(no subject)
Stolen from Casey...
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Lots of things... spent an extended time abroad, became a college student, lived away from home, flew by myself. There were lots of exciting precedents...
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Hmm, I'm not sure what my resolutions were but I think I had a pretty dynamic... almost volatile year. Lots of ups and downs and self-discovery and times when I was 50 different people and acted inconsistently etc etc. I'm not sure this was a good year for resolutions :-\
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I hope not!!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
not really
5. What countries did you visit?
:D several! and i'm so lucky for that: germany, austria, netherlands, and (soon to be) japan
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
hm, some kind of immersion in nature. like a personal discovery/adventure, a la into the woods
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
graduation, because it's usually a big deal to most people, myself included haha
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
see, there's like two sides to this question... i guess in one sense it was being valedictorian because that's generally held as a big achievement. but then again, seeing more of the world is also really important to me, as is meeting new people, etc so i guess i would say being valedictorian, but there were experiences that were also important achievements. that was a dumb answer
9. What was your biggest failure?
rejection from princeton!! and some other mistakes along the way
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
i don't think anything too extreme, nothing out of the ordinary
11. What was the best thing you bought?
i got a pretty sweet cuckoo clock for the fam, not sure what else
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
wow good question. my brother made some nice strides. i would also say nate for being willing to take a risk and live in japan for nine months by himself. this sounds lame but thinking back, the senior class i think was pretty remarkable by the end of year- like a really close group of classmates, which i think is notable. russia had totally bad behavior
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
russia. who else... "appalled and depressed." wow. hmmm i suppose my own at times, and some other people but why dwell on that
14. Where did most of your money go?
traveling, which is so unfortunately expensive
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
hm, getting into colleges was really exciting, as was like the month before graduation. graduation morning was very surreal/exciting. going back to camp was also sort of exciting (?) - including my $.50 raise!! trips to boston were usually exciting weekend diversions as well. and traveling, that's always exciting
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
hmmmm. well, praise you by fatboy slim because it was our graduation song. alles neu by peter fox because we listened to that so much in germany. that song in tokyo drift for obvious reasons haha.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
i dont really remember how i felt this time last year... probably stressed because of college applications and very confused about the end of high school, but probably a lot more socially comfortable, since it's like the pinnacle of the teenage hierarchy. so maybe i'm not as happy but a lot less stressed? wiser? more aware? who knows... i'm pretty happy
ii. thinner or fatter?
blahhh about as thin but with about no muscle from swimming any more :( i am quite disappointed with my physical health right now
iii. richer or poorer?
poorer? i've never had a lot of money haha but japan is like the last straw
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
this sounds petty but it would have been awesome to hike more and i really wish i had taken up hiking a lot earlier in my life. hiking is such a beautiful mesh of like personal realization and communal interaction, plus you stay fit and see nature. oh well. i also wish i was more dedicated to swimming, which i was TERRIBLE about with the excitement of school ending... and my senioritis
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
worrying (about things that figure themselves out)
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
at home, with family but a rather small crowd this year
22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
lots of lust haha... is that weird? but no i didn't fall in love ha
23. How many one-night stands?
so many
24. What was your favorite TV program?
i was very optimistic about abc bringing back the mole, but they did it sort of poorly and it got bad ratings so that was disappointing. project runway is a keeper, as is anything on the food network.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
i honestly don't know
26. What was the best book you read?
is it sad if i can't remember a book that i read in an entire year? the last lecture was promising but i didn't finish it... i don't know, something in simoes' class was probably noteworthy
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
trance, which i thought was like grating techno but is in fact super relaxing/chill music
28. What did you want and get?
the beginning of a good education, to meet new people, to see new places, to be valedictorian
29. What did you want and not get?
to go to casey's bday party! besides that nothing comes to mind, i get over things pretty quickly
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
i'm realizing how hard it is to remember everything that happened in a year... movies. i don't know, im not that big on movies. cloverfield? haha
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
i turned 19 and we ate cake that my mom ordered in studio and then i pulled another of many all-nighters
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
sticking true to first impressions, being more confident/braver
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
hm, i think i transitioned like full swing from spending hundreds on clothing to spending nothing because i have different priorities now. it's sort of lame but i've actually thought about my 'style' and realized it's not too coherent? like a little urban, a little preppy, a little athletic, a little metro. i guess that constitutes a wardrobe? who knows, i think i wear pretty nice clothes
34. What kept you sane?
thinking that everything i overcome makes all the new challenges that less intimidating
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
hillary, hannah montana
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
election i guess
37. Who did you miss?
wow, um everyone from high school haha teachers, friends the whole nine yards, my family, the boston crew, the camp crew... that's most people in my life
38. Who was the best new person you met?
haha bruno was really amazing but there are also some incredible people at school. i still have a week to meet new people too.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
i have a few, but none of them are ground-breaking...
if you're working incredibly hard, you should make sure you love what you're doing
seeing the world is an immeasurably powerful tool for growth
hiking rocks
always add to who you are
don't worry so much!!
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
well, that's sort of hard to do haha but seeing as this is sort of my 'year of travel' (what i hope to be the first of many) and since i absolutely love this song lately (because i think it's amazingly beautiful) here goes:
I know so many places in the world
I follow the sun in my silver plane
Universal traveler
If you have a look
Outside on the sea
Everything is white
It's so wonderful
Universal traveler
So far, so far
So far away
I met so many
People in my life
I've got many friends
Who can care for me
Universal traveler
Just feel everywhere at home
Tomorrow
Is a brand new day
Let's go somewhere else
Universal Traveler
So far, so far
So far away
universal traveler - air
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Lots of things... spent an extended time abroad, became a college student, lived away from home, flew by myself. There were lots of exciting precedents...
