2010 in Review

2010...one of the best worst years I have ever lived. I know that is an oxymoron, nevertheless it remains to be the truth. While, I experience no real major setbacks, there were personal setback in my "social" life. While I didn't lose any loved ones, something I loved died. While none of my friends passed away, a lot of my relationships did. Some were for the better, some for the worse. But that's all apart of living a full life. Things like that happen and it's those things that help build our character. Therefore, in turn, it's how we handle those events that helps shape our character and increases the potential for growth in that aspect. So while I digress, I progress.
The death of my academic career and the birth of my post-adolescent phase is majorly this highest point of the year. A lot of rough nights and long nights, reading, researching, highlighting, and note-taking all whipped together in a bowl to make a successful dish called a bachelor's degree.
But I won't put all my chips in one bag. A degree isn't a magical piece of paper that comes with a salary. While it was a huge accomplishment, after being asked to leave St. Joseph's, I know a lot of them did not believe I could do that. For example, I wrote one of my superiors back at the institution the same semester I happened to make the dean's list. Ignored. I just felt really good about what I had done and wanted to let them know I was getting my act together. Well, I digress, but after all that I find myself torn between the potentiality and the actuality of what is to come.
A man has a lot on his plate. When you're brought up, you have certain qualities instilled in you. Different things you receive from other people, those who "know better." All in effort to mold you into a better person. Once you're a grown man, you're expected to get a good job, make a good living and find a wife and have kids all while being a productive and respectable figure in the community. That's a lot for one plate.
So while, we all anticipate what is to come in 2011, I reminisce on what once was. And 2010 was just another chapter in the Life of Noah Douglas.