Dec 27

Dec 27 Thoughts on December

Happy December! I hope the holidays are treating everyone well. December is always a good time of year not only because it is Christmas time, but because it marks the end of the semester - the one time a year we, as students, get to settle down and occupy ourselves with new or different things, even if just for a month. This semester went quicker than all the others, and I am so thankful for the people I met and the experiences I had over these past four months. It's been a crazy ride so I'm excited to have a little bit of down time, even if just for a few weeks.

The time spent in college feels significantly shorter when you realize that it's only eight semesters, and five of those are already complete (what?!). And to be completely honest, that freaks me out a little. Not so much the 'having to get a job or whatever else' part, but more so the whole 'not seeing my best friends at practice every single morning' part, you feel? So, I thought I would wrap up some of those things that have been on my mind lately:

I've learned to appreciate the time I have at home with family because I don't get much of it. Every year, I go to Florida with my team for two weeks before the break ends to prepare for the upcoming season. I've learned to embrace the split time between school, home and rowing over the past few years, but sometimes home is just where I want to be. This was, of course, hardest my first year, but I've learned to embrace quality over quantity.

I am especially grateful for having two great communities around me in both Norman and Austin - and even still in Colorado. Those few years in college are interesting because you have two completely separate (for the most part) groups of friends, communities, etc. in two different places. I didn't think I would be able to, or really want to, say this two years ago, but I can now say that I have a base in Austin of people I know and love.

I think the end of the year, and of course the beginning of the year, is a time where people reflect on the recent past and look toward new goals in the new year. December is a great time to commit time to reflection - however you might do this. For me, it's writing in a journal. For you, it might simply be sitting with a cup of coffee and taking a breath. However you might reflect, it is important to take that time for yourself.

As the new year approaches, it's easy to get wrapped up in the whole "new year's resolutions" thing. To me, that's just a fancy way of saying, "I want to make a change and today I am going to do it". I support this and I believe in it, but I also believe that it doesn't take a change in the calendar to get started. I think I say it every year, but setting goals isn't just for the new year. You can wake up on June 26 and decide its time to start something new.

Going forward, my hope for The Denver Darling, as a blog, is to write things out of the ordinary. You may have noticed that I have had a lapse in posts over the past two months or so. This is because writing for TDD started to feel like a chore rather than something I wanted to do - I was uninspired by my own writing. Though I may not be putting out content every single day, I am starting something new, and I am very excited about that.

These are my thoughts. If you have any comments, etc., feel free to leave a comment on this post - I'd love to hear from you!