I'm back!

Hello my beloved followers, and happy 2010. I've shut down my other blog, for reasons that you won't really care about, and gone back to this one.

I decided to start this year with a list of resolutions. Not terribly original, but I've never come up with an official list before, so I figure that in my first year as an "adult" (haaaaaaaa ha ha...) I should figure some out. So I did. And I'm not publishing them, because they're really uninteresting. Instead, I'm publishing the list of lessons from 2009 that smacked me in the face throughout the year.

Some of these are just a tad bit trite-sounding, so my apologies.

1) Don't sacrifice the present in favor of the future. You can't live your life with every single hope and vision set towards another life that isn't here yet, because you will miss so much. Life throws curve balls. Attempt to catch them.

2) By the same token, avoiding the future can be just as bad and leave one stranded, without a path, compass, or any of the necessary materials to make it through life.

3) Pursue what you love. Life is short. Don't do something just because you think people expect you to do it, and don't fill up your time with obligations that will ultimately prove superfluous.

4) Everyone you meet has a lifetime's worth of stories. Take time to listen (this goes with the last part of number 3), because different realities and perspectives are not only fascinating, they will inevitably show you something about your own experiences that you might have missed while looking through your own lenses.

5) Don't be afraid of silence. Time with people does not have to be full of conversation. There's a big difference between talking to people and just talking at people just to fill gaps. And they can usually tell the difference.

6) Beer is an art.

7) Once you fall in love with someone (in whatever capacity--relationships, family, friends), it's impossible to ever completely dissolve that bond.

8) When life goes to shit, you realize just how strong those bonds are. Just as heartbreak is coupled with love, brokenness is coupled with a sense of strength and unity. (This can be applied to everything from international tragedies to break-ups).

9) Find your niche. There's always room for passionate people.

10) When a romantic connection turns into a friendship, that's not necessarily a downgrade. In fact, it can often strengthen the relationship.

11) People are not always good, and they're not always trustworthy. But they're not all bad, either. (I think) people have moral codes, but individual consequences mean that these aren't the same for each person and not always in agreement.