Because I think it's good to reflect on what's good...

Highlights of this year in the ever-lovely Riverside...

• Read books I should have as an English major, but never did. "Old Man in the Sea," "Catcher in the Rye," "Great Gatsby." Being the fan of American Literature that I am, I read them like candy, wondering how I'd ever gotten along without them. And I was able to read them with Aunt Margie, which made it all the better. Hearing her insights made me wish she was teaching a class I could attend.  
• I learned to crank out an awesome lesson plan in a very short amount of time. Content standard, learning objective, instructional strategy, rationale, assessment and all. Wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am. 
• Bit the bullet and applied to grad schools. Not fun, but it's done. Getting that first acceptance letter was one of the best feelings ever. 
• Had a weekly "Grey's Anatomy" date with my 4th sister, who helped me miss my own sisters a lot less. 
• Enjoyed the sunshine. Put my feet in the fountains outside my apartment building (not sure if that's allowed).  I'll miss the sun next year-- how many days a year does it rain in England? 
• Made new friends. All by myself. I guess I'm a big girl now.
• One of the students from the class I TAed for told me (after I'd spent hours working with him on his papers), "I get it now. I will never love to write, and I'll never be a writer. But I can understand the enjoyment that comes from a carefully-crafted piece of work. Thank you." 
• Hanging out with 2-year-old Logan in the office, who became my friend when I gave him a yellow balloon (which matched his yellow boots) to tie around his wrist. He wore it around campus all afternoon.
• Driving back out to Biola and staying at Dr. Kleist's house until past midnight with Cami and Brenna, discussing and debating the philosophy of education in America and drinking cinnamon coffee. 
• Looking at wedding blogs with Jenn and Gail during work. I'm eternally thankful to them for introducing me to Pinterest (or really, eternally non-grateful-- I wasted so much time on it). 
• Friday afternoons at Disneyland. We were on a Storm Trooper hunt. 
• Decorating for Caleb and Ashley's surprise engagement party. You can't go wrong with flowers and candles. That's a rule of life. 
• Played "Just Dance" with Aub, which only confirmed the fact that I cannot dance. At all. But I sure try. 
• Watched way too many episodes of Bones. I think blood and guts are fascinating...what does that say about me?
• Authentic chinese food with Nate & Sam
• Wrote my first Haiku poem
• Cooked elaborate, wonderful meals, just for myself, using up almost every pan and dish and dirtying up the whole kitchen. At least it didn't smell up the hall (our hall always smells like a combination of dirty feet and greasy Korean food... won't miss that). 
• Staying way too late at Mindy and Tim's place, talking about the mysteries & intricacies of life
• Drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade with straws on a mattress on the floor in my old room at Lizzie's, which is now filled with boxes as she gets ready to be married.
• Tutored for sweet Paola. She turned 14 halfway into tutoring, and now she gets to wear make up. She chose a bright pink lip color and teal eyeliner. She loves vampires and wants to go to UCLA to be a doctor. She is going to live in New York, Paris and China. From her big dreams, you'd never know what's she's already had to overcome. We made button bracelets and played Scrabble (she trounced me) and cards. We sat in the hammock and read quietly together from our books (yes, she's a kindred spirit), and then she told me all about the story (the book she's reading is about girls switched at birth). When she gets excited, she barely takes a breath, and I completely lose track of the story she's telling me. But her brown eyes get so big and sparkly; I think she's spunky and smart and beautiful.