2006 In Review
2006 has come and gone, and what a year it was. Obviously, when looking back at a period of time as long as a year, it's the more recent things that are easiest to remember. As I look at different things (blog posts, calendars, pictures...) from way back at the beginning of the year, the year overall seems to take on a different form.
Before I started writing this, I took a look at my "2005 in review" post. Wow... It's hard to imagine how much contrast there is between that and '06. 2005 was a year of complete change... moving from high school to college, moving from Schaumburg to Urbana, establishing an entire new group of friends. As easy it would be to say that 2006 didn't have as much change, I really don't see that as the case. Although the same things may not have changed, we all change in some ways as time goes on; we grow.
I guess in ways, 2006 was a strange year. Look at events that made the news: Our Vice President shot somebody in the face, spinach was toxic for a while, the Solar System lost a planet…
This was a year that started with a quiet family party at home. This was a year when, in only my second semester, I was living with my second roommate (which ended up working out wonderfully). This was the year that I found out the credit card companies actually will call your house when a suspicious charge like an Xbox 360 shows up on a normally inactive card.
This was a year that I found out that Monster Trucks running over piles of dead cars gets a little boring after 38 times, and that running large engines in Assembly Hall can start making you nauseous. In the same room, this was the year that I got to see my first of many Illini basketball games.
This was a year where we found the joy of decorating a room for somebody’s birthday with streamers, balloons, and an inflated condom. This was a year when we found that you actually can invent a sport that’s fun to play over and over again (Yeah, Hallball!).
This was a year that I felt what a 40-hour work week really feels like. On the same note, it was a year that I learned how much shorter a 40-hour work week seems when you have an iPod with you. It was a year when a ten-minute break was a perfect time to make a cell phone call to hear a friendly voice. It was a year that a dime per text message was well worth its cost.
This was a year when thunderstorms, one of my greatest subconscious fears, turned around into something that was actually pseudo-relaxing. This was the year that I somehow found enjoyment in taking a walk in the rain.
This was the year that I jumped out of a frickin’ airplane! This was a year that I was surrounded by some of my closest friends on my birthday. This was the year that I got the opportunity to see an event for which the date will be in the books: Greg Maddux’s last game in a Cubs jersey. It was the year that I got to go “behind the scenes” of Wrigley Field.
This was a year when, in only my third semester, I was living with my third roommate. :-P
This was the first year, in fourteen of living in Schaumburg, that I was actually able to watch the Septemberfest parade rather than participate in it. This was the year I saw my first “real” concert when Dennis DeYoung played at Septemberfest.
This was a year that Illinois Football couldn’t even beat last year’s record of 2-9. This was also the year that we found how to ignore this record with face paint and 6 AM tailgate parties.
It was the year of my first inter-collegiate road trips. It was the year of the Blue Man Group concert. It was the year of giving goldfish as a birthday present. It was also the year of being responsible for the still-living half of that birthday present, and then it dying under my watch. It was the year of having a second Thanksgiving party with friends. The first year of going downtown to see the windows at Macy’s rather than Field’s.
This was the year of my worst academic semester since I’ve known what “GPA” stands for.
And even after all of these specific events, there are still things that seem like they took the entire year: This year, I felt some old friendships from high school really fade away. I also felt friendships not just fade into the distance, but actually break down first. This year, I claimed that I was “lost and confused” many times, only to proclaim a week later that I thought I was back on track. This was also a year that some friendships changed shape to become even stronger than they were before.
But after all of that, the year is over. Celebrating the arrival of 2007, in contrast to ’06, was with friends that, for the most part, I met this year. The party in Dekalb seemed like an absolutely perfect way to close out one year and begin the next.
I know that it seems like there’s a lot of negative points that I listed out, but I really don’t think of 2006 as such a bad year. Just like anything, there are lessons to pull out of everything you do and, if nothing else, me writing this Year in Review has brought some of those lessons back to the top of my mind.
What’s important to realize is that, as stuck as we may feel at some points, time is constantly moving. 2006 is gone, and we’re now into 2007. I know I have some specific things I can look forward to, but I also know that there are many other things to come. Some will be positive, some won’t; that’s just how things go. It’s our job to make the most of those positives.
