Looking back on 2013 ...

Can you believe that we're coming to the end of another year? I certainly can't! The end of 2012 feels like it was just a blink ago, and when I look at all the things that happened and that I did this year, I wonder how I managed to squeeze it all into such a short time.

Looking back to last year's summing-up post, I actually did better on my 2013 goals than I expected to:

- Take time to be more feminine and graceful. I'm much more conscious of my clothing and hairstyle choices now than I was a year ago. Recently I've been experimenting with clothing that is looser and more flowing than my normal no-nonsense styles, and I also try not to put my hair up as often as I used to. In the future, I might try some cute dresses and shoes from ModCloth and experiment with my hair color and style to make it more fun to wear down.  :-)

- Rebuild neglected friendships. Facebook has been a huge help in this area. I reached out to virtually all of the friends I had in mind when I made this resolution last year, whether through Facebook or by mail, and communicate with several of them semi-regularly. Yay!

- Focus on reality, not imagination. Eeah, yeah, I haven't done so well in this area. But truthfully, this is something I'll be wrestling with my whole life, so I'm not too surprised that I haven't made much progress in a year.

- Make a decision on grad school. Yes, I have! I will be going on to earn an advanced degree in hearing diagnosis and therapy, and then after getting established in my career for a couple of years, I will take a look at going to medical school. This is something that has tormented me for YEARS, so it's such a wonderful feeling to have a clear idea of where I'm going, at least for the time being.

- Make plans to travel. I have been looking into some things, nothing definite yet, but I'll make sure to take my camera along when I do!  ;-)

- Prioritize Internet time. Definitely a huge, monster, epic fail. This year's Internet-life balance has been worse than ever before, even damaging my grades and the quality of my work. This will be an area of serious focus and prayer for 2014.

And a few random things I did and experienced this year:

- Joined Pinterest and Facebook. I hate to put such trivial things first, but these two memberships have radically changed my life in ways, both good and bad, that I could never have foreseen.

- Was invited to be a student delegate at a university-wide diversity conference. It was magical to get to talk with people from incredibly diverse backgrounds about the future of our culture and the world we will pass on to our children.

- Decided on my career path. I still haven't experienced the epiphany that I always associated with finding my "dream" for my life, but I love what I'm studying and know that I'll be very happy in it, so I think I'm content.  :-)

- Served as a student leader in two student organizations. That doesn't sound like much, but considering my commitment issues, it's a pretty big accomplishment!

- Massively improved my Spanish-speaking skills. I never would have believed a few years ago that I could walk into a Spanish bakery and converse about college and medical careers with the proprietor. ¡Pero yo puedo! - but I can! Praise God for His help in this challenging but rewarding area.

- Managed to maintain friendships for more than one semester, for the first time in my collegiate life. No idea why it's taken me so long to do this, but I'm very happy about it!

- Successfully completed my first professional writing project. I can't give you too many details because it's going to be distributed nationwide under my real name, but yes, I was paid to write something!

- Saw one of my favorite singers live in concert. Again, I can't tell you who it was, unfortunately, but it was AWESOME and one of the coolest things I've ever done!

What have been the highlights of your 2013? Drop me a comment and let me know!

Hugs,
Vicki