So this is the new year.

If having lived through 2011 has taught me anything, it's that plans inevitably never work out they way you envision them. Sometimes they turn out for the better, but sometimes, as in the case of last night, things turn out worse than imagined.

I didn't complete my 2011 Reading Challenge. Ultimately, I came up two short of my goal. I am the only one to blame for this. I've set up my new 2012 Reading Challenge for the same, seemingly lofty number of 50, yet I'm hoping I can be inspired by how close I came the year before.

Sparkler pictures with friends was a bust. Not only could just two of my friends show up, we essentially had a few measly glow sticks that emitted little to no light. We had to resort to mini flashlights instead. Since I had never done it before, I called it an experiment, and we agreed to try again in the future.

I was the youngest at the party I went to and thus didn't say/do much. We played Apples to Apples and Rockband, in which I was of course included, yet I was hyper aware of my age. The topics of roommates, getting drunk and drunk roommates are nothing I can add to, and that slowly annoyed me. Every time I did open my mouth to talk, I felt like I sounded stupid and was judged. I realize no one probably did this intentionally, it's just what happens. C'est la vie.

Fortunately, I can let those bad moments stay in the past. Let them be forgotten in favor of better memories. Cease to dwell on the negative, focus on the positive.

I am extremely excited for the things to come in 2012.

I hope you are, too.