2007

I like the new year. Not the celebrations. Actually, I could do without those. Sure, it’s fun to see my cousins and play games with my family and spend one more evening of guiltless holiday eating before I go home to a (brief) renewed commitment to a healthier level of sugar consumption. But I’ve never been a late night person and a holiday dedicated to staying up late has never much appealed to me, especially when the festivities culminate in something as exciting as running out into the cold and banging on pots and pans (a tradition my family has finally, gratefully outgrown).

But I like the feel of the new year. I like writing a new digit when I write my checks. I like reflecting on the year behind me. I like anticipating the year ahead. I like that my sister insists that “This is the year, Amy. I feel it,” even if she’s been feeling it for seven years now. (For the record, she’s really not particularly concerned with my eternal happiness, she just wants nieces and nephews to play with.)

This transition to the new year was a good one. Looking forward, I feel optimistic. I haven’t set any specific goals, but the two weeks away was just long enough for me to take stock of where I am and to have an epiphany or two about where I need to go from here. It’s a little daunting, but I’m kind of excited.

And looking back, it’s awfully satisfying to realize that I’m farther along than I was last year, in many ways. I love being able to see progress. There are lots of things in my life that aren’t perfect, but my attitude about them is much better. I feel very happy with where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going.

I thought about writing my very first Christmas letter this year, but in the end I couldn’t quite think of what to fill it with. In terms of typical Christmas letters, my life hasn’t been all that interesting. I am still in Michigan, still in graduate school, still running, still the ward organist, still single. Now that Christmas cards are beginning to include baby pictures, graduation tales, new jobs, I feel like my own yearly letter wouldn’t quite measure up.

Except that it was an eventful year, at least to me. I may still be a graduate student, but if you know me well at all, you also know that this in itself is a big deal. I visited New York City, New York state, and Canada for the first time. My brother and dad managed to get me on a road bike. My sister visited me. My parents visited me. I gave two talks. I organized several surprisingly successful social events. I began to successfully keep track of my finances. I found another Boggle friend. I ran through Hell. I began attending ward volleyball. I bought a desk. I sang in a trio in front of the entire congregation. I taught an institute class. I went to Mackinac Island. I went to the Toledo zoo. I went to a Lansing dance. I went to another Lansing dance. I spent ten days on sleep restriction. I crashed my bike. I rearranged my room, twice. I slipped on the ice and took myself out of running commission for six weeks. I started working at the temple. I made new friends. I experienced March winds and August humidity. And I fell in love with Michigan. It was a pretty full year.

Now I’m looking forward to another eventful year, and to those of you who are reading this, I hope the coming year treats you as well as this past year treated me.

Happy 2007!