Year in Review

(2012: the year of involved knits)

2012.  I think of this as "the year of going with it," in that I started off 2012 bound and determined to make some changes, and gradually realized I was in a place in life where fighting was counterproductive, and that when I started going with the flow, things started straightening out.  I'm feeling the itch to tackle 2013 with a little more vim and gusto, and this reminds me of my experience reading The Alchemist, where the narrator talks about reading signs and that your heart already knows what it wants, if you will just listen.  "Yes, but what am I supposed to listen FOR???" was my biggest question.  I feel like my life has been one long list of red herrings, but maybe going through life involves learning to separate the wheat from the chaff, otherwise known as the acquisition of wisdom.

(2012: the year of yellow)

I do think that 2012 ended up in a good place.  One of my colleagues at work says that 2012 is the year she got married, got a new job - "It's been a real dragon year!"  (In the Zodiac, we are in the year of the dragon)  Well, next year is the year of the snake, and I'm optimistic that it will be a good year for me.  Truthfully, I'm more of a snake person than a dragon person.  Most people, not surprisingly, have poor associations with the snake, but according to my dad the snake is just a less glorified version of the dragon.  Think of him as the dragon's less flashy, more down to earth little brother.  And you know what?  I think that's me.

(2012: the year of handknit hats)

2012 highlights:
*Started a new job
*Presented at the American Public Health Association's Annual Conference
*Got my own IMDB page for the wardrobe/costuming work I did on a short film
*Visited Korea, China, Boston (twice), Portland, Mendocino, Baltimore
*Knit 8 hats, 4 sweaters (1 of my own design), 3 scarves, and crocheted 1 scarf (1 hat + multiple scarves unblogged)
*Sewed 1 skirt, 4 dresses, 1 tunic, 4 blouses, and a handful of home decor items (1 dress still unblogged though you can see a sneak preview of one of them at the very bottom of this post!)

(2012: the year of the Sorbetto)

I think of 2012 as a year that was more about internal change than external accomplishments.  Professionally I did a lot, but at a price.  Someone once said that when on their deathbed, most people value 1) learning to love others, 2) growing in wisdom.  I feel like I spent a lot of my 20s alone, often because I was trying something new and therefore stepping into new environments in my quest for understanding, wisdom, and to satiate my intense curiosity.  I do feel that I am very comfortable with solitude, that I know myself quite well, and that I am starting to satiate my curiosity about the world.  And so, it is time to start focusing on #2.  I'd like to spend my 30s on just that, and maybe I can even kickstart it in 2013, while I still have 1 year left in this decade, during the year of the snake, perhaps not my personal Zodiac year, but one which might just suit me better than the dragon, at least.

(2012: the year of dresses)