Year-End Review: 2011

Here's what I did in 2011, mostly in chronological order, as it comes to my mind.

• Celebrated New Year's Eve at a friend of a friend's house
• Said goodbye to my clients and co-workers and quit my first real live adult job
• Packed up my room and moved it to storage, with my dad and brother's help
• Took the GRE, applied and was accepted to Columbia and University of Tennessee, decided to go to Columbia
• Made a last-minute decision to not go to Monterrey
• Interviewed with a church planting team in Puerto Rico, and decided to go there
• Spent snow days with dear friends - what a gift
• Cleaned and said goodbye to Dream House
• Ate Chick-fil-a with Emily & Erin & Katy and cried as I said goodbye
• Interned through Mission to the World (MTW) at La Travesia Church in San Juan
• Went hiking in the rain forest and cliff jumping like 10 times
• Was loved by my host family - Ronnie & Amanda & M & A & M & R & Peggy
• Made dear, life-long friends in Puerto Rico
• Co-wrote a screenplay, Sex and the Traveling YaYa's, coming to a theater near you in 2015
• Experienced sadness and depression and homesickness and sin and the opposite of thanksgiving
• Was comforted by my suffering Savior, and repeated Psalm 103 over and over
• Talked with an MTW counselor and got on antidepressants, which helped lots, lots
• Created a bilingual Sunday school curriculum, based on The Jesus Storybook Bible
• Read all seven Harry Potter books
• Read the three Hunger Games books
• Read hundreds of pages for school
• Read from the Bible and some church-y books
• And that's all the reading I did in 2011
• Salsa danced, reached another level of crazy with my dancing skillz
• Attempted to surf
• Went to the beach and snorkeled and paddle boarded
• Became aunt to Christina & Justin's triplets
• Discovered mofongo and then TRIFONGO
• Received and wrote letters to a good friend, who was a great support, and then stopped writing cos I didn't want a relationship with him
• Traveled home for Katy's beautiful wedding
• Traveled to Tennessee for my cousin Hannah's beautiful wedding
• Had visitors! My dad and brother and sister and Emily and Sarah and Justin and Craig
• Kayaked in a bioluminescent bay
• Lived with Taylor in the Fitzy apartment
• Ate lots of bacon and chocolate chip french toast
• Helped plan a women's retreat
• Learned a ton about myself and God and others through being on the mission field
• Traveled to Georgia for MTW debrief - super helpful
• Moved to NYC and crashed at Alejandra's place for 2 weeks
• (I moved my huge yellow suitcase 9 times last year.)
• Took two summer classes and five fall classes and made all A's
• Learned a ton and felt so excited to be a social worker
• Wrote 160+ pages for school
• Interned at a high school in the Bronx and met with about 10 students for weekly counseling
• Loved school social work; it's hard, but fulfilling 
• Sublet a place from Samantha in Washington Heights for 6 weeks
• Apartment hunted with Al and then "broke up" cos we couldn't find a place in time
• Moved to Harlem, where I live with 2 roommates I found through Redeemer Church's classifieds
• Signed up for online dating, but didn't do anything cos I felt too busy
• Bought a bed and armoire
• Saw Sufjan Stevens and Broken Social Scene (LOVE)
• Saw Beyond This Place, and Sufjan played the score live
• Embarked on a mission to watch every Ryan Gosling film (saw Crazy Stupid Love, Half Nelson, and Blue Valentine, plus too many RG YouTube videos)
• Embarked on a mission to find the best chocolate milkshake in New York; so far the winner is Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory under the Brooklyn Bridge
• Saw Catch Me If You Can and Bonnie and Clyde on Broadway
• Walked around a lot
• Lost 10 pounds, from the walking
• Ran and did situps and pushups while I was in Puerto Rico
• Did yoga some in NYC
• Visited some great churches and joined Emmanuel Presbyterian Church on December 4
• Joined a home fellowship group
• Memorized scripture with my dear friend Emily (Colossians 3:1-17 & Ephesians 3:14-4:6)
• Watched an embarrassing amount of TV; favorites were Parks & Rec and Revenge and Project Runway with Lindsay
• Ate great food; favorites are Syvia's (soul food) and Kitchenette (diner) and Levain Bakery and Grimaldi's pizza
• Did some fun things in NYC, like: the Brooklyn flea and food flea, the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met, Central Park, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Vertigo in theaters, found a great/cheap thrift store, Dirty Harry in Bryant Park, went to the Hamptons (technically not in NYC), a Yankees game, the Bronx Zoo, attended a city-wide worship service, the Brooklyn Museum, attended a vampire ball, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, visited Sleepy Hollow, went to a Columbia-Harvard football game, walked the High Line
•  Had a great weekend with my dad in the city
• Visited Dallas for Labor Day and North Carolina for Taylor and Tennessee for Thanksgiving
•  Connected with old and new friends in NYC
• Played lots of spades with my family
• Hosted Sara and Emily, loved every minute of my week with Justin & Emily
• Ate at Sylvia's with new & old friends for my 26th birthday
• Spent Christmas in Tulsa with Mama and Colin and Kelsey, ate Chick-fil-a, loved my one-on-one time with Kels, was super goofy
• Traveled to Dallas for my winter break, saw dear friends and the Triplets, read, got a haircut, totally relaxed
• New Year's Eve party at Benj & Jamie's with dancing

2011 was a great year, and I'm very thankful for everything.

I don't have any specific resolutions for 2012. Just general things I always want to do. Be healthy. Learn a ton and be a good student. Be a good friend, daughter, sister. Read the Bible consistently.

I'll graduate May 16 this year, and the Lord knows what I'll do after that. I pray that 2012 is a year I learn more about the depth and length and height and depth of Christ's love.

Birthday Thanksgiving

Yesterday I turned 26. As my birthday approached, I thought back on 25 and had a lot to be thankful for. Like

1. My roommates and prayer group throwing me an awesome 25th birthday party and
2. Chick-fil-a chicken nugget trays and
3. Spending Christmas with both Mom and Dad and
4. Wrapping up my time at Dallas County Probation in such a positive way and
5. Snow days with dear friends and
6. God's sovereignty in sending me to Puerto Rico and
7. Real community in Puerto Rico and
8. Oliver & Zoey & Quinn and
9. Acceptance into Columbia and
10. Suffering/depression and learning more about Jesus' love for me and
11. Beaches and rainforest and cliff jumpin' and
12. Beautiful weddings (Katy & Hannah) and
13. Letters and emails and phone calls and prayers and
14. Learning about discipleship and
15. Relief from depression and
16. Mofongo and
17. An incredibly smooth transition to NYC and
18. All that I'm learning in my classes and
19. All that I'm learning at my internship and
20. Each of the students I'm working with and
21. A place to live and
22. Scholarships & loans and
23. Friends in New York and
24. Emmanuel Church and
25. My family's health. 

God, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Have your way in my life in my 26th year.

PR to NYC

Baby blog entry. On Monday I left Puerto Rico. I left full and thankful. Sad to say goodbye to friends, but excited for what's next. I spent three days in Georgia at Mission to the World (MTW) debrief. This was a really helpful time of processing, rest, and eating Chick-fil-a. Yesterday morning I sang praises to God with the other MTW interns, and I was overcome by how good God is. He sovereign-ly sent me to Puerto Rico, was near me and taught me and changed me, and now he's providing everything I need to start life in NYC.

Yesterday late afternoon I stepped off the plane to my new home and gave a prayer of thanksgiving. Last night I had delish Chinese food and cupcakes with Alejandra. Today I explored Harlem and ate soul food, and this afternoon I'm meeting up with Lindsay at the Met.

I'm really happy (: