i've been sitting here contemplating on whether or not i should write a 2005 year in review blog seeing as though my memory is pretty much nonexistent most times and i don't think i can recall many things from this past year. but, after much thought i decided to give it a go...after all, the year was indeed quite interesting:

2005, a year of growing up: in the professional sector, i made quite a few accomplishments i had not anticipated. i got promoted to supervisor and was fully in charge of my first case! i had to learn how to make executive decisions and how to handle crazy parents (of whom some were crazier than their kids, sad to say!). it was also very challenging supervising tutors working on my cases...i really had to get used to giving constructive criticism and reprimanding some that weren't getting the job done. that was really difficult, especially when i had to confront one of my tutors who was leaving early during sessions...she quit the next week. i also had to learn how to handle money, which i can honestly say i hadn't really handled it at all. i'm still working on that, and with each penny saved (if even that) i get a little better.

2005, a year of friendship: i made so many new friends that i felt like i've known for hella years, and deepened my relationships with one's that i "grew up" with at uci. some friendships suffered greatly due to "rumors" and long months of non-existent keeping in touch. but, in the end all things were made beautiful and i can truly say that the friendships i've hung on to are worth more than gold. i remember the clubs and dances we rarely went to...the weddings we cried and didn't cry at...the drama we usally go through and was not at all surprising (our friendships wouldn't be as exciting without a little drama here and there!)...the rallies and concerts looked through different eyes...and the music.

2005, a year of music: and what a beautiful sound that music made throughout the year! noon mass choir sang beautiful enough to be compared to as a choir of angels. ao1 went off the charts, not in popularity but in heart and struggle. no matter what it was that we were unsure or nervous about, i always loved those few moments right before we were about to start a worship when everything sat still and our hearts were at peace with Him. those few moments of assurance from God made all the valley's worth it...and no matter what came before or after, the moments inbetween when we could be seen lifting our broken souls in prayer to God will always rest in my heart as some of the most profound moments of my life. my heart will not rest, until it rests in you...

2005, a year of drama: enough said. just kidding! what would we do without the exciting episodes of never-ending drama?! our lives would be quite dull without it.

2005, a year of losses: JPII gave his lasts breaths on April 2nd, 2005. we were driving to david's bball game and i remember not wanting to believe it because i was so counting on him to live until the next world youth day in germany (which was also a loss since i wasn’t able to go…but i guess it wasn’t in His plans.). but as much as i was upset about his passing, i was thankful for his life and the significant impact he made in mine...and in the world. totus tuus.

2005, a year of gains: pope benedict XVI was elected…he answered “yes” to God’s calling for reasons yet to be seen. david and i were both fortunately crowned as dons and the door to an educational opportunity was pushed wide open! furthermore, i was again given the chance to work with children at a private school, AND teach my own little class on the fundamentals of Catholicism. fundamentals are the building blocks of fun!

2005, a year of good-bye’s: i said good-bye to a world that has made the most impact on my twenty-four years of life thus far, and sometimes i think that i wasn't ready to yet. now, every time i’m in a church during mass, my physical body is there but my heart is somewhere faraway, peacefully lying amidst the brown walls, dirty carpet, and spirit-filled friends of interfaith. with every one bread, one body sang, i pray that my voice carries those 400 miles south to the place where it all began. i miss it so much…but i realize now that i have to just let it go and concentrate on the things right in front of me.


and here we are, on the dawning of 2006 and i foresee it as a year of FOCUS. focusing on bringing light to my family, my friends, and my david. a focus on a new life and new beginnings. a focus of faith and love. a focus on a revolution of hearts…






thank you, kj, for a new year.