2009 in Review

In what has been one of my favorite traditions since 2004, it is that time of the year for me to give a month-by-month rundown of my 2009. I know I usually do it on New Year’s Eve, but this year I will be spending that doing a rundown of the decade. It has been quite a year. Here it goes.

January: We welcomed a new addition to the family with my sister’s wedding at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to the two of them for a couple months, as my brother-in-law is a Marine stationed in North Carolina. Met the ever-interesting Shan, Jannelle, and Melmo and madness ensued. I also had one of the highlights of the year at the beginning of the month when Rex, Merrill and I went downtown and another highlight at the end of the month when Rob and I went to Detroit for the Royal Rumble. The Rumble was great, but Detroit is an absolutely awful city.

February: While subbing for my mom’s class, I realized I made the right decision to choose secondary education rather than elementary education. After one day of teaching a combined first and second grade class, I had the worst headache I have ever experienced. Again, I did not observe Valentine’s Day, but I did complete the 10000 crunch challenge.

March: I went to a teaching job fair, started to apply for jobs, and drank a lot of Shamrock shakes. I also stayed up for 40 hours straight once. I also hung out with Stay-C a couple times. Always great to hang with her.

April: I turned 22 and welcomed my sister and brother-in-law back to Illinois. I also embarked on a trip to D.C. and Florida with my friend Dan. The majority of the trip was great, as we saw our nation’s great landmarks as well as the Kennedy Space Center and some beautiful beaches, but I also had to endure the worst day of my life. To make a very long story short, let’s just say that I got awful sunburn, got stood up by the one person I went to Florida to see, lost my wallet and got treated like a terrorist at the airport, and endured a major personal space invasion on the flight back from St. Louis to Chicago.

May: Had the first of what would be many unsuccessful interviews with school districts. I kept filling out applications nonetheless. My brother-in-law shipped out to Afghanistan, so Heidi came back to live with us for an extended period. Unfortunately my cousin was not with us this summer, as I drove him to the airport for his flight to Washington to intern for Senator Burris. Stay-C also had a birthday party that was more fun than I expected.

June: This was a good month for catching up with old friends. Rob was actually back for the whole summer, and Merrill was back for a little while. We had some good times playing Rock Band. I got to see Pastor Scott a couple times, and it is always a positive experience hanging out with him. Had a really weird interview with a school district in which they never once told me what I was exactly interviewing for.
July: More unsuccessful interviews. Frustration began to mount. I had some good social experiences this month, though. Had great times with Rob at the Thunderbolts game as well as a trip to Cici’s where I finally got a chance to chat with my favorite Cardinal Fitness employee. I also snapped my string of awful experiences on July 12 when I had the opportunity to hang out with Melmo.

August: This was an awful month. I hit rock bottom. After the last of the unsuccessful interviews I was struck with an awful illness that kept me in bed for a couple days. Everything around me felt like it was crashing down. Reading “The Gift: You Ask and You Get” by David Dayan Fisher (shameless plug for a new friend: BUY THE BOOK NOW!!!!) really helped though. Things have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen. Much of them are uncontrollable, but reactions are a choice. I began to make the choice to react positively. At the end of the month, I moved from Orland back to Tinley.

September: I began my current position as a substitute teacher in a junior high school district. I was surprised to find I quite enjoy it, and even more surprised to find that the kids quite enjoy me! I obviously would like a full time position, but I guess sometimes dues need to be paid. I also finally got closure from an issue with a person.

October: More subbing; more fun. I was able to make it back to Richards for a football game. I can’t even begin to explain how great it is to visit there. Some of the greatest kids in the world can take pride in being a Bulldog. I also picked up SmackDown! vs. Raw 2010 and a PS3 and created some pretty sweet things.

November: I once again had the opportunity to go to Richards, this time for a playoff game. We unfortunately lost, but I loved cheering them on and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Thanksgiving wasn’t as great as I had hoped it to be, but I had a blast with Heidi and Andy at lunch that week.

December: We welcomed back my brother-in-law from Afghanistan, which is great for both him and my sister (though unfortunately it means we will be saying goodbye to both of them soon). Christmas was long but enjoyable, but by far my greatest achievement of the month was my first ever fantasy football championship. After falling short so many times, it feels great to finally succeed.


I would be lying if I said that this year was not a challenge. I would also be lying if I said this year was good, or even decent. For a lot of the year it felt like I was throwing stuff against the wall to see what would stick. My laundry list of goals for the year was only partially completed. I really need to thank the good friends I have, whether from face to face experiences or online as well as my family for being there for me. I am also thankful for the chances I had to connect with people like Shan, Jannelle, Melmo, Kacey, and David, because in one way or another you have helped to make me better (or at the least help me fix some of how I’ve been). For the most part, this year was an unmitigated failure. However, failure is not final, and it is not an option. I truly feel that the hardships of this year have set the groundwork for success in 2010. I am prepared to succeed. It’s time.