Decade.

2010.

A new decade is on the horizon.

The past ten years have been nothing short of fantastic.
and crazy.
and awesome.

I...
Went to college.
Went Greek.
Found a love for Kansas basketball.
Found a love for beer.
Found my dark side.
Relished in my sunny side.
Was coined the sunshine queen.
Discovered more about myself than I'll ever care to admit.
Went to more concerts than I'll ever care to count.
Went to the pumpkins "final show" at metro.
Subsequently found a photo of me crying in Rolling Stone magazine.
Discovered there was good music outside of the pumpkins.
Almost died in a 311 mosh pit.
Felt butterflies in the pit of my core.
Had my lung collapse.
Had my heart broken.
Broke a few hearts.
Kissed and told.
Kissed and kept quiet.
Made some bad decisions.
Stood by said bad decisions.
Regretted some decisions.
Regretted the things I didn't decide to do.
Tried new things.
Stayed in my comfort zone.
Got into a writing zone.
Got published.
Twice.
Only told about 4 people at the time.
Not even my parents.
Didn't buy the book of short stories when it came out. (idiot).
Have searched far and wide for a copy with zero luck. (stupid limited press).
Didn't make the same mistake twice.
Bought the book that published a poem of mine.
Discovered a book that changed my entire perspective on life.
Discovered I have an unrelenting curiosity for almost everything.
Especially people.
Understood life is about reaction.
Not action.
And asking the right questions.
And living into the answers.
And learning that a lot of people never ever really, truly live. (and that's sad).
Dated.
A lot.
Stayed in some relationships too long. (shame on me).
Didn't given some a fighting chance. (shame on me more).
Dished out exactly one pity date.
Dated a friend's ex. (never again).
Dated a mormon rebel.
Dated two guys at once.
Dated three different guys who all drove Camero SS's. (coincidence, I swear!).
Pretended to date a frat boy as a joke on a friend.
Joke's on us.
We got married.
Bought a condo.
Got a cat.
Got a dog.
Got a job.
Got in debt.
Jumped ship and changed my career path.
Jumped out of a plane.
Started a blog.
Started running.
Didn't stop.
Began swimming.
And biking.
Did it all in one day in 15:54:51.
Got the ink.
Learned a ridiculous amount about myself in the process.
Realized that happiness is only what you make of it.
And I deserve nothing less than that.
And that things are just that: things.
And that I'm willing to try anything once.
Sometimes twice.
And in one instance, thrice.
Learned that no matter how hard someone may try, words can't be reeled back into a mouth.
And that your behavior is a true demonstration of your character.
And that it's best to step up and own your shit rather than sweep it under the table.
Learned that the company you keep is directly proportionate to your level of happiness.
And you should do at least one thing each day to make you happy.
Watched friends have babies.
Freaked out over friends having babies.
Realized that I'm not in a place to have babies just yet. (and apparently that makes me less important to some).
Realized that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. (but understand that whatever it is, I want to leave a positive impact on this world with at least one person).
Grew as a person.
Grew as a couple.
Grew as an athlete.
Grew as a friend.
Grew closer with some friends.
Watched strangers become friends.
And friends become strangers.
Realized that friends are the family you handpick for yourself.
And sometimes that can be just as good--if not even better--than the real thing.
Discovered that even as an adult, when you're the baby of the family you'll still get the short end of the stick occasionally.
Learned that sometimes you just have to man up and tell someone precisely where they can stick it.
And learned that sometimes you've gotta go where no one knows your name.
And that you can find comfort in strangers and friendship in fools.
Met some truly remarkable people.
And I carry a piece of each of them in my soul every moment of every day.
And that a random person on the other side of the country can impact your life more than you ever dreamed possible.
And that at any moment, at any age, you can find inspiration from the simplest of things...
...or even be that inspiration.

The past 10 years have had some pretty fabulous highs and some significantly shitty lows.
I can only hope that the next decade can match, if not trump this one.
For the most part, things seem to keep getting better with time.

Happy New Year's everyone...

...cheers!