"I won’t be so hard on me today
I start to take myself so seriously
Shouldn’t be so hard just to be effortlessly
I want to know
I want to breathe
I want to simplify my needs
I want to live inside this moment
And just be effortlessly
Just be"
(Sister Hazel)
One of the Reverb Prompts encourage readers to encapsulate 2010 with one word. That was easy for me. My word was "Effort." Some things seemed so much harder than they had to be. Other things were just hard because they were hard. Last year around Christmas is when UNO cut my program and I had to spend the first part of 2010 deciding where to go next. New areas of study had to be chosen, my major had to change, a completely different path than the one I had already spent so much time and effort on had to be taken.
I had to give up on every single grad school that I had chosen to apply to.
I had to accept the fact that I'd spent countless hours learning a language that had very nearly driven me crazy and I now had absolutely no use for.
To say this was hard is a HUGE understatement.
Then there was the twelve semester hour summer. The twenty one semester hour Fall. The new job. The new goals that required sometimes more effort than I thought I could manage. A couple of huge disappointments. A series of hurt feelings. Plus, there were the common everyday struggles of life on top of the extra struggles of getting my feet back under me after such a dasterdly rug pulling.
This year was hard.
This year required a tremendous amount of effort.
This year makes me tired just thinking about it.
This year I had to dig in with both my fingers and my knees while scaling some pretty daunting mountain sides.
But there was also so much good about this year. For one this year brought new friends that I cherish. It brought me a job that I love and I boss that I respect. It brought me new future goals that actually fit me better and make me happier than the original ones (and I NEVER have to study Russian grammar ever, ever, ever again). It brought me new surges of creativity. It brought productivity. I've completed a ton of semester hours and manged to keep a high GPA (3.78 thank you very much, 4.0 in my major). I've joined the History Honor's Society. I've started the work of developing a portfolio that I'm proud of. I've learned how to set up studio lighting. I gave a friend a portrait of her son that nearly made her cry.
This has been a good year.
This has been a great year.
This year makes me happy just thinking about it.
This year was photography class and Jessie and Alicia and Shelly and Alex.
This year was the SMH and Geoff.
This year was DC and Baltimore and Hannes and the best Indian food ever.
This year Murali left.
This year Philip left.
This year Kaylan moved away.
This year the Saint's won the Superbowl and we celebrated half the night in the Quarter.
This year was art museums with my youngest daughter.
This year was tough for me and my oldest daughter as we both struggled with her growing up.
This year was Cheryl Hayes.
This year was a super nerve wracking time with Richard Johnson who I only somewhat love and is the meanest mentor ever.
This year was class, and class, and class.
This year was Dr. Goss who has changed my academic life completely- for the better.
This year was Michael and I struggling with work loads and bosses and stress and responsibility and bills and laundry and willful cats but always working it out together.
This year was Amber Phillips.
This year we lost our chancellor and everyone at UNO was afraid and most still are.
This year Joe Caldwell died.
This year was The Tome, and Bible as Lit, Art History and Clarence Laughlin.
This year was migraines, the flu, allergies and more migraines.
This year was one Emergency Room (I love you Frannie) and two Critical Care trips.
This year was a drive-in movie in Virginia.
This year was my new camera that I worked so hard for and then was a piece of junk (stupid rave reviews) and so I worked so hard again and got another one that I adore.
This year was my mother and I finding balance.
This year was planting a garden just to have the whole damn thing die and then in October the pepper plants miraculously came back to life and won't stop making peppers.
This year was more "Dear Ganesha's" than I can count.
This year was learning that Rick Herrera had the power to smite people.
This year Ali had her twins.
This year I never got to see her because we kept missing one another.
This year was SueBear and Cemeteries and Fairy Juice and Austin.
This year was Johnathan and MATH.
This year was happy and hard and took a lot, a lot of effort.
The next part of the prompt is much harder. What word do I want to encapsulate the next year?
I think I'll answer that one tomorrow.
