I am back from New York! Overall, it was a pretty good trip. I got
to spend Christmas with family, which was the main point of my visit. I had
really good, deep conversations with my aunt about work, relationships, and
life in general. She shares a lot of valuable advice and life stories that my
mom is not able to provide, because my aunt dated more, married later, had
difficulty finding jobs before, and worked different positions throughout her
career; basically, she has many relevant experiences that I can learn from in
my particular situation at the moment. I love that
my mom has four sisters, each of whom I consider another mom, and I'm very close
to all of them! I also got to spend time with my cousin, who, although is ten
years younger than me, shares with me a remarkable number of similar interests.
We watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in IMAX on
Christmas morning! It was awesome. I was so nervous throughout the entire
movie! I was literally on the edge of my seat during a good portion of the
film. Then we watched The
Adventures of Tintin a few days later; I thought it was such a cute
and well-made movie, but because of its animated feature, the audience was
largely children, which can be super annoying.
Christmas in New York City, what can I say? Even though I don't
see myself moving back, I definitely want to spend the winter holidays there as
much as possible. The atmosphere is super Christmasy, enhancing my favorite
holiday of the year--the decorations, the Rockefeller tree, the freezing wind
in my face as I walk through all the familiar places. I had an amazing time
catching up with old friends, hearing about all the great things that have
happened to them since we last saw each other. Unfortunately, I also had some
bad experiences with some friends who could not make time to see me. It really
made me question the quality of my friendships. I've always favored quality
over quantity when it comes to my friendships; however, with each new stage in
life, time and distance do what they do best, and I have to make the effort in
maintaining the relationships worth keeping. The tricky part is figuring out which
ones are worth keeping.
I can honestly say that 2011 has not been easy, nor my best year.
In fact, I would venture out to claim that it's been the worst year. From
losing my job to depleting my savings account, rejections upon rejections in
the job search, and being unsure for the first time in my life what I want to
do with my life, I have had enough instability. Last year, in my survey of
2010, I wished for more stability in 2011; while that did not happen, I do hope
for it in 2012, AND amid the setbacks, I did gain a number of priceless
relationships along the way--a new church family in LSCC, wonderful roommates,
a boy who cares about me, and renewed friendships with my diaper buddies and
Cal ladies. I have felt more love from those around me than any previous year.
In addition, though my efforts in the working world proved to be unsuccessful
thus far, my spirituality has grown not only in depth but also steadfastness. I
have unwavering faith that God will provide amazing opportunities in His perfect
timing. Goodbye, 2011. Hello, 2012!!
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