goodbye 2005

Until this year, I had a good set of blogs to draw my last hurrah blog from.

This year goes a little something like this (yes, I counted them):
j[16];f[12];m[10];a[10];m[4];j[2];j[2];a[3];s[8];o[4];n[2];d[1];

Nevertheless, I still look back on the year and see one of the most monumental, life-changing and fulfilling experiences in my life thus far.

My mum told me that this year was going to be different. She told me this while she was in hospital a year ago. I couldn't completely understand why or how this year could possibly differ from any other year - but here I am, 12 months later wondering how I could possibly think otherwise.

This year was definately a year of change.

I watched my friends hurl themselves into "the real world" - whether it be a new job, a new relationship, a new country, a new role, a new house, a new environment, new realisations, new lives - I couldn't name any one of my friends who didn't experience a new world. It was inspriring because new worlds come with new challenges many of us weren't prepared for until we looked up and found ourselves in the middle of it. We didn't have uni to hold us together; nor did we have regular 21sts or planned get togethers to regularly bring us together. Old routines were replaced with new ones and we all struggled in one way or another to find the right balance between work, life, leisure... between friends, family and partners.

And at the end of it all, we all came out on top right? (probably minus one or two hiccups during the year) I think we're still far off from being one hundred per cent satisfied with where we are and what we've achieved but I'm satisfied enough knowing that people around me are happy - or at least slowly finding their place.

What about my year? I didn't know how to do this; blog about what the year's been like for me personally. I was listening to this song last night and I thought it captured what I want to say:

Sometimes you get happy
Sometimes you get blue
No matter the reason life's about what you do
A little by little you make it somehow
No use for your worry the time is now
...

Whatever we try
Whatever we do
We live and we die
It's all up to you
A new life will grow and follow it through
And rivers will flow and dreams will come true

These Days - Misteeq

...because I'm a strong believer that what you experience and consequently, how your life turns out depends greatly on your choices. So here goes:

My Choices
* I chose to take up salsa... for one session =* I chose to be liberal with my money - that's going to have to change next year
* I chose to say 'yes' more
* I chose to open my heart... then eventually ...
* I chose to follow my heart
* I chose to make new friends, to form new bonds
* I chose to go back to studying
* I chose to be more outspoken
* I chose to be pro-active; to plan things I wouldn't normally plan
* I chose to travel
* I chose to participate in more activities
* I chose to stop exercising
* I chose to watch more movies
* I chose to be ignorant to things I cannot control
* I chose to learn to surf (even though I failed miserably)
* I chose to practise self-control
* I chose to shake off anything not worth the stress I would feel
* I chose to be happy

That's all I really have to say. The rest of it lives in my head. Farewell 2005