new year, slightly delayed

The perils of bangs and cheesy glasses...

I will make no excuses to the fact that I am one of those people who must thouroughly analyze the old year as the new one begins. I sometimes wish that I was above all that, that I could make no record of what happened or care, even, and just let the twelve months go already. But that, if you want to take a look at the pile of book reports from second grade in that bottom drawer, is just not me. I am a recorder, a chronicler, a pack rat. I want to remember exactly what happened in case it never happens again. Or, to compare it to what happened already if in fact, it does.

And so, I realize: 2009 was a completely up and down sort of year. There were points early on, in say, March and April, when I was so anxious, when I worried incessantly about everything from work to where I would live to what I would do with the dreaded REST OF MY LIFE. This is quite cliché, I now think, to do at 25. Slightly dramatic, too. But maybe it’s what happens when you drive over a bridge every day and spend far too much time listening to 1010wins.

In any case, the year went on and I did some memorable things, like sleeping in the woods for two nights (ok, fine, it was 1.5 nights, the other half was spent in the car), dancing to the music of an overrated Italian reality show runner-up on the rooftop of my friend’s house late in August, and seeing the Rockies in real life.

Then that whole lots more time on my hands thing happened. And my caravan of Italian cousins came to visit. There was the engagement, which put lots of things into perspective. And it all ended with a New Year’s Eve party that ended with 12 of us sleeping in one room, complete with a pitched tent, snoring boys and an alarm that went off at 8am.

 And now that I’ve come out on the other side, I want to stop dwelling and start moving forward. In 2010, I want to stop worrying so much. I want to let go. I want to take more risks and trust my instincts more. 

Plus: 

- Win a radio contest. This has actually been on my resolution list for the past two years, but I seem to forget about it until a few weeks before the end of the year. Can someone remind of this in say, June? 

- Take cooking lessons from Nonna. She always said I needed to know how to cook when I got married and since I have that whole engagement thing going on, I should probably get on the whole cooking thing, too. 

- Run another 5K. 

- Take better care of my skin. 

- Write something, anything, every day. 

How'd 2009 turn out for you? Any new year's resolutions made for 2010?