2010: Reflections

What a year. 2010 was a year of struggle in many ways—and I’m glad I made it through in once piece. Between trying to finish my thesis and trying to find a permanent job I found myself in a place of uncertainty again—no place to call home, needing a mental and emotional break, but desperately wanting to move on to the next thing. At times it seemed like everything had fallen apart, but it is now slowly coming back together.

And in the meantime, my restless self visited 36 states and spent time with so many awesome people. I had fun in San Diego with Tara and Melissa, spent the summer in the Sierras, went backpacking in Isle Royale and Big Bend, spent a lot of time with family, experienced a taste of autumn in New England, and spent a month hiking in Southeast Arizona.

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
— Chris McCandless (Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer)

Chris McCandless may not be a very good role model, but I think he still makes a good point in this quote. A secure future can be nice—but it can also be boring. Life changes so quickly as it is, we really have no idea what’s going to come our way next. So it’s good to remember that even if our future isn’t exactly set in stone--we can always enjoy the new experiences along the way.

I think 2011 begins a new chapter for me—one that I’m very eager to read.

(Side note: I finished reading the book, “Into the Wild” on the floor of my empty apartment in College Station, TX in early Jan. 2008—almost exactly three years ago. The movers moved my stuff in the next day.)