Decade

2009 is coming to a close and I recently heard that somewhere in the NY Times Magazine, it's claimed that this past decade has been a terrible one. Thinking back over the years it's been a tough one but it's been endured. I remember in school thinking about the people who lived through other tough years and wondered how they did it...or, how lucky am I not to have lived then? I may not always realize the gravity of our situations as we live in the moment, but hindsight is 20/20. In the past ten years I've had a lot of good times: being in the marching band at SMS, getting my driver's license and becoming more independent, fun concerts and school activities with friends, great vacations with my family, going off to college and really gaining independence, traveling with my horn and making new friends, becoming closer with my grandparents, graduating college, getting some really special time with Mom, meeting Michael, redirecting my career goals, becoming financially independent, moving across the country to a new city, spending my first Christmas away from home.

These past ten years I've gotten to know myself and I'm pretty happy. I've learned what awareness is and the hard work that goes along with it. In another ten years I'll know even more about myself...until then, I'll do my best to live presently.