In twelve short months, we’ll be doing the same thing we’re doing now.
Once we hit 2008, how will we look back on 2007?
Before I started writing this, I took a look at my "2005 in review" post. Wow... It's hard to imagine how much contrast there is between that and '06. 2005 was a year of complete change... moving from high school to college, moving from Schaumburg to Urbana, establishing an entire new group of friends. As easy it would be to say that 2006 didn't have as much change, I really don't see that as the case. Although the same things may not have changed, we all change in some ways as time goes on; we grow.
I guess in ways, 2006 was a strange year. Look at events that made the news: Our Vice President shot somebody in the face, spinach was toxic for a while, the Solar System lost a planet…
This was a year that started with a quiet family party at home. This was a year when, in only my second semester, I was living with my second roommate (which ended up working out wonderfully). This was the year that I found out the credit card companies actually will call your house when a suspicious charge like an Xbox 360 shows up on a normally inactive card.
This was a year that I found out that Monster Trucks running over piles of dead cars gets a little boring after 38 times, and that running large engines in Assembly Hall can start making you nauseous. In the same room, this was the year that I got to see my first of many Illini basketball games.
This was a year where we found the joy of decorating a room for somebody’s birthday with streamers, balloons, and an inflated condom. This was a year when we found that you actually can invent a sport that’s fun to play over and over again (Yeah, Hallball!).
This was a year that I felt what a 40-hour work week really feels like. On the same note, it was a year that I learned how much shorter a 40-hour work week seems when you have an iPod with you. It was a year when a ten-minute break was a perfect time to make a cell phone call to hear a friendly voice. It was a year that a dime per text message was well worth its cost.
This was a year when thunderstorms, one of my greatest subconscious fears, turned around into something that was actually pseudo-relaxing. This was the year that I somehow found enjoyment in taking a walk in the rain.
This was the year that I jumped out of a frickin’ airplane! This was a year that I was surrounded by some of my closest friends on my birthday. This was the year that I got the opportunity to see an event for which the date will be in the books: Greg Maddux’s last game in a Cubs jersey. It was the year that I got to go “behind the scenes” of Wrigley Field.
This was a year when, in only my third semester, I was living with my third roommate. :-P
This was the first year, in fourteen of living in Schaumburg, that I was actually able to watch the Septemberfest parade rather than participate in it. This was the year I saw my first “real” concert when Dennis DeYoung played at Septemberfest.
This was a year that Illinois Football couldn’t even beat last year’s record of 2-9. This was also the year that we found how to ignore this record with face paint and 6 AM tailgate parties.
It was the year of my first inter-collegiate road trips. It was the year of the Blue Man Group concert. It was the year of giving goldfish as a birthday present. It was also the year of being responsible for the still-living half of that birthday present, and then it dying under my watch. It was the year of having a second Thanksgiving party with friends. The first year of going downtown to see the windows at Macy’s rather than Field’s.
This was the year of my worst academic semester since I’ve known what “GPA” stands for.
And even after all of these specific events, there are still things that seem like they took the entire year: This year, I felt some old friendships from high school really fade away. I also felt friendships not just fade into the distance, but actually break down first. This year, I claimed that I was “lost and confused” many times, only to proclaim a week later that I thought I was back on track. This was also a year that some friendships changed shape to become even stronger than they were before.
But after all of that, the year is over. Celebrating the arrival of 2007, in contrast to ’06, was with friends that, for the most part, I met this year. The party in Dekalb seemed like an absolutely perfect way to close out one year and begin the next.
I know that it seems like there’s a lot of negative points that I listed out, but I really don’t think of 2006 as such a bad year. Just like anything, there are lessons to pull out of everything you do and, if nothing else, me writing this Year in Review has brought some of those lessons back to the top of my mind.
What’s important to realize is that, as stuck as we may feel at some points, time is constantly moving. 2006 is gone, and we’re now into 2007. I know I have some specific things I can look forward to, but I also know that there are many other things to come. Some will be positive, some won’t; that’s just how things go. It’s our job to make the most of those positives.
In twelve short months, we’ll be doing the same thing we’re doing now.
Once we hit 2008, how will we look back on 2007?