Out with the Old, In with the New...yeah, I know it's cliche

Today I read an article entitled, "Americans seek silver lining in 2010." According to a poll, nearly three-fourths of Americans think 2009 was a bad year for the country. Forty-two percent rated it very bad :(  For the country as a whole, yes, 2009 may have been a bad year, at least in comparison to previous years. The job market sucked, homes got foreclosed, the economy was a little under the weather, etc, etc. Some Americans are justified in viewing 2009 as a bad year. But others...umm...I'm sorry you can't afford to buy anymore useless expensive crap that you don't need and that you plan to trade in for a bigger piece of useless expensive crap within the next year. I think 2009 gave a lot of people a wake up call about how they were spending their money and forced them reevaluate their priorities. Now I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with having expensive, sometimes completely unnecessary things that you want...as long as you can afford it (personally, I think there are quite a few ways that money could be put to better use, but that all depends on one's personal values and outlook). Being able to charge it does not necessarily mean that you can afford it, and I think a lot of people, including me, came to that realization this year. 

For me, I would say that the year went pretty well.  Like every year, there were things that made my life more complicated, things that made my life more interesting, things that basically had me on my knees thanking God that he allowed me to experience them, and things that had me questioning God and wondering if he even slightly cared about me. I've been stretched, squeezed, emptied, filled, and molded so many times this year and although it never felt good during those times, I know I came out stronger, wiser, and better prepared. Here is a little recap of my 2009, the good and the bad:

Bads: 

- Family issues flared up (can't go into details); felt (and feel) completely useless in helping the situation

- Failed to help bring other minorities into my campus ministry; convinced myself that it wasn't my responsibility

- Got my wisdom teeth removed (actually wasn't that bad)

- Took the long, dreadful, 8-hour FE (Fundamentals of Engineering Exam)

- Countless other personal disappointments that I won't mention; I can't put all my bizness out there for everyone to see!

Goods (happy time!):  

- Broke away from an unhealthy friendship; felt what it's like to be completely free 

- Finally let my guard down, got to know a few people better, and let them see some of the real me

- Got to see the pride in my parents' faces as I walked across the stage to become the first person in our family to get a bachelor's degree!

- Successfully passed the long, dreadful, 8-hour FE!

- Got invited to be a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica!!!

As you can probably guess, I am ecstatic about the year 2010! Only 11 more weeks to go and I'll be boarding that plane to Miami to start a new adventure and see what this development thing is all about. I'll finally be able to begin something that I've felt obligated to do for over a year now. That's so crazy to me...it was the end of 2008 when I decided to completely switch gears on my life plan and throw myself into an extremely unpredictable situation. Who's knows what's gonna happen while I'm in Jamaica? I don't, but I'm taking a chance and I'm ready to go. Today is the start of a good year...