january was spent flexing my independence. i learned to stand up for myself and left my first stable job for the sake of my sanity. i spent the rest of the month in hibernation. i spent new year’s working, being confrontational, and hanging out with jeremy, who became my best friend this year, so i guess that is right.
february things got ridiculous. i let my best friend morghann move in and met kelsey who ended up becoming one of my best friends this year through her. the three of us took on the city headfirst and had some of the silliest adventures of the year. we spent morghann’s 21st in wilmington which ranks in most fun weekends i have ever had. i got to see anderson cooper speak which was an amazing experience he is one of my heros. typical/normal thursday tradition began which kept my life exciting.
march: the month of march is always something else entirely. i fell in like that month, it set the tone for a lot of things to follow, i regret that. i turned 21 this month while in florida with my best friend. i struggled with my anxiety that was a constant issue in the year, but i think i came out the other end with a better understanding of myself. my best friend bakari got to come visit for a week, that was a wonderful taste of south carolina and i was so thankful to have him around, he got WWAD for what would ashton do on his foot.
april: we went to the final 4. wow, never thought in my college experience that would have happened. i finally felt like i was apart of vcu. i entered my first relationship and it also ended in the month of april. i went to new orleans with my mom for jazz fest. new orleans grabbed a huge chunk of my heart and i fell in love with that city. i got a tarot card reading that shook me to my core and accurately mapped out the second chunk of the year.
may: my junior year came to a close. my heart broke. i dove into summer ready to run away from everything. i met the loves of my 90’s life and the summer started to melt my brain.
june: summer classes began. i chased my heart to ny to get it broken, but learned that sometimes you have to take chances to avoid the giant what if. i finished my summer classes with A’s. i took my first steps in europe with my grandpa.
july: was spent discovering eastern europe bonding with my distant grandfather. put my feet on asia. got a restaurant job for the first time, ethiopian… i learned a lot and ate a lot and met some strong ladies who got me through a tough summer. went to california. finally felt at home somewhere between santa barbara and los angeles. had the most ridiculous time of my life with sara. australians, margaritas, sound and fury, hostels, so much adventure. the best times with joey and mia. aziz, santa monica, grilled cheese truck, the best manicure of my life. what a trip.
august: was a complete mess. i ran around richmond with alix and rachel and had the time of my life. i saw my first baseball game. i ended my friendship with my best friend and made a mess of a lot of things with other people i cared about. i made new friends, had no idea how much they’d come to mean. had a ton of adventures and got in the right amount of trouble. my senior year of college started. there was an earthquake and a hurricane. NDM was formed.
september: brought so many changes. i settled into a group of new friends, a new job at kingdom, a new semester of school. i let 3 strangers move