Reasons why I'm not bitter about 2013:
1. We survived 2012 and it's supposed doom.
Okay, okay, I know it's dumb, but . . .with all of the gloom and doom talk at the end of 2012, one can get paranoid. I never believed in the whole "Mayan Calendar" crap because, as my husband has pointed out, who knows what happened to the Mayans? Maybe whatever happened to them happened before they finished making the calendar. Or maybe they really were prophetic and saw how naïve the human race was to become and that was their cruel joke. Either way, most people sweated away the month of December in 2012 and gave us a whole new appreciation for 2013.
2. I gained two new family members in 2013.
The first was my baby grand-nephew, Eli. He's a chunk and a charmer and totally has his Aunt Nikki wrapped around his chubby little pinky. Even if nothing else great happened in the past 12 months, he came in the world and made it a much happier place.
The second was my husband, Jeromy. We were married on St. Patrick's Day and it's a day that will always be special in my heart. Yes, he was a member of my family before we said our vows. That just made it all nice and legal and official. He's probably my favorite person in the entire world-though there are days when he would beg to differ, I'm sure.
3. I grew up.
Six years ago, I took a job at a fast food restaurant, the local McDonald's. I hated this place with a passion by the time I quit, though I made some of the best friends I've ever had while working there. There came a time when I realized I had to step away from the dead-end job and start looking for a future. I quit there and got two part time jobs that work around my school schedule in a way that didn't make them seem resentful that I was doing something else with my life other than serve hamburgers. I'm not going to say that my experience there was always bad, because it wasn't. It just wasn't conducive to growing up-at least not for me. I loved the steady paycheck while I figured out what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to feed and clothe myself in the meantime.
4. Drama came to a head and, quickly, to a close.
There were painful parts of my life that I kept hidden from mostly everyone who knew me, except my mama and my husband, of course. Those came out into the open this last year and a lot of it was like ripping the scab off a wound-painful but it had to happen sometime. Things aren't patched up like brand new and there will always be backlash, but I know I'm stronger and better for what happened.
5. I did not go to my high school reunion.
This might seem like a bad thing to some people. For me, it was an act of willpower and strength. I wasn't liked in high school. I had a close knit group of people I hung out with, barely any of which I graduated amongst. In fact, I was way younger than anyone in my graduating class and I still feel out of place around them. I used to say that I would be this better person, to the point that at my high school reunion people would realize how horrible they treated me and feel bad. Now I know better. I'm not a better person. I am the same person, all grown up, and those same people that used to make me feel like crap? They're the same people, too, who either wouldn't remember or wouldn't care. There was absolutely no reason to go there and revisit those feelings all over again. I was better than that then and I'm better than that now. As a teacher, and now friend, once told me, "Invite them to your first book signing." I plan to do just that.
6. I earned and maintained a 4.0 GPA.
This was not easy. I don't give a damn if you're a genius or an idiot savant. Working two jobs and maintaining that GPA is hard work. I earned ever .10 of that. Everyone says that your GPA in college doesn't matter, that you get the same degree regardless. Sure, you do, but for someone like me who refuses to do less than my best on any assignment, GPA matters. I was the kid in high school who would argue with the teacher over a 99 because it wasn't a 100. I'm pretty sure that a 3.9 would have had me in tears.
So, you see, I don't really think that 2014 could get much better for me. I have my family, my health, my education, and my job. What could 2014 bring me that 2013 did not?
