2009

2008 was a very interesting year for me. I started the year continuing with my job as an assistant in charge of swimming lessons at the YMCA and it was a job a liked, though it could be stressful at times. As the months wore on, however, I became very disenchanted (for a variety of reasons) and started to become quite unhappy. It got to the point where I could see myself taking a long slide back into depression, a state of mind I had worked very hard to shed over a long period of years. I knew I couldn't continue along that path.

What I loved most about my YMCA job was being in the water with the kids teaching them how to swim. I had fun doing it and the kids had fun with me and their parents appreciated what I did for their kids. I realized that I really had become a teacher and found a lot of satisfaction in it. So, I decided I should go back to school and work towards becoming a teacher. Within a couple months of that decision, I was not only back in college but also working as a teacher's aide at a local elementary while also continuing to teach a couple hours of swimming lessons a week. It made for a very interesting a busy four months at the end of the year but I had once again put myself back on a course that was good for me.

Now it's 2009 and I always use the start of the year to try and refine myself as I go forward. I'm not making any specific resolutions for the year (outside of delivering more actual content in the this blog and not just be content to put up a series of lists). I just want to put myself more out there in terms of my life - more willing to try new things, to create, to give more of myself, to spend more time with family and friends, to do my jobs better. I want 2009 to be a year I don't regret, a year I can look back on as a year I completely came into my own.

I realize that sounds pretty ambitious but I think it can be achievable. I want it to be a good year and I'm going to work on making it happen. Wish me luck and I hope all of you have a great year as well.