These “end of 2011″ lists are kind of corny, but I still decided to do one anyway. It’s even more corny that I waited until 2 months into 2012 to do it. Nevertheless, I think they are beneficial and useful in some ways. It’s a good way to reflect on all the good & bad events of a specific year. Plus, you can look at them later in life to reminisce.
Note: These are in no particular order.
1. Parents Moving to the Philippines
It’s been more than 6 months now. The first few months were really hard. I would leave the house to go shopping or hang out with Prentyce, and I would just cry in the car. It’s usually because I either invite my Mom to shop or we eat with my parents. Holidays and birthdays were a lot different this year, but not worse. I’m counting the days until they come back from the Philippines, which should be early 2013.
What I Miss Most
I miss my Mommy because she’s so fun and happy all the time. I miss her cooking, especially her pancit molo and lumpia. I miss my Daddy because he always looks out for me and handles things for me. I miss debating arguging with him and helping him learn new things on the computer. I miss visiting them. I miss their presence.
2. Hurting My Back
This was the absolute, hardest event of my life. I know that seems a bit dramatic, but when your life takes a 180-degree turn and you can’t do anything about it — it will break you. It’s not like losing a job, because you could just go do “something” about that. I could not make the back pain go away or make my body heal faster or make myself feel any happier. This was a blessing in disguise. I treasured it and learned from it. I’m so glad to have had my big brother and his wife, my sister-in-law, help me through this traumatic time. Even my nieces and nephews would get me food, run upstairs for me, pick up stuff off the ground for me, etc. Prentyce had to help me go to the bathroom and shower me (and no, not in a romantic way.), drive me around, etc. Health is something money cannot buy, not even billionaire Steve Jobs could afford it. RIP.
3. The Phenomenal iPad 2
My iPad 2 is the most useful electronic device I have purchased all year.(I haven’t bought that many this year… Ha.) I use it for school and leisure. It is so awesome; I’m serious. You probably know that already if you have one. It’s a time-killer with all the fun games, but it really helps me to be more productive. I can fax documents, annotate PDFs, check out my Evernote account, and so much more. Did you hear the iPad 3 is being released in the Q1 of this year?
4. Getting Engaged
After six years of dating, I am still in awe of the whole getting engaged thing. I know that others get engaged much sooner and then get divorced a lot faster, but I think know our wait was worth it. It doesn’t mean that we will have a more long-lasting marriage than those people, but it does mean I have been with someone long enough to know that I’d be happy with him forever. (Forever is such a daunting word… : /) I started looking at wedding stuff right after we got engaged, but haven’t done much planning. I think my family has done more planning than I have. Funny, right? I’m so glad I have the support of both of our families in this union.
5. Transition to UNLV
During the summer of 2011, I took my first UNLV class. It was CHEM 122: General Chemistry 2 with Professor Thomas Bussey. I was so nervous at first. Coming from CSN with 75+ transfer credits and a 3.74 GPA, I didn’t know how I compared to the rest of the student body. I thought, these people must be smarter than me. I have been going to a community college this whole time and they haven’t been. Come to find out, that was far from the truth! Yes, the people in MY group were smart, which really helped me. But, not everyone is. The message I took home from that was that I’m adequate. I’m smart enough to be here! And, that I deserved the A- I got in the class.
Oh, and also, Professor Thomas Bussey was the best professor I have ever had. It’s unique to find a teacher that knows how to really teach. It sucks that I never got the chance to tell him that. If I’m feeling stalkerish one day, I shall find him to tell him. The class still took a lot of work and the tests were not easy, but with enough drive, you could do this class or any class.
To close, 2011 was a really up and down year for me. I know others have gone through much worse than I have, so I treasure life every single day. You just have to believe that it always better with hard work and persistence. Life is good. God is good.