I start to take myself so seriously
Shouldn’t be so hard just to be effortlessly
I want to know
I want to breathe
I want to simplify my needs
I want to live inside this moment
And just be effortlessly
Just be"
(Sister Hazel)
One of the Reverb Prompts encourage readers to encapsulate 2010 with one word. That was easy for me. My word was "Effort." Some things seemed so much harder than they had to be. Other things were just hard because they were hard. Last year around Christmas is when UNO cut my program and I had to spend the first part of 2010 deciding where to go next. New areas of study had to be chosen, my major had to change, a completely different path than the one I had already spent so much time and effort on had to be taken.
I had to give up on every single grad school that I had chosen to apply to.
I had to accept the fact that I'd spent countless hours learning a language that had very nearly driven me crazy and I now had absolutely no use for.
To say this was hard is a HUGE understatement.
Then there was the twelve semester hour summer. The twenty one semester hour Fall. The new job. The new goals that required sometimes more effort than I thought I could manage. A couple of huge disappointments. A series of hurt feelings. Plus, there were the common everyday struggles of life on top of the extra struggles of getting my feet back under me after such a dasterdly rug pulling.
This year was hard.
This year required a tremendous amount of effort.
This year makes me tired just thinking about it.
This year I had to dig in with both my fingers and my knees while scaling some pretty daunting mountain sides.
But there was also so much good about this year. For one this year brought new friends that I cherish. It brought me a job that I love and I boss that I respect. It brought me new future goals that actually fit me better and make me happier than the original ones (and I NEVER have to study Russian grammar ever, ever, ever again). It brought me new surges of creativity. It brought productivity. I've completed a ton of semester hours and manged to keep a high GPA (3.78 thank you very much, 4.0 in my major). I've joined the History Honor's Society. I've started the work of developing a portfolio that I'm proud of. I've learned how to set up studio lighting. I gave a friend a portrait of her son that nearly made her cry.
This has been a good year.
This has been a great year.
This year makes me happy just thinking about it.
This year was photography class and Jessie and Alicia and Shelly and Alex.
This year was the SMH and Geoff.
This year was DC and Baltimore and Hannes and the best Indian food ever.
This year Murali left.
This year Philip left.
This year Kaylan moved away.
This year the Saint's won the Superbowl and we celebrated half the night in the Quarter.
This year was art museums with my youngest daughter.
This year was tough for me and my oldest daughter as we both struggled with her growing up.
This year was Cheryl Hayes.
This year was a super nerve wracking time with Richard Johnson who I only somewhat love and is the meanest mentor ever.
This year was class, and class, and class.
This year was Dr. Goss who has changed my academic life completely- for the better.
This year was Michael and I struggling with work loads and bosses and stress and responsibility and bills and laundry and willful cats but always working it out together.
This year was Amber Phillips.
This year we lost our chancellor and everyone at UNO was afraid and most still are.
This year Joe Caldwell died.
This year was The Tome, and Bible as Lit, Art History and Clarence Laughlin.
This year was migraines, the flu, allergies and more migraines.
This year was one Emergency Room (I love you Frannie) and two Critical Care trips.
This year was a drive-in movie in Virginia.
This year was my new camera that I worked so hard for and then was a piece of junk (stupid rave reviews) and so I worked so hard again and got another one that I adore.
This year was my mother and I finding balance.
This year was planting a garden just to have the whole damn thing die and then in October the pepper plants miraculously came back to life and won't stop making peppers.
This year was more "Dear Ganesha's" than I can count.
This year was learning that Rick Herrera had the power to smite people.
This year Ali had her twins.
This year I never got to see her because we kept missing one another.
This year was SueBear and Cemeteries and Fairy Juice and Austin.
This year was Johnathan and MATH.
This year was happy and hard and took a lot, a lot of effort.
The next part of the prompt is much harder. What word do I want to encapsulate the next year?
I think I'll answer that one tomorrow.
