2010 in Review

Quite honestly, 2010 has been the most challenging year of my life. I thought last year was bad, but last year mostly seemed bad because of the letdown after such a strong start to the year and the fact that I had very lofty expectations for the year. I never thought there would be a year worse than 2005, but there was. The whole year has felt entirely Sisyphean to the point that a lot of the months started to run together. I apologize in advance if my month-by-month rundown seems lacking. In this post I am making a concerted effort not to dwell on the negative and accentuate the positives of 2010.

January: I realized the year was going to be difficult almost as soon as it started. I had some of my most challenging experiences as a sub during this month and started my American Lit. class at GSU. The highlight of the month was a job fair in Rosemont.

February: A cold and relatively uneventful month. I began to like that class, as the professor was great and some of my classmates were highly entertaining and amusing.

March: While I was unfortunately unable to go to Phoenix for WrestleMania XXVI (and to meet up with Jessica) as I had planned, I was able to watch the event for free with my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Lisa. I was also able to see my old buddy Hoover for the first time in five years.

April: Had a great birthday/Easter. Got to hear from a lot of people. Did a lot of subbing at High Point with a great group of kids that I really loved. Also, I finished the literature class and got an endorsement in middle school Language Arts.

May: The highlight of the month was going down to Champaign to see my cousin Andy graduate. The food afterward was interesting to say the least, but it was a fun day with a fun guy.

June: Launched HireJakobDuehr.com, which got me a decent amount of attention in the Illinois educational community for a short amount of time but unfortunately did not net me any full time position.

July: Spending the 4th of July in Michigan was a nice change from the norm. Swimming at my grandparents’ pool brought back good memories of my childhood.

August: The end of the summer proved frustrating, as I was once again without a full time job. Meeting up with a friend in Oak Brook was fun, but it was a rather unmemorable month on the whole.

September: I unexpectedly had to take a road trip to North Carolina. It was not one of the finer times of my life, but I once again proved my resolve by driving the entire trip straight through by myself, only stopping for gas three times and one bathroom break. At the end of the month I had the opportunity to meet WWE’s Chris Jericho as well as some other neat people at an autograph signing in Chicago Ridge.

October: By far the best moment of the month was seeing The Graduate in concert with Dan. The venue was certainly odd and off the beaten path, but it was a great night full of great music.

November: I was able to have some good work experiences and had the opportunity to go back to TPHS to see a competitive football team for the first time in years. I also grew a pretty awesome beard, which lasted until an unfortunate accident right before Christmas.

December: As usual, the year ended on a good note. It has gotten to the point that the best part of the holiday season is the opportunity to see my closest friends. Most of them have moved far away from me, and the chances to see them are fewer and farther between. Christmas was enjoyable as well.

This year failed to meet my expectations. Some mornings it was a struggle to even get out of bed. Though a lot of things were outside my control, I failed in a lot of ways. I need to regain the focus and sense of self I had from mid-2008 to early 2009. Success is not impossible, but it requires taking the brass rings. They are not simply given. On the bright side, I was able to meet a lot of new people (mostly a lot of Stickammers that it would take forever to name them all) as well as renew acquaintances with old friends (the Huntleys, etc.). I do not know what is to come in 2011. I do know that things are going to change, and hopefully, they will change for the better. There is nowhere to go but up.