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Hmm, I'm not sure what my resolutions were but I think I had a pretty dynamic... almost volatile year. Lots of ups and downs and self-discovery and times when I was 50 different people and acted inconsistently etc etc. I'm not sure this was a good year for resolutions :-\
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I hope not!!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
not really
5. What countries did you visit?
:D several! and i'm so lucky for that: germany, austria, netherlands, and (soon to be) japan
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
hm, some kind of immersion in nature. like a personal discovery/adventure, a la into the woods
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
graduation, because it's usually a big deal to most people, myself included haha
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
see, there's like two sides to this question... i guess in one sense it was being valedictorian because that's generally held as a big achievement. but then again, seeing more of the world is also really important to me, as is meeting new people, etc so i guess i would say being valedictorian, but there were experiences that were also important achievements. that was a dumb answer
9. What was your biggest failure?
rejection from princeton!! and some other mistakes along the way
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
i don't think anything too extreme, nothing out of the ordinary
11. What was the best thing you bought?
i got a pretty sweet cuckoo clock for the fam, not sure what else
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
wow good question. my brother made some nice strides. i would also say nate for being willing to take a risk and live in japan for nine months by himself. this sounds lame but thinking back, the senior class i think was pretty remarkable by the end of year- like a really close group of classmates, which i think is notable. russia had totally bad behavior
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
russia. who else... "appalled and depressed." wow. hmmm i suppose my own at times, and some other people but why dwell on that
14. Where did most of your money go?
traveling, which is so unfortunately expensive
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
hm, getting into colleges was really exciting, as was like the month before graduation. graduation morning was very surreal/exciting. going back to camp was also sort of exciting (?) - including my $.50 raise!! trips to boston were usually exciting weekend diversions as well. and traveling, that's always exciting
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
hmmmm. well, praise you by fatboy slim because it was our graduation song. alles neu by peter fox because we listened to that so much in germany. that song in tokyo drift for obvious reasons haha.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
i dont really remember how i felt this time last year... probably stressed because of college applications and very confused about the end of high school, but probably a lot more socially comfortable, since it's like the pinnacle of the teenage hierarchy. so maybe i'm not as happy but a lot less stressed? wiser? more aware? who knows... i'm pretty happy
ii. thinner or fatter?
blahhh about as thin but with about no muscle from swimming any more :( i am quite disappointed with my physical health right now
iii. richer or poorer?
poorer? i've never had a lot of money haha but japan is like the last straw
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
this sounds petty but it would have been awesome to hike more and i really wish i had taken up hiking a lot earlier in my life. hiking is such a beautiful mesh of like personal realization and communal interaction, plus you stay fit and see nature. oh well. i also wish i was more dedicated to swimming, which i was TERRIBLE about with the excitement of school ending... and my senioritis
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
worrying (about things that figure themselves out)
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
at home, with family but a rather small crowd this year
22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
lots of lust haha... is that weird? but no i didn't fall in love ha
23. How many one-night stands?
so many
24. What was your favorite TV program?
i was very optimistic about abc bringing back the mole, but they did it sort of poorly and it got bad ratings so that was disappointing. project runway is a keeper, as is anything on the food network.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
i honestly don't know
26. What was the best book you read?
is it sad if i can't remember a book that i read in an entire year? the last lecture was promising but i didn't finish it... i don't know, something in simoes' class was probably noteworthy
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
trance, which i thought was like grating techno but is in fact super relaxing/chill music
28. What did you want and get?
the beginning of a good education, to meet new people, to see new places, to be valedictorian
29. What did you want and not get?
to go to casey's bday party! besides that nothing comes to mind, i get over things pretty quickly
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
i'm realizing how hard it is to remember everything that happened in a year... movies. i don't know, im not that big on movies. cloverfield? haha
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
i turned 19 and we ate cake that my mom ordered in studio and then i pulled another of many all-nighters
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
sticking true to first impressions, being more confident/braver
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
hm, i think i transitioned like full swing from spending hundreds on clothing to spending nothing because i have different priorities now. it's sort of lame but i've actually thought about my 'style' and realized it's not too coherent? like a little urban, a little preppy, a little athletic, a little metro. i guess that constitutes a wardrobe? who knows, i think i wear pretty nice clothes
34. What kept you sane?
thinking that everything i overcome makes all the new challenges that less intimidating
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
hillary, hannah montana
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
election i guess
37. Who did you miss?
wow, um everyone from high school haha teachers, friends the whole nine yards, my family, the boston crew, the camp crew... that's most people in my life
38. Who was the best new person you met?
haha bruno was really amazing but there are also some incredible people at school. i still have a week to meet new people too.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
i have a few, but none of them are ground-breaking...
if you're working incredibly hard, you should make sure you love what you're doing
seeing the world is an immeasurably powerful tool for growth
hiking rocks
always add to who you are
don't worry so much!!
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
well, that's sort of hard to do haha but seeing as this is sort of my 'year of travel' (what i hope to be the first of many) and since i absolutely love this song lately (because i think it's amazingly beautiful) here goes:
I know so many places in the world
I follow the sun in my silver plane
Universal traveler
If you have a look
Outside on the sea
Everything is white
It's so wonderful
Universal traveler
So far, so far
So far away
I met so many
People in my life
I've got many friends
Who can care for me
Universal traveler
Just feel everywhere at home
Tomorrow
Is a brand new day
Let's go somewhere else
Universal Traveler
So far, so far
So far away
universal traveler - air