 2011 was a good year. It was crazy stressful at times. I pushed myself harder than I ever have, and I've learned a lot about myself in the past year. Growing up isn't always fun, but it's going to happen whether I want it to or not... and I'm handling it the best I can... working hard and trying to have some fun while I'm still surrounded by all of my friends.

In 2012, I will be ... taking what appears to be the easiest semester of my life (knock on wood). Graduating from GVSU. Saying goodbye and moving away from Grand Rapids. Starting PT school (where exactly? TBD).

This year is going to bring about more change than I'm ready to handle, but I have the next four months to prepare...

Here goes nothin'.