year in review

Wow. So it's the end of 2009. The past decade has been chock-full of change. From starting it at the age of 19 to now, at 29, my life has turned out to be nothing like I had expected it to be or planned on it being. And maybe that's exactly how it's supposed to be. This decade has brought me a Bachelor's degree and 2 Master's degrees, living in Manhattan twice, a stint in South Florida, losing a grandparent and gaining a nephew and new baby cousin, and watching 2 people in my family meet cancer face to face.

This past year has brought the remission of my grandmother's cancer, the diagnosis of my aunt's cancer, the devastation of not getting into a doctoral public health program, figuring out who I am and what I want to do with my life and finally taking my writing seriously and earning money from it. This year has also brought the Stage IV breast cancer diagnosis of a friend of mine, numerous new friendships into my life, and the end of some unhealthy friendships. I have had to reconcile what I thought I wanted with what I *really* want in life, and am realizing that everything I planned might work out in the end, but not the way I thought it would. Am I always 100% happy and okay with this? No, it's a struggle. But I'm slowly becoming okay with the roundabout way my life has gone. I've learned a lot from every experience, and have met people on every step of my journey that have taught me and that enrich my life. These people in my life are constantly surprising me with their kindness and generosity.

What will happen in 2010? I guess we'll see.....