With only one more day of 2007 left, I thought it would be fitting to reflect on the year that is about to end, and make some predictions on the one that is begining.
First, I must admit that for all its drama, 2007 was a very good year for me. Granted, the year got a good start from 2006 - I started my job at Roots in 2006, where I met and made what I now consider to be my best friend. I also made a handful of other friends from that job, whom I hope to continue life-long friendships with. Hopefully this distance thing won't get in the way of some good friendships. That said, 2007 started with myself in a very good place. I had a job that I loved (Roots), I had friends I could trust, and I finally had the social life I'd been waiting for my entire life. I was popular for the first time ever, and I was enjoying it immensely. I graduated from the University of Guelph, with an honours degree in History, and made family history. I was the very first Barnes (my mothers maiden name) to graduate from University. I don't think I've ever seen my parents more proud of me. It was a really rewarding experience. I miss the University of Guelph very much, and will always remember my time there as the best experience of my life. I wholeheartedly love the University, and will for the rest of my life endorse it. It did good by me. I consider myself a very competent and well rounded individual, and I owe that to the University and it's staff. Kudos to them.
I also got accepted to Lakehead University, for teachers college. As you know, I am halfway through that degree as we speak, and as much as I fault my personal experiences at the school (and in the city of Thunder Bay), I am very lucky and thankful to be there. Having completed my first placement, with flying colours I might add, I can honestly say that I am a better person because of my experience with Lakehead University. They too are doing well by me, all things considered. While I do fault the bureaucracy at the University, I cannot fault their staff; they are a dedicated bunch, who excell at what they do. I look forward to completing my degree. I know I will make a top notch teacher, and I owe all of my knowledge (though not the raw potential and skill) to Lakehead. In the coming years, we shall see how their guidance will help me.
I had a number of short lived relationships in 2007, and I can honestly say that each has helped me to become a much more mature person. For a brief period, I toyed with ideas of being a "maneater". You can ask my Roots girls, they will back up this claim. I found nothing wrong with admitting to my "manizing" ways. In fact, I was quite proud of my ability to get whatever guy I wanted, wrap him around my finger, then chew him up and spit him out. I did it more times than I care to admit, at this stage in my life. To these men, I send my sincere apologies. However, I think this phase of my life was necessary, because it showed me that I am in fact a beautiful and cunning woman, who is capable of getting whatever I want, on my own terms. I've learnt from these experiences. In 2008, a new and better Krista will emerge; one who isn't nearly as careless with hearts as she once was. I think my restless and reckless ways are coming to an end. I realize now how cruel and thoughtless I was last year. I definitely would not want my male friends to date the me of 2007. During the later part of 2007 I started to chance face (mostly due to the eye opening experiences I've had in Thunder Bay). I think I am finally ready to let myself relax into a relationship, instead of burning through men at a quick and steady pace. The time for me to settle is fast approaching. Once I graduate in April, I will be set to be a working woman. This means that I can start to set out my REAL life. My grown up life. There's no room for a free-wheeling, maneater in the real world. I'd crash and burn fast. Instead, I plan to make 2008 my year to seriously pursue a relationship with a REAL man. No more boys for this lady. I'm going to take things a HELL of a lot more seriously.
This starts with my pact to remain as alcohol free as (socially) possible. I don't want to kill my social life, but I do want to clean it up. I still plan on going out with the party animals in Thunder Bay, I just won't be drinking with them. I can have just much fun while sober. Besides, booze is increasingly becoming disgusting to me. Every time I drink it, it makes me feel ill. Even just a few beers, and I become incredibly sick of the taste. It's not for me. My body and mind are not content when I drink. So it's cut. Aside from a few social drinks, my drinking days are over. Mature adults don't need alcohol to have fun anyways. And we all know you can't meet your significant other while tanked. When and if I meet the perfect man, I want it to be on solid ground. I want to be able to impress him with my wit and beauty, not with my ability to slam back beers.
I also plan on working very hard to get a job with the school board of my choosing. I don't want to name which board that is, in case they do random google searches on their potential hirees, or something in that paranoid vein. However, I am determined to work for this board. I think the connections I made during my first placement will allow me to get steady work with the board, as a supply teacher, for the first year or two of my real life. If all goes according to plan, I may not have long to wait before a contract position comes my way. I know I can wow people in interviews, and my references are going to be GLOWING, so I just need to be presented with the opportunity, and I will succeed.
If everything goes the way I want it to go, 2008 will be MY year. I'm going to establish myself as a mature, competent, grown woman. My girlish days are over. It's time for me to grow up, and 2008 is going to be the year I do it.
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