Arrivederci 2009.

I am not one for New Year’s resolutions. I like the idea of a clean slate, but in many ways why should we limit fresh starts solely to one day. I guess the cynical side of me doesn't understand the big fuss over January 1st. I am not about to write down some whimsical resolutions that I know will never happen.
I still don’t quite believe that it is a new decade. I don’t know how to/how I feel about the close of the years that saw me go from a child to a teenager. It almost feels bittersweet, but at the same time I think this next decade will be the best of my life, or at least I hope so.
I am struggling to put words to the vast array of memories floating in my head. Trying to condense ten years into one blog post can’t be done, and I really don’t know where the years have gone. I feel that it wasn’t too long ago that I was 2004 and I was 12 years old. Holy shit. I am going to be eighteen this year. For me 2010 will be marked by changes. Not like anything drastic, but the end of the 00’s sort of coincides with me beginning a new phase of my life. That scares me but is also thrilling.
I wrote this whole post in Microsoft Word because somehow I can no longer express myself at all typing on blogspot. It's strange, but I just don’t feel the same way about blogging on here as I used to. I guess blogging has changed a lot since I started last summer. I will continue to blog, but also I am starting a new blog j03y.tumblr.com, because it’s less concrete and easier for me.

My Decade:
Ten years ago I was in Princeton celebrating the new millennium, never thinking that I would one day move up here. On new years eve we walked out onto Echo Lake. There was the clearest ice, and I remember sliding along looking down through the glass-like ice at the hibernating newts in the water, illuminated by the moon. It was an exciting time. Back in D.C. I was at Sligo Creek Elementary School, busy learning French. My childhood in D.C. was happy. I remember the most obscure details like: the annual storm of cicadas, those hot summer days when you knew it was going to rain even before the stormclouds arrived, protests, the smell of the leather metro seats, Mme Thompson and everything that so strongly contrasts my life up here. In these northern lands I have built a lot of strong relationships and am glad we moved up. I miss my grandmothers. No more trips to Florida every February to visit Grandma. Her house always had that same smell and we always stuck notes under her door to wake her up and play cards, everyday religiously at 7am. Across the ocean, I can see Granny humming gently, on a family walk. She had this look in her eyes that expressed such compassion. No, compassion isn’t the word, but she always brings back memories of England, basically a second home to me. I think the best parts of growing up were often there. Sitting at smoky pubs, walking in wellington boots to pick blackberries and wars with the local kid, which all the cousins vigorously took part in. Hello, Goodbye by the Beatles would be one of my songs of the decade. Granted its from the 1960s but the Beatles have been integral in my music taste, and so many moments in my life seem to have them playing in the background. How have I gone this long without mentioning Harry Potter. From that one day in Portugal where my dad began to read the words “The Dursleys of Number Four, Privet Drive..” up until July 21 in 2007, one of the most memorable nights of my life, where I queued for hours at midnight among millions of others in London to get my hands on a copy, the series made me like reading. But back to the here and the now. If there was one ‘faux resolution’ to have it would be to get a girlfriend one of these days but there is no rush. I am comfortable with myself and happy being me. Some days I just want to live like Alexander Supertramp. And that’s what I try to do, minus the moving to Alaska and burning my possessions. One thing I would change is that I never really show my family how much I appreciate, as I could. My friends have been one of the brightest parts of my life and I look forward to improving friendships as well as making new ones. May the next decade be filled with new experiences, traveling, and joy.