The End (and Start) of a Decade

Man, it seems like only yesterday that 2019 first got here. For that matter, I well remember ushering in the year 2000 (and people freaking out over the "new millennium"), and while time doesn't really travel that fast, you find yourself marveling at how much time passed when you look back.

This has been a year and decade full of ups and downs. To call it a roller coaster ride is putting it mildly.

Throughout this decade, I started classes at the Ogden campus of Weber State University (I first enrolled at the Davis County campus in 2008), graduated from WSU with a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing, lost my dad, started my first job, went through a total of five jobs, lost some good friends (not all of them to death), lost my grandparents and a few other family members, gained a niece and three nephews, received my temple endowments...and started this blog, of course.

There's a great deal to show for these ten years, for better or for worse, but I think it's safe to say that the "better" vastly outranks the "worse." I'm not the same person I was in the 2000s or even the 1990s, and that's an excellent, excellent thing.

My writing and art have improved tremendously, as have my self-esteem and self-reliance. I've learned to do things for myself and not have somebody else do all the work for me or hold my hand the entire time. Besides a degree, college helped me grow up, make that official transition from a girl into a woman. In hindsight, my one true regret about college is how much money I borrowed from the government for my tuition, although I also pride myself for not getting into further debt and for paying off such a huge chunk already.

I'm well aware that the New Year doesn't mean everything will be perfect. There will be many ups and downs for 2020 and the decade that follows...but here's hoping the ups will outnumber the downs, and the start of a brand-new chapter is exciting just the same. Ready or not, here it comes.

Let the fun times roll, mates, and tally-ho!