Instead of telling you what new years resolutions I'm going to make and BREAK, I think I'm going to do a little Decade in Review from my point of view.
In the Year 2000
-I was in 10th grade.
-I played basketball for the last time on a school team. I finished out the season and then devoted all of my athletic ability to running. I had played basketball since the 5th grade but my highschool was very political about team sports and benched me because I didnt come from the right family. Running is different. It's a more individual sport.
-I got my braces off
-I liked George W. Bush because I wasn't smart and didn't know anything about politics
-I turned 16 that summer. I was supposed to have a surprise party but my mom accidentally copied me in on an email she sent to my friends telling them about the party.
-I learned to type faster due to AOL Instant Messenger.
-I went to my first prom with Jeff Powell. He was in the 11th grade so that's why I was able to go as a 10th grader.
-I didn't drink or do drugs. I was involved in a drug-free organization called H.A.P.P.Y Youth Staff.
In the Year 2001
-I discovered Harry Potter
-I got my first varsity letter in cross country and track.
-I was 17 and got my driver's license. I passed the first time and got a perfect score on parallel parking. Now, 8 and 1/2 years later, I can't parallel park to save my life.
-We got a rescue dog. She was a golden retriever named Sadie. It was the first time I truly learned to take care of a pet.
-I went to my second prom, but this time my class decorated. The theme was "Pure Imagination," which is a lyric from a song in the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie. I thought that was more clever than calling the prom "Willy Wonka."
-I sang my first solo in choir.
-I wanted to be a teacher
-I saw the World Trade Center fall during my second period English class.
-I came down with Lyme disease and thought it was Anthrax (it happened right in the middle of the Anthrax scare).
In the Year 2002
-I got a cell phone.
-I had a role in my first (and last) musical: Little Shop of Horrors. I was Ronette which was perfect for my low alto voice.
-At the end of my last high school cross country season, I got the Spirit award.
-I was president of my youth group
-I weighed 115 pounds
-I graduated high school with honors and had a 3.5 GPA
-I took the ACT test twice. The highest score I got was a 23.
-I wore a blue dress for senior prom. The theme was New York, New York...it was lame.
-I applied to Kent State University, The University of Findlay, and Bluffton College. I visited Bluffton's campus and knew I had to go there. I was accepted and the cross country coach recruited me.
-I worked at Fazolis
-My dad got a job in Findlay and could live with us again. He had been living 3 hours away for about 7 years.
In the Year 2003
-Sadie got hit by a car and died. My mom bought two new golden retriever puppies, Sophie and Teddy, which my parents still have to this day.
-I wasn't very good at Bluffton cross country because I was always tired from staying up so late.
-I lived on campus at Bluffton and had the same roommate for 3 years.
-I drank for the first time at a party. I was 19.
-I struggled to keep a 3.0 GPA.
-I colored my hair red.
-my boyfriend of over a year broke up with me right before Christmas. It was the worst Christmas of my life.
-I started my first blog.
-I stopped watching MTV.
In the Year 2004
-I got a job at Ruby Tuesday as a server, but I still worked at Fazolis too.
-I didn't weigh 115 pounds anymore. I weighed 145 pounds and felt horrible.
-I cut my hair very short for the first time.
-I still ran cross country even though I weighed 145 pounds.
-I began to not like George W. Bush so much anymore. I cried and drank with my friends when he got re-elected.
-I got a 3.2 GPA, but that wouldn't last.
-I didn't go to church much
-I got a digital camera for my 20th birthday
-I went to Europe/The UK for the McLaughlin Family Reunion. I saw London, Paris, Geneva, and a lot of Scotland. It was the first time I was ever on a plane.
-I changed my major from Secondary English Education, to English Literature with a minor in Writing
-I couldn't graduate from Bluffton without taking a "cross cultural trip." I tried to use my Canadian citizenship and my Europe trip as a reason for not having to meet that requirement, and I was rejected. I opted to go to Chicago with about 23 other students instead.
-I joined a Bluffton choir who met annually to sing Handel's Messiah every Christmas. For the first time I could sight-read music.
-I had a class with my future husband, Marc Miller, and didn't think anything of it.
