The obligatory end-of-the-year post

It seems like everywhere there is an end-of-the-year post. What happened in that previous year? What was good about it? Bad about it? This year we can add something different..what happened in the past decade? Then apply the same questions - what was good, or bad, about it?

THE DECADE: I started high school. I had a great time, thanks to band and debate. I graduated from PHS. I started college. I got put on academic warning after my first year - but darn if I did not redeem myself and bring my GPA up to almost a 3.0! I graduated from college (with a different degree than I planned on). I graduated college within four years. I got an amazing summer job in Paris. I started graduate school. I finished my first semester of grad school with a 3.0 GPA! I went to Italy, Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Bahamas, various Caribbean Islands, and various United States. I experienced a flight crew going on strike and delaying my plane from Germany to the States by a few hours (what's three hours when added to a 10 hour cross-Atlantic flight?!) I experienced weather delays for a flight, and almost had to make plans to find a hotel in the DFW area, but got on the last flight out that night, and made it to the best friend's graduation the next day. I went on a few cruises. I met a lot of my cousins that I had never met before. I went to three bowl games - and saw my two schools face off (Cotton Bowl 2005 - Alabama v. TTU - thank goodness for Jamie Christensen). Went to a lot of college football games, some basketball games, some gymnastics meets, and a couple of soccer games. Most importantly - I learned a lot about myself as a person, and I am proud of all of the things I have accomplished.

THE YEAR: I am now a proud alumni of the University of Alabama. And thanks to UA, I am now a historian. (Can I call myself that if I just have the degree, but little experience?) I have three unpublished papers, and wrote an article that is supposed to be published at some point. I am now a proud Museum Science master's student at Texas Tech University. I have an amazing job and I took some awesome classes with some amazing people, and am having the time of my life - even as I feel like I don't have time to have a life outside of the museum.

THE UPCOMING DECADE: I'll have found and completed an internship somewhere. And if I haven't done that, then I'll have come up with a thesis topic and written a thesis. I'll have a master's degree from TTU (August 2011!). Hopefully, I'll have a job that I love in a museum somewhere. And who knows what else will happen..it's a mystery, one I'll be ecstatic to discover!

THE UPCOMING YEAR: I'll take 12 credit hours of grad school in the Spring. I can work more during the Spring too. I'll probably feel like I have no life outside of the museum, but once again, I'll have the time of my life with some amazing people while doing it! I'm going to be taking summer classes for the first time on campus (I've done online courses before). I'll *hopefully* find an internship for Spring 2011. And if that doesn't happen, then like I said above, I will come up with a thesis topic. Whatever the rest of the year holds will be fun to find out!

I hope your year and decade were as amazing and fulfilling as mine were, and I hope that the upcoming year and decade will be the same. :)