3| An Ode to 2010: I needed you, I loved you, so now, I'm leaving you

Last week before I went home for break I stole Kappa’s mail key. Daring, right? No…not really. I’m not that B.A. I took the key so I can check our P.O. Box over break because I was given the simple task of checking to see if Laura’s passport would arrive before her departure for Spain in January. In all honesty, I’ve been hoping her passport would never arrive so Customs won’t permit her to leave the borders. As selfish and greedy as that is, I am going to miss one of my best friends way too much to let her leave for an entire semester. Then, on Monday I found a FedEx envelope postmarked from San Francisco and addressed to a Ms. Laura Lynn Monroe in our mailbox. “Well, damn,” I thought. Maybe I won’t mail it to her? But, then last night I had a revelation on mine and Laura’s behalf. An epiphany, if you will. This next semester is exactly what she and I both need. We both need this new year to start fresh as brand new women!

2010, you were, in all honesty, the best year I have lived on this earth. I experienced so many new things this past year. I got to spend my first Fourth of July weekend away from home and celebrated America’s independence in McCall, Idaho with the greatest friends I have. All sorts of things happened that weekend. Annie lived out the trunk of her Focus while I hopped from one friend’s house to another. One friend’s car was broken into and one friend’s car was totaled. We partied on North Beach and pretended like we were celebrating Spring Break in Havasu. Except, state patrollers and Valley County police were everywhere, so we really did not actually party like we would in Havasu. I hardly ate a sufficient meal that weekend but bought about three My Father’s Place milkshakes a day, compliments to Ms. Kirsten Virtue. Everywhere I turned in McCall, I saw someone I knew from school. Basically, it was awesome.

I also became a jetsetter in 2010. Well, no. I just travelled a lot, but most experiences won’t be discussed here for…many reasons. One experience in particular, however, was my opportunity to attend Kappa Kappa Gamma’s annual Leadership Academy in Marengo, Ohio. Don’t know where Marengo, Ohio is? Here, I’ll describe it to you. It is in the middle of a cornfield with little to no cell service. At night, you would see hundreds of Kappas from all over the continent roaming the parking lot in the dark, hoping to catch a bar or two. Damn, you, AT&T, for letting me down once again when it comes to cell service.

In 2010, I not only experienced new things, but I also learned new things about myself and about others. I realized I am a people pleaser, and this realization came to me when planning Sapphire Ball. If I do it this weekend, then this group of girls won’t be able to attend, but if I do it this next weekend, we won’t have the busses we need to transport us there. I can’t keep living this way. In 2010, I realized you can’t satisfy everyone.

What else did I learn in this past year? I learned that I am a giver who doesn’t expect anything in return…but should, in fact, receive something in return. There’s this Proverbs quote I recently stumbled upon and now live by, “When you give and don't expect anything back that's love. But if you give and expect a return it's an investment.” Well, my dear followers, it’s proven. I’m also a lover. Hmm…

In a nutshell: 2010, I loved you. Like, I would re-live you over and over again, making minor adjustments each time. BUT, before you cue the Taylor Swift music, just as with all things, I have to let you go and move on to a new year.

2011, I have high expectations for you. Actually, Laura and I have high expectations for you. Now, you’re probably wondering how Laura ties into this. Well, I believe I spoke on her behalf by saying we are ready for a new year. While I will be gallivanting across the UI campus in search for new memories and new friends, she will be gallivanting across Europe in search for the same. Except, she will have a dreamy Spaniard on her arm and a kalimotxo in her hand.