In the Year 2005
-I colored my hair back to brown
-I started going to the counselor on campus because I was depressed, drank too much, and I hated myself. It was the best decision I made since turning 20.
-I went through a "question everything phase."
-I fell in love with my future husband during the Chicago Cross Cultural trip. I also fell in love with Chicago
-on November 5th, Marc proposed after getting a job offer in Chicago
-Marc and I spent New Years eve in Niagara Falls with my parents and the rest of my family. It was the best New Years I've ever had.
In the Year 2006
-I got a new roommate. I would buy her booze all the time because I was 21 and she was still 20
-I drove to Oxford, Ohio to see Marc at grad school almost every weekend. I did this while still having full time classes and while still running cross country for Bluffton.
-I wrote my first fiction story that was taken seriously (by me and by my professors).
-I wrote my Research Seminar paper. It was the longest and best paper I've ever written.
-I bought my own wedding dress. It was the most expensive thing I had ever bought by myself.
-The surprise party for my 21st birthday was ruined yet again, but not by my mother. I've had two attempted surprise parties in my life, and both of them weren't surprises.
-I got a new job as a bartender.
-I finally lost the weight I put on in college.
-I graduated college with a 2.9999 GPA. Why they didn't round it up, I'm not sure. I rounded it up on my resume though!
-I ran my first marathon
-Marc and I got married, moved to Chicago, and it was the first time I ever paid rent.
-My sister Katie got married, and Marc's sister Melissa got married
In the Year 2007
-Marc and I survived our first tax season.
-I colored my hair black and have been too lazy to change it.
-Marc and I bought Sammy the parrot.
-I ran in the Chicago marathon, which got cancelled halfway through due to extreme heat.
-I ran my first half marathon.
-My niece Baylie was born
-I gained 20 pounds but then joined a gym and lost it.
-I flew on an airplane probably 8 times that year.
-Marc and I spent Thanksgiving alone in Chicago.
-I actually followed the Election Primaries.
-Marc and I almost bought a condo but then realized it was probably too early.
-I joined the Moody Church choir.
-Marc and I bought a new mattress and our backs magically stopped hurting.
-I finally gave in and added text messaging to our cell phone plan.
-I read the last Harry Potter book
In the Year 2008
-I got promoted in my job
-I applied to graduate school but then withdrew my application when I learned of my promotion at work.
-the economy tanked, and Marc and I were glad we didn't buy a condo.
-Marc survived three rounds of layoffs at his job.
-Marc and I finally went on our honeymoon after nearly two years of marriage, but we could afford it and we stayed two weeks.
-My sister and her husband moved to Chicago.
-I ran my third Chicago Marathon, and my second half marathon.
-We moved into a new apartment.
-I watched English Premiere League Soccer for the first time, and loved it.
-I saw the first African American President elected.
-We spent Christmas in Chicago.
In the Year 2009
-Marc and I celebrated three years of marriage.
-Michael Jackson died, and I was very upset.
-I joined the YMCA.
-My nephew Mason was born.
-My views started to become more traditional (I will never say the word "conservative").
-My grandmother on my mother's side turned 90, and my grandfather on my father's side also turned 90.
-My mother beat cancer.
-I started going to Catholic mass regularly again.
-Marc's other sister Jenna got married.
-I ran my 4th marathon, but in Niagara Falls instead of Chicago.
-I ran the biggest variety of races in any year of my life: a marathon, a 5K, an 8K, a 10K, a 15K, a half marathon, and a 10 mile race.
-I realized that I have been a runner for 10 years.
-I started my new blog.
-I learned the Thriller dance.
-We bought our first laptop.
-I'm still at the same job I've had since 2006.
That was my decade in a nutshell. I tried to remember it as best I could. There are countless memories and moments that I could spend the rest of my life trying to account for...so I'll leave it at this.
The last three years were a tad boring to write about, but I think it's because there were no huge life events. I'm happy beyond happy. I'm healthy. I'm employed. And I now can recall having lived through two decades (I can't really remember the 80's much, as I was too young).
Happy New Year to you all. I wish you health and happiness. What will happen in the 2010's? I think my next entry will involve "Where I see myself in the 2010's." I bet you're excited to read about that one...
