So close to the New Year....

I'll have my resolutions done for a post tomorrow. Tonight is for a party.

Also, tonight is for a little retrospective on the things that really changed my life this past year. I will narrow it down to three.

First, and possibly the most obvious, is my acceptance and enrollment at Rutgers. Throughout high school I was a bit of a slacker, only applying myself to the things I really cared about. College has been good to me and for me. Now, instead of lazing around and letting the consequences roll off my back, I actually do what I'm supposed to. That means balancing a full course-load of school work, a 20 hour per week job, and an editorial position on the newspaper. And I love it. I am not sad to have left high school behind.

After that, I would have to place my time spent with the Free Spirits. I include our flurry of facebook activity as we received our letters of acceptance in this, as well as our refusal to let go. (Oh yeah, and the actual conference.) Journalism, especially print journalism, is not a thriving profession right now. But I sincerely believe that the 102 young adults that gathered for a week in March will change the world.

And, most definately not least, is the passing of my high school journalism teacher, my mentor, and my friend, Jane Hopper. I met her my freshman year of high school, when I was just 14, and all I knew about journalism was that my favorite character on the West Wing was CJ, and all I knew about writing was that I was good at it. I never expected to end up where I am, and it is all thanks to her.

I have tried several times this year to express in writing how much she meant to me and how much I miss her. Ironically, this is the one thing I cannot do to my satisfaction. Nothing works. But I know she knows.

Happy New Year.