2010

This is it - the last day of the year 2010. And boy, what a journey it has been! In retrospect, this has been a really eventful year for me. From everything that has happened in the past 365 days, I now find myself that little bit older (inevitable), that little bit more mature, and that little bit..wiser. I can't say I now know all the answers to life's questions (gimme a break, I've only been around for 21 years! :P ) but I can say I have grown, thanks to life's best teacher - experience.

The Ups of 2010! :)

• I turned 21! :) Threw a bash in conjunction with Dad's birthday, spent the night surrounded by blue and silver helium baloons, family, friends, and lots and lots of love. Regrettably, there was no speech, but two friends sang for me! :) (Thanks, dudes.)
• Easter Weekend - Of heart to heart convos about One Tree Hill characters, of mustering every ounce of confidence we had and cannon-balling into the water. Very, very interesting weekend.
• Melbourne - My very first holiday on my own! Caught the Tim Burton Exhibit, tasted Durian Gelato, stared at the walls of MoVida Alley in awe, relished yummy chocolate treats at Koko Black, shopped at the DFO's and most importantly, caught up with my high school friends after yoooonks. Carpe diem-ed alright. :)
• Catching Linkin Park live in Perth - Simply E.P.I.C. this was a dream come true! 
• Catching Victor Wooten live in Perth - Went in not knowing anything about the bass guitar, but was blown away all the same. 
• Circle of Death at Sta's 18th - My first go at a drinking game. Was as red as a lobster waaay faster than everyone else (but that's expected). What happened that night will never ever again be relived (on my part, anyway), but trust me, it was very, very fun.
• Summer Roadtrip to Albany - My very first roadtrip, ever! :) With views that took my breath away, laughing ourselves silly over 'Yo Mama' jokes, pigging out on spaghetti, IndoMee and CrunchyNut, Circle of Death Part II, what's there to not love? A roadtrip to remember for always - and to everyone who was there...thanks for the good times, guys. :) Love you long time.
• Studying 3rd Year of Podiatric Medicine - I actually enjoyed this year immensely. I think the fact that my Year Coordinator took the time to get to know all of us personally really made a vast difference, compared to previous years. I also enjoyed my clinical placements, they really added on to what we were already learning about in theory.
• Clubbing - LOL. This one night out has managed to convert me from a 'What, clubbing?! No way!!' to a 'Hey, it's not so bad after all'. But imo, I think this only works with the right group of friends. And don't worry, if you happen to fall in the group of friends that prefers boardgames, movies, chilling or just talking in a nice cafe somewhere, count me in - this still beats clubbing hands down, any day! In my books, anyway. 
• Falling in love. That warm, fuzzy feeling is very nice. :)
• Getting our PR! For this, I can only say: Thank God :)

The Downs of 2010. :(

• Lost my purse, or rather, it was taken from me. Pree-tee stressful, having to lodge a police report and having to call up the bank to cancel my cards and blablabla. I remember being super devastated because I lost a picture of me and my siblings that I kept in that purse. Upside: Received 3 new purses for my birthday! 
• Saw a pilonidal cyst (naaaastyyyy) and fainted one day at my RPH placement and had to be wheeled into ED. Very embarassing. Few months down, I was there again for placement, and one of the podiatrists there suddenly brought up the topic of this 'student who fainted once after seeing smth nasty' and was like, 'OMG THAT WAS YOU?!' and he lost it. Upside: At least i've seen a pilonidal cyst once in my life... =/ and thank God for Pastor and Auntie Kim who came to bring me home from the hospital. 
• Had to write an essay even though I smashed my first semester Pharmacology exam, because I left out some points in my answer which resulted in a seriously life-threatening situation for a patient. Upside: At least we were all in it together - Me, Aloy, Gabs and Devin. :) And we all know what to do now should an LA overdose occur.
• Falling out of love, or at least, the attempt to. It was a period of suckanoodle days for me, and I didn't like it one bit. I did finally come to terms with it, and I must say, the book 'Passion & Purity' really helped. Big Time. And listening to Lifehouse prolly played a part too. Upside: As sucky as it was, it was a good life experience, Passion & Purity - one of the BEST books i've ever read, and Lifehouse is now one of my favourite bands. My faith in God, I feel, has also been strengthened through this episode, and I feel that maybe I had to go through all that I did for a bigger reason, for a plan that only He knows.
• Pissed one of my very good friends off on more than one occasion - please, please know that it was not intentional. Upside: We are still very good friends. :)
• The fact that this year has just flown by, just like that. Too fast...too fast.

Verdict: 2010 was a good year.

And now we're approaching a brand new year, with more challenges than ever before. I haven't really thought about Resolutions, but I have decided that I will try my utmost to see the best in people around me and to believe in the good in them. No matter how badly they piss me off. I think I also have to make more decisions (as opposed to ALWAYS being indecisive) and learn how to say NO. I'm actually pretty apprehensive of 2011, it will be my final year in uni - after that I'm supposed to know everything and go out into the world and be a..podiatrist! It is a scary thought. 

Speaking of scary and not knowing what the future brings - there is no other way around it then to step into it, right? Life is after all, full of risks and consequences. (For some reason, 'online shopping' comes to mind when I think of the word 'risks' o.0)

But if there's one thing I've learnt, not only from this year, but also from the past years, is that I have a God on my side who will never leave me nor forsake me, and so, I know He will be there before I get to where I do, in 2011. He holds my hand today, tomorrow and forever. He is my God. :)

So here's to another awesome year ahead, here's to seizing the day, and here's to no missed opportunities, no what ifs, and no should haves, here's to embracing life and all the good times (and not so good times) 2011 will bring. All in good faith..all in good faith. :)

"How bout we do this together? On the count of two? Ready?" 

"Ready."

"One...Two."

Happy New Year, everyone. :)