2013

12-31-13

I know many people do New Year's Resolutions, and I know I have things I want to improve or maintain in my life, but that's not really what I'm thinking about. I've been thinking about where I've been on past New Year's and where I've been this year.

When I was little, we'd each get to pick out a movie to watch and cuddle in our sleeping bags on the living room floor. We'd watch in the order of youngest to adult, and I remember being excited when I finally made it to midnight without falling asleep now. (Now it's no big thing, but then it was.)

When 2006 turned into 2007, I was in India. I think it was a Thursday night. I had preached a sermon on the 2300-day prophecy earlier that evening, ate New Year's cake in the lobby of the hotel, and fell asleep listening to the very loud fireworks going off up and down the street.

When 2008 turned into 2009, I was on Ebeye. I think it was a Saturday night. I was in the principal's apartment with Ryan and Emily, playing Starcraft and then stuffing couch cushions back into their covers. The covers had just come out of our dryer.

When 2010 turned into 2011, I was at Timber Ridge Camp for staff retreat. It was a Friday night, and so we welcomed the Sabbath and the new year with a footwashing and a communion service. It was also the evening that Charlie and Trish told me about Greg wanting me to go work at Wakonda.

Tonight, I'm in my solitary apartment in Michigan. Yeah, my landlord lives downstairs, but I think he's out with his brother and sister-in-law. I had Chism family pizza and some ice cream, I watched some classic Doctor Who (I finished the 1st Doctor story, The Aztecs) and I read and I'm now writing this blog before doing more watching and reading and etc. I came back early because of the grown-up things I'm doing later this week and because of the weather, and so I'm glad I don't have to drive through the snow, but I'm also a little melancholy because I'm not with my family. If I had been, I still would have been sleeping on the floor. :)

Anyway, I do pray that I grow and change for the better in 2014. Here's to the past and here's to the future.

2010

1-1-10

That felt weird to type.

Anyway, I decided that I had to make a post on the first day of the new year. I did not make any so-called resolutions, but I did think that I wanted to state some of the things I have thought/have been thinking about.

Basically, I have thought about what the last ten years contained for me. I went through ages eleven through twenty-two, grades five through sophomore year of university (I'm a little behind in the schooling because of mission trips), been on three mission trips (2 weeks, a month, and ten months), learned a lot about myself, learned to play the bass clarinet, became a certified advanced open water scuba diver, finished a good number of stories (and started many more), worked four summers at Timber Ridge Camp, worked a summer at Camp Shawadasee, went to Indiana Academy (and was a reader there for science, English, and history), and spend most of my time living out of boxes (so it seems). Of course, that's not everything, but it's what I can think of at the moment.

During American History I, I was sort of stunned to learn that most presidential campaigns have been full of what we'd call "mud-slinging" and attack ads and all those dirty tactics that disgust me. It made me wonder about why I find it disgusting. I think it's because of 9/11, or, rather, the response to it. I was an eighth-grader when 9/11 happened, and my knowledge and opinion of politics was growing at the time. We'd participated in a mock election in sixth grade (for the primaries of the 2000 election), and I had vague memories of when President Clintion visited my home town when I was in kindergarten. I was actually more concerned about local hometown issues and my family's issues than the larger country. But then I walked into my ISTEP testing room on September 11 and found out about what was happening. The school didn't inform us, because they were afraid that it would hurt our test scores, and I remember one of my classmates telling us that "Saddam Hussein did it," though I had no idea who that was. I also remember members of Congress (I forget which, either the House or the Senate) standing together on the steps of the Capitol Building and singing "God Bless America." There was no bickering, no mud, no dirty tactics--at least on the surface, which, at the time, is what I knew about. I think that memory is one of the reasons that part of me expects lawmakers to work together to address the nation's problems. The most stupid reason to not work with someone is that they disagree with you; rather, it should be an opportunity to find what will be best for all.

So, what do I "resolve" to do in the year of 2010?

--I plan to continue with improving my diet and exercise.
--I plan to finish writing some of my short stories and novels.
    --I plan to work up the courage to research publishers and actually send out some of my work.
--I plan to continue growing closer to God.

At the moment, I think that's it.

More later.