New Year's Eve

I think it is pretty typical to get sentimental on New Year's Eve and I am no different. This year was pretty nuts. Today, I spent a good chunk of time reflecting on my past year and I realized how much things have changed and how much I have grown.

This year I have learned immeasurable amounts about myself. I have become overly dependent on people when scripture says the only thing we can truly be dependent on people. I haven't done that this year and I've hurt a lot of people in that process.

So this year, I am going to leave this dependent part of myself behind and try to right some of the wrongs I have created in the past year. It's not going to be easy but my New Year's Eve vow is to try as hard as I possibly can is to make those people feel wanted and repair all the damage I have caused in the past. We only have a year and a half of high school left and I don't want to be spending it wishing I was graduating this spring. I want to enjoy my life with my friends. Statistics say you will only be friends with about 2 of your high school friends by the time you graduate from college. At this point, it looks like 0 of my friends are going to want to be friends with my by the end of high school even.

That being said, this last year was a really difficult year for me. This year was the first year my brother Andy was at college and I missed him so much. My parents and I have never had a worse relationship that we have had this year. This year, my brother Charlie spent the entire year in Paris and I missed him so hard all year. This year, my parents got separated 3 different times and it seemed inevitable that they were headed for divorce. This year, one of my best friends overdosed and almost died. This year, the relationship I was working on for the last 4 years finally ended and I left heartbroken. This  year, my favorite uncle died.

That being said, this last year had some really, really great points. This last semester, I have done better in school than I have ever done. This year, I have grown in my songwriting ability. This year, one of my best friends was saved and now I know we will be friends for all of eternity. This year, I started leading WyldLife and I am really excited for what God will do with that. This year, I finally have some sort of a plan/dream for college and my life beyond college. This year, I had some life changing experiences and memories I will never, ever forget. This year, I played the best show I have ever played and finally played my music for the people who are important to me and got really good feedback about it. This year, I was inducted into NHS. This year, I got much closer to Jesus.

Highlights of my year.

• January:

I went to a leadership retreat in Flagstaff and GeoCached around the town in pirate outfits. Awesome.

• February:

I spent a weekend working at Lost Canyon while middle school kids learned about Jesus. So much fun and incredibly humbling.

• March:

I went snowboarding in Utah with YoungLife friends and visited my cousins in Texas while going to SXSW. Also I turned 16!

• April:

I went to the Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero's concert and then a week later I went to the Edward Sharpe concert again. So much love.

This is one of my favorite pictures ever even though I am barely in it.

• May: 

School's out and I played Pomp & Circumstance at graduation.

• June:

Summer camp at Crooked Creek Ranch and visited my friends in Washington. So nice to be home.

• July:

My uncle got married in Virginia and we were touristy around DC and toured University of Virginia and George Washington. Also I did a backpacking trip on a glacier in British Columbia.

• August: 

Back to school. Boo. Only eventful thing all month was going tubing with my friends on Lake Powell.

• September:

Leadership weekend at Lost Canyon. Awesome speaker. Awesome worship. Awesome pranking Rick.

• October:

Surf camp in Encinitas. While other people went shopping, I spent an entire morning surfing with Rick and Mike. Good times.

• November:

Momma's Birthday in which Andy & Charlie came home.

• December: 

End of 1st semester Christmas, Grand Canyon, wisdom teeth removal, best show we've ever played.

And this is not a picture of any of those events, rather this is the YL Christmas party with my WL team.

Best shows of 2011:

• Edward Sharpe (times 2)
• Mumford & Sons
• Bright Eyes
• Death Cab
• City & Colour
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Old Crow Medicine Show
• Bon Iver
• Fleet Foxes

Favorite bands of 2011:

• Edward Sharpe
• Mumford & Sons
• The Weepies
• City & Colour
• Macklemore
• Noah & The Whale
• The Tallest Man on Earth
• Pink Floyd
• Nirvana
• Bon Iver
• Fleet Foxes
• The Head & The Heart
• The Smiths
• Neutral Milk Hotel
• The Taxpayers
• The Arcade Fire
• The Swell Season
• The Velvet Underground
• Joanna Newsom

Favorite Movies of 2011:

• The King's Speech
• Water for Elephants
• Bridesmaids
• Super 8
• The Art of Getting By
• Crazy, Stupid, Love.
• The Help
• Footloose
• Young Adult

Favorite Books of 2011:

• The Color Purple
• Blue Like Jazz
• Catcher in the Rye
• Catch-22
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

So goodbye 2011. I am really ready for you to be over and I am so excited for everything 2012 has in store for me. And as most people I know are partying to celebrate this new year, I will be hiking a mountain and drinking in the beauty of the world as the new year rolls in.

Come at me 2012.