13 Splendid Things from 2013

After that last post, I thought that I ought to share about some of the good things that happened last year. In many ways, 2013 was very difficult, but there were also a lot of great things which took place. By emphasizing only the lessons I learned, I do not want to give the impression that last year was awful. There were times that were very difficult, but even though I was sometimes discouraged, there were also times that I was bursting with joy. To give a more fair representation of my year, here is the other side of the story.

1. I got to participate in mock trial, and even though there were some... trials... involved in this, I had a wonderful time competing in February, and even won recognition for "best witness" in that round. I was playing the role of a distraught mother who was suing a soccer club on behalf of her injured daughter, and I cannot even describe how exhilarating it was to make some people get misty-eyed over my performance. I do not want to pursue acting, as some people joked I should, but I shall forever be satisfied in the memory of my great success.

2. Through Facebook, I got to know a friend of Sophie's. On March 22nd, I went with her family to a homeschool co-op event, and met him in person there. It was great to talk with him in person, to meet other great people, and to hang out with Sophie more afterwards. I look back on that as a perfect night, and am grateful that I had those opportunities. Now, that friend is heading out with a mission's organization, and I got to go to his house last weekend for a going away party. I had a great time there as well, and am very blessed that I got to be a part of his life this past year.

3. Early in the year, my friend Melissa asked me to be her bridesmaid, and I had a wonderful time being part of her special day in November. It was a sweet wedding, and I was very blessed to rejoice with her and her family in their happiness. It was strangely surreal to witness the wedding of a girl I have known all my life, and my memories of that perfect day have an almost dream-like quality to them.

4. My local library closed for renovations, and as I realized how much I missed it, I concluded that I really do want to be a librarian someday. I have volunteered for years, and in September, I got an offer for a paying job. It has been wonderful to work there, and I am very thankful for this special opportunity.

5. I have grown closer to people at the church plant where my family is involved, and we celebrated its first anniversary in May. This has not been without its ups and downs, but overall I can say that my experience at this church has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. It has been wonderful to participate in events with my church and youth group, and I look forward to many years of service and fellowship together.

6. I got to spend a lot of time with friends this year, both in online chats and in personal visits. I had a lot of chances to hang out with Sophie and her family, and she twice spent the night at my house. Also, I connected on numerous occasions with Melissa and Emily, the two friends I made at my old church. It has been a blessing both to see a new friendship develop further and to still keep in touch with old friends, despite how our circumstances have changed.

     In August, my friends Emily and Elizabeth came down from Ohio to stay for several days. While they were here, we played innumerable rounds of role-play Apples to Apples, played Clue, watched goofy movies, made up fan fiction where some Avengers and Sherlock characters were Boy Scouts, acted some of that out with the My Little Ponies I kept from childhood, played more "therapy", and had a splendid time in general. 


     We also got to see Melissa, Sophie, and a friend I made through mock trial. I connected my local friends with Emily and Elizabeth through a mafia game, and I am constantly reaping the benefits of introducing these splendid people to each other. Melissa and Sophie both came over on Monday, after we visited with the other friend on the weekend. We met up with her at a nature park, and it was delightful to be geeky and strange all together in person. It was there, in the pictured game of Apples to Apples, that we came up with our idea for the fandom Boy Scouts story.

7. At the end of June, my family reconnected for the day with some old friends. I had not gotten to spend quality time with them in ages, and I enjoyed catching up with my dear childhood friends and reminiscing about all the hilarious things we did together when we were younger.

8. In the same month, I got to really know a sweet older girl from church who took me with her once a week to the camp where Sophie was working over the summer. Her befriending me was a huge blessing. We had a lot of great conversations and shared experiences, and I am very thankful that she reached out to me. Although I know that God is in control of all things, this was one of those cases where I could especially see His hand moving in my circumstances.

9. We went on two family trips this year. In September, we traveled to visit with my dad's parents, and got to see some other relatives while we were up there. I made a lot of good memories, and was glad that we were able to make the trip. Just a few days ago, we took a day trip to visit my mom's parents. Her father is in assisted living, and we went on an outing with him to the botanical gardens. It was a successful trip, and it was good to see our family again. In addition to seeing him and my grandmother, I also got to see my uncle and cousin. This was not planned intentionally, but we learned that our visits were going to coincide, and it was a great pleasure to see them again. At some point, I'm going to post the pictures I took during the outing.

10. The local Emily threw a Doctor Who party on the 23rd of November.  I caught up with old friends, met some awesome people, and intensely enjoyed the fabulous 50th anniversary special. 

11. I got to see "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" with my youth group. When the production of these movies was first announced, my only friends lived far away, and I thought it was a shame that I would not get to see these movies with a group of fellow fans. It was delightful to see how thoroughly things have changed, and I enjoyed seeing the movie with this group of wonderful people.

12. Throughout this year, I have had numerous opportunities to briefly reconnect with people whom I do not see often. Because I was never close to these acquaintances from various places, we have not kept up, but it has been a joy to see them again. This has made me consider what significant influence you can have on someone you only know in passing. I may not have known these people as well as I would have liked, but because they were so kind and so special, I remember them fondly and am always delighted to run into them again.

13. Despite how much my life has picked up in busyness this year, I still have had plenty of time to read and write. I read one hundred seventy books this year, wrote twenty journals, did NaNoWriMo, wrote various other stories, and started keeping this blog. I have enjoyed posting here, and am thankful for all those who keep up with my random thoughts. This is my fiftieth post, but without interested readers, I doubt I would have had enough motivation to make it to ten. Thank you all!