2014: A Smattering Of Thoughts

It's about this time of my yearly routine that I look back on the previous year and think to myself, "What all has happened this past year?" Sometimes I try to go through each month of the previous year and try to remember one thing I accomplished that month. At times it's hard to remember, which is sad. Other things easily pop into my memory, and those are usually the "high moments" of my year.

Here is my list: twelve moments that stand out to me from 2013, by month.

January: Came home from my Disney World internship
February: Completed a "Photo-A-Day" Instagram challenge
March: Gave up Facebook for Lent
April: Road trip to Missouri for my cousin's wedding
May: Purchased my first "pro" camera equipment
June: Smashed my thumb under a falling railroad tie
July: Played copious amounts of League of Legends while healing from said railroad tie
August: Returned to college and went "official" with my wonderful girlfriend after months of talking
September: Landed a design position for yearbook staff
October: Road trip to Wisconsin to visit my girlfriend
November: Thanksgiving with my family
December: Finished my semester with flying colors and good academic momentum

Looking back, it was a good year overall. I had many wonderful moments (emphasis on the trip to see my girlfriend), yet at the same time, I feel like there are little memories that have slipped through the cracks that I've forgotten. It's a sad fact of life that most people don't always remember every positive moment.

For that reason, I have an idea for this new year. New Year's "resolutions" are horribly cliché, and are often quickly forgotten and broken easily, so we'll just call it an idea for now. I'd like to start a journal of sorts. One of my professors keeps sketchbook journals, and I think it's a great idea. His journals are filled with writings, doodles, pasted photos, and thoughts he's had over the years and immortalized on the pages. Some of them are long and took a substantial amount of time to document; others are shorter and more staccato. But looking through the pages, there's thousands of thoughts documented.

I want to do that. Any given moment of any day, I have fleeting thoughts for possible art projects, photos I could take, places I want to visit, and things I want to do. Why should I let life continue to happen and let these innate desires of mine be forgotten?

So this year, I'm starting a journal. I've invested in a sketchbook, and I plan to fill it. Perhaps this year will fill the book; or perhaps it will leave some empty pages. But at the end of the year, I would love to look through it and see what ideas this year has inspired in my life. Who knows, maybe some of the ideas I write down will lead to adventures and projects in reality. Life is what we make it, and we only have so much time. I intend to make the most of it.

I also plan to post on this blog more regularly, so stay tuned; there's more to come! Here's to a wonderful year.

Happy new year, everyone.

**ending only to begin again**
- Knolster

August

August is a wonderful month, but is also an odd month. A summer month, but one that hints at a fast-approaching autumn. For me, it's a transition month; it marks the end of summer, and it's around this time that I realize that the year is two thirds gone. Seriously, where does the time go?

For this boy, summer has been a true journey. Lots of things have happened... I bought new camera equipment, smashed my thumb (literally), couldn't work for two months, de-junked my stuff (still ongoing), and am reorganizing my bedroom. On top of all of that, I'm preparing to tackle my last two semesters of college and get my degree in graphic design. I feel good.

Another development. There's this girl I've known for four years, and we've been talking. And when I say "talking" here, I mean we've literally been talking or texting every waking moment for the past three months. We've grown unbelievably close, and it's getting more and more obvious to us (and everyone who knows us fairly well) that something special may be developing here. The only thing that's sad about this situation is the fact that we live almost 500 miles apart; however, she has agreed to a date, and I have promised to visit. I can't wait to see what shenanigans come of this; perhaps I'll be sharing more about her in future posts. Time will tell. But, I must mention the ironic and humorous fact that this is the first time I've talked about my interest in this girl publicly, and August is National Romance Awareness Month. Whatever.

I visited my school the other day to make some arrangements for this coming semester. While I was there, I got to see some close friends who are already on campus for band camp. Having hardly seen anyone for these last seven post-Disney months, I have been more than a bit lonely and bored with my routine of home life and work. I'm too much of a social being to be cooped up like I have been, and seeing some familiar faces was a breath of fresh air.

As school fast approaches, I'm starting to get excited for the last chapters of this year... a return to academia, some added independence, the drama of an unfolding romance, and some much-needed reconnecting with college friends. But for now, here am I. It is August: my month of transition.

More blogs to follow; stay tuned.


**change**

- Knolster