Introduction:

It is terribly mind boggling to find that already another year has come and gone. I find that it feels not only like brief moments, but lifetimes as well. I remember years past I would always play the part of the photographer. I was behind the camera recording the experiences but never actually participating in them. For the past six years though I have made it a point to but the camera on auto and get in the photo.
I think I could practically write a book about everything that has happened this year. Thus it would be a monster task to actually write out everything that happened. It would probably be better to just briefly cover a few topics that I find are the most important: College, Friends, and Self.

College:
Freshmen year of college, such a wonderful amazing experience. I think I have had the most fun, and the most stress of my entire life during it all. I ended up coming out with a 4.0 and surviving the 23 credits that I had during my final semester, however that is not really that important. What I find was phenomenal was how much I was involved this year. I ended up joining the Hurd and going insane with school spirit, doing Departmental Honors, Playing D&D, Volunteering at the NASC Annual Pow Wow, working in the Museum, running and getting office in the Area Government and even donating blood.
I had such great experiences, and met such great individuals while being involved in all these activities. One of the biggest things I noted was that I was able to overcome my terrible nerves of public speaking, as I gave tours as an expert in the museum, I had to present to my Department, and class for an Honors contract, and I gave an election speech, and then took office as the Administrative Committee Rep., which required a lot of public interactions. I still get the feeling when done with public speaking of curling up and dying, however, now it no longer keeps me from trying to do new things of that nature.
Now that was terribly short as there was so many more things that happened during college, however the only way to write them out would be as I mentioned to write a book. I mean there was things like the street painting, the Homecoming parade, going to games to explode with school spirit, conducting strength tests on fabrics for a mammoth that was being build for the museum, attending a few dances, developing a Can drive for the Food Bank... and on and on and on.
One final note about the whole college experience. I originally had a terrible fear of being independent. I was frightened of being put in charge of my life outside of my head, things like paying for food, bills, deciding where to go with academics and to the future of profession. I quickly however found that the responsibility of independence is much smaller than the ones I had during high school of raising my younger sibling. Cake in comparison.

Friends:

“Your work is a reflection of you.” I do not remember who gave this quote, however, I find it greatly expresses a piece of myself. I am always pushing myself to give 110% to everything that I attempt. I find it is for one that I know that I can always improve and thus should always try to do so, but also another piece I find is my drive to be the best I can possibly be so I can be the best for the individuals I care about, my friends.
I find that I do not deserve a single one of them. They are truly amazing. I know for a fact that I would not have survived this year without them. I happened to bite more than I could chew and the stress was overwhelming and exhausting. Without having the social life with my friends, I would have cracked under the pressure. I know I’m a lunatic, however, if they had not been there to do those random crazy things with, I would now be in a straight jacket. They do not know how grateful I am to them, and how much they helped me from suffocating this year.

Now it is said that close friends are very rare. I have had tremendous fortune to have been able to meet two of them this year. One was an acquaintance of old and it still surprises me how we had never become friends until now. The other is more recent within the year and it blows my mind at how he came about. This leads a total of four individuals, who to me I find are apart of my family, my pack.
I work my hardest for them and myself. They are my inspiration to keep on going, day after day. They really do not know how important they are in my life. I find that when my mind wanders into those dark abysses or that the events of the life have pulled me deep into hell, that it is they who pull me out. There have been times when they were aware they were doing so, but for the most part it was just by being there, and being themselves that saved me and brought me back on course. Thank You so much, my amazing friends. There are truly now words to describe how grateful I am to call you friend, and how important you are to me, there really isn’t. This year was brilliant because I had you all there to share it with.

Self:

This year has been a year of great growth for me personally. I touched on it earlier with the overcoming my nerves when it came to public speaking. For a very long time in my past I was the photographer, I would stand at experience and record them by taking photos but not actually participating in them. Over the years I have been working my way from behind the camera, as I do not want to sit and watch my life pass by, I want to be out there living it. I believe that this year through the inspiration of my friends, the drive to be the best I can be for myself and for them has finally reached my goal. This year I was no longer the photographer but the subject of the photos. I took life by the reins and I’m going to ride it like mad until I fall down dead.

Now another very important personal discovery happened this year as well. I have at one time felt like there was something just out of reach within myself, and at times I had looked for it in religion and various other things but never had I found it. This year I found it, well more like it showed itself to me. I feel so completely me. It is such an amazing feeling to know who you truly are and to know that you were always yourself. Not to sound cliche but I found myself this year and it turns out I was exactly who I am. I was not someone else but just myself, and seeing myself as I truly am is such a wonderful, amazing thing. Simply Beautiful.


Conclusion:

This year has been fantastic in every way. From the grime of despair to the brilliance of euphoria, and all the levels between. Time is always pushing forward, pulling us weather we wish to go or not. No one can know what the future holds. It could be my end tomorrow or not for another 81 years. In a blink of an eye it will be over, and therefore the only thing to do is to move away from the camera and get into the shot. I have been told that I inspire, I have been told that I have such a great influence on individuals, however, I find it is them who inspire me. I work my hardest to be the best I can be, but I do not aspire to be great. I simply get up in the morning and take a deep breath and live, and I hope I have many more mornings to come, for what matters is not when we will die or if something is too dangerous or hard, what maters is that we experience, that we live. I am truly thankful to be able to say that I have lived this last year and that I have lived with all those great individuals, the ones passing in the street, the ones I call friend, and those of my close pack.
Now another year is beginning the future is bright and I'm smiling as a new opportunity to continue to live is upon me.

End of Year Statement: 18th Year Well Lived.