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starladyIt's only in thinking back to the turn of the millennium (yes, numbers geeks, it didn't really start until 2001, but vox populi, vox dei) that I realize that this decade has, for me, been bracketed by death.
Ten years ago my uncle was in a snowmobiling accident on 27 December. My mother flew out to be with my aunt, her sister, and didn't come back until 31 December; my uncle died in January without ever having regained consciousness. It was my first real experience with death, I think; certainly the first time I really knew the deceased. I would never have dreamed that his death would be followed by my mother's ten years later. I am selfishly grateful that my sister and I had ten years longer with their parent than my uncie's children, my cousins, did.
It's been a good decade, though, in other ways. I graduated high school and then college, lived in Japan for a year, visited another eleven countries, and learned three languages besides Latin, two of them living. Ten years ago I wanted to write books when I grew up, and I still do; ten years ago I planned to earn a PhD in something, and I still do. Both of these dreams are closer than they have ever been; I wouldn't know what to do without them, really. This decade also saw the introduction of our parrot into our family, and a wonderful part of it he is too.
2009 itself has been unquestionably the most difficult year of my life so far, for all that it saw the inauguration of Barack Obama and saw me getting into Dreamwidth and the OTW, both of which have been incredibly awesome experiences (mostly for the people involved) which I look forward to continuing. I would never have pictured myself sitting where I am ten years ago, back at home and on the cusp of adventures beyond the ones I'm already having; hell, I didn't think I'd be where I am now a year ago. But it is what it is, and I'd be a fool not to turn my face to the sun, even at midnight.
Resolutions: Read every day. Write every day. Run longer, as often as possible. Practice writing Japanese so other people don't show me up too horribly in grad school. Finish the novel. Start the novel(s). Walk through graveyards. Be happy, or at least content.
Happy New Year, everyone. To quote Daniel Shore, we survived the 00s, and the 10s have to be better.
Ten years ago my uncle was in a snowmobiling accident on 27 December. My mother flew out to be with my aunt, her sister, and didn't come back until 31 December; my uncle died in January without ever having regained consciousness. It was my first real experience with death, I think; certainly the first time I really knew the deceased. I would never have dreamed that his death would be followed by my mother's ten years later. I am selfishly grateful that my sister and I had ten years longer with their parent than my uncie's children, my cousins, did.
It's been a good decade, though, in other ways. I graduated high school and then college, lived in Japan for a year, visited another eleven countries, and learned three languages besides Latin, two of them living. Ten years ago I wanted to write books when I grew up, and I still do; ten years ago I planned to earn a PhD in something, and I still do. Both of these dreams are closer than they have ever been; I wouldn't know what to do without them, really. This decade also saw the introduction of our parrot into our family, and a wonderful part of it he is too.
2009 itself has been unquestionably the most difficult year of my life so far, for all that it saw the inauguration of Barack Obama and saw me getting into Dreamwidth and the OTW, both of which have been incredibly awesome experiences (mostly for the people involved) which I look forward to continuing. I would never have pictured myself sitting where I am ten years ago, back at home and on the cusp of adventures beyond the ones I'm already having; hell, I didn't think I'd be where I am now a year ago. But it is what it is, and I'd be a fool not to turn my face to the sun, even at midnight.
Resolutions: Read every day. Write every day. Run longer, as often as possible. Practice writing Japanese so other people don't show me up too horribly in grad school. Finish the novel. Start the novel(s). Walk through graveyards. Be happy, or at least content.
Happy New Year, everyone. To quote Daniel Shore, we survived the 00s, and the 10s have to be better.
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Date: 2010-01-01 21:30 (UTC)