Thursday, January 5, 2012

Reflect Without Regret

Since we are in a new year, I find it only appropriate to look back on 2011 and compile a little list that explains why life is so good. I am sitting here, up way past my bedtime once more (but then again, can I really say I have a bedtime now that my life is "in my control" and no longer dictated by school, or much of a schedule at all for that matter?), and I can't help but be overwhelmed by joy and happiness about the things I have done, experienced, encountered, and what is to come. The future may be uncertain, but if the last 22+ years are any indication of what's to come, I know there is no reason to have any fears. And while we may be five days into the new year, I would like to take a moment to thank 2011 for being oh-so good to me :)


2011 started on a cruise ship for my family and I, and I would have had no way of knowing what this year would bring for me. Some things like my last season of water polo and graduating from college were sure to happen, but I could never have expected that I would enter into 2012 with such clarity and calmness. I started 2011 with a heart overflowing with love, in a place it might never have been before. And as the spring semester passed, it continued to fill with love and grow, and I entered 2012 with a heart overflowing with a different but equally as wonderful kind of love. Yes, graduating and completing my final season of polo are sad milestones to have passed, but it is because of the following reasons that I reflect on 2011 as being one of the best I've had yet!

  • I learned to love again; to really open my heart and just let it in, and out, without holding back or fearing the outcome.
  • The water polo season wasn't our most successful as far as our record is concerned, but our friendships grew so much and are running deeper than ever before.
  • I rang in the new year (2011's) on a cruise ship with family that I love, and that can never be bad (unless of course it's the Titanic..).
  • When I thought my summer would be spent in Chico working as a lifeguard, I ended up snagging an internship at Disney's ABC! It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and I was finally able to move down to LA, a dream I've had since I can remember. 
    • Meeting some awesome Germans outside of a club, who ended up becoming my closest friends of the summer, and people I still plan to see in the near future.
    • Getting to hang out with my SoCal family of friends, who are some of my dearest, and my uncles that I rarely see due to the distance.
    • Expanding my family of friends through Mike CHEXXX
    • Running off to EDC Las Vegas and having one of the best weekends of my life
    • Random trip to San Diego with nothing but the clothes (swimsuits/cover-ups) we'd been wearing all day at Venice
    • Going to the Music Box too many times ;)
    • Learning about and growing to love an industry I had never considered before
    • Figuring out a little more about the things I like, and those I don't
    • Too many good times and so much love shared between new friends, who became the best of
  • Kaitlyn Tolin (Toke) moved into our house in the fall, and it became a home.
  • Ilona coming to visit from Finland
  • Rhoan coming to visit, and bringing some new Aussies into our lives as well
  • Arthur coming to visit from France with his luscious curly locks
  • Last minute decision to go to San Bern for Halloween weekend and driving, literally, almost the whole Cali coast from SF to San Bern. --Family Reunion w/ the McGeekersons.
  • Not getting worked up over school and studies, but instead investing my time in relationships and making memories that will prove to be more beneficial than any lesson they try and teach in a classroom.
  • Beginning a blog, that I will use to guide me through the rest of my days
And while there are so many other things, the one that stands out most (possibly because it is the freshest in my mind) is New Year's weekend. I still cannot get over how great it was and how much love continues to flow through our group (via Facebook groups, obviously;). It makes me think, if I feel this kind of love from my friends, then the love that God has for me must be the most overpowering thing in the world. I feel crushed its weight, but lifted up by its greatness all at the same time. And if a group of people can make me feel this way, I have nothing to fear because the love my God has for me is even greater and will carry me through everything! 


Now that I have, once again, released the positive energy and love that is within me out into the universe, I hope it finds its way to you and can help carry you through any hard time you might be facing! When things start to feel hard, just stop moving for a moment, take a deep breath, and say, "We can do it." It is something I have been practicing with vigor the last few weeks, and I have never felt more stable or guided. Sleep well my little loves, we will meet again soon :)


Today's Quote: "All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." -Henry Ellis


Word.

2 comments:

  1. Lasse, one of the Germans5/1/12 02:14

    Sweeeeet ;) Treu Story!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your comment made me so happyyyy!! Miss you too much!! xx

    ReplyDelete