Leaping into 2012

Well, well, well... look who took another sabbatical from blogging! I was catching up on reading my best girl's blog last night and felt the need to catch up with my blog as well.

Cheers!

It's currently 6:16 p.m. on New Year's Eve and I'll soon be prepping for a night of love and laughter with some friends to ring in 2012 on a positive note. In the past hour I got to thinking about all of the many things that happened in 2011 that change my whole life and many of the fun and exciting things I was lucky enough to experience. It made me realize how much of a lucky girl I was in 2011 and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be just as blessed in 2012.

1 - I took some fantastic trips this year! Nashville, Chicago, Louisville, New York, and Las Vegas. I experienced these cities with both friends and family and each trip created some amazing memories.
2 - I came into my own in my new career and allowed myself to fall madly in love with it. The school I was at last year was rough and the group I had was probably one of the toughest to handle, but about midway through the year (and especially after that dreaded FCAT), I realized how great I am at this and what an amazing decision I made to follow my heart and go into teaching. The students I had last year taught me as much as I taught them and they'll forever have a huge place in my heart. Leaving them at the end of the school year was absolutely heartbreaking, but I feel so lucky to have had them as my first class.
3 - I met a boy who, while he's no longer in my life, showed me that I am deserving of a lot. While going our separate ways was inevitable, he's one of the best treasures I've ever found and treated me like he felt the same.
4 - I became a godmother! It meant the absolute world to me when one of my very favorite people asked me to be the godmother to her son. Lucas is the most precious little boy in the world and it's such a special feeling to be a part of his life.
5 - I moved to a new city (sort of). I'm experiencing my 'hometown' (I don't know that I'll ever consider it my hometown as Louisville is what my family considers our real home) in a very different way than I ever had before. I moved back after getting a job at a school over here, but I only ever lived here with my parents and knew nothing about life outside of their home. I'm living in a bustling part of this city and it's exciting to see all the things I haven't experienced before, even though I had lived here for 12 years before college!
6 - I got a job that many teachers dream of. While I'm still trying to love my new school, it really is in a fantastic location and I've had a lot of opportunities to develop myself and leadership more into the world of education.
7 - I saw Garth Brooks in concert. "Just put me in a coffin and bury me," were my exact words to my dad when I called him to thank him for getting us tickets to see my ALL. TIME. FAVORITE. singer... IN. THE. WORLD. Being six rows away from Garth Brooks, in an intimate concert, was one of the very coolest experiences that I'll ever have.

There are a bajillion other things I could list. But thinking about all of these things helped me to realize that 2011 really was amazing and that there are probably many more amazing things in store for me in 2012! I'm excited for the future and all that is to come!