2011

Right, it's that time of year again when one looks at what the past year has brought, so fasten your seatbelts and off we go!

The bad

I always like to start with the bad stuff first, so that I can get it out of the way and then savour the good stuff. This year was probably the hardest I've ever had, the toughest, the most stressful and the most heart breaking. Still I don't consider it to be a bad thing, quite the contrary, actually, because it made me grow up so much and because it brought along a lot of big changes. And that's good. So the only bad things that come to mind are my uncle's death and me being away from most of the people that I love, living in a place where I have almost no friends yet (key word being yet).

The good

There's a lot to say on this matter. I've started 2011 in a long distance relationship and am glad to report that we're still very much in love and are now living together in our own flat (rented, but you get the point!). I did an internship in a tranlation agency and absolutely loved the entire experience (we even had a week of workshops and training in a château in France). Despite many pitfalls I managed to write my internship report and had an oral examination that I passed with flying colours, thus finishing my masters once and for all (massive hooray there!). I did a Spanish A2 level course. I read 24 books. I ran errands for practically every member of the family (especially my uncle) and took care of all that was left on my mother's side of the family (not that I think this is a good thing per se; I just believe it to be worthy of praise). I saw Spring Awakening and Wicked live. I walked around London all by myself (again, not the greatest of feats, but still note-worthy). I grabbed as much of my belongings as I could and I moved to the UK, living the experience of a lifetime.

All in all this has been a great year and I can only hope that 2012 will grant me such good fortune as I had in 2011.