new year.

the beginning of a new year always seemed so fresh to me. like a clean slate where i could make resolutions, and changes, and be a better person overall. like somehow on midnight of Dec 31, all the stress and pain and craziness of the year before just somehow magically disappeared.
it probably helped a lot that for the past four years i got to go back to a brand new semester and really start from scratch again with new classes, a new schedule, and new people to meet and build relationships with.
but this is the first year that isnt really the case for me. this is my first new year in the 'real world' and while this year seems to have carried over more from Dec 31 to Jan 1 and hasn't started quite as fresh as i might have liked, here it is. and it is a clean slate - with tons of adventures just out there waiting to happen.
last year at this time, i was still reeling from having a new home after my parents cross country move, overwhelmed by the thought of being a senior in college, and terrified of having to start searching for a real job.
twelve long months later, here i sit in my own apartment after my own cross country move, a college graduate with my very own job. and along the way, i saw things i never would have imagined i would see, i met people who i would grow to love, i said goodbye to people i have loved for 22 years. i experienced moments that made me laugh so hard i cried, and ones that made me cry so hard the only thing i could do was laugh.
Looking back, i realize that it was God who held my hand every step of the way, guiding my steps and helping me through. He worked everything out - i can take credit for none of the good things that happened to me this year, but i can praise my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His love for a crazy girl like me.
i can't wait to see what He has in store for me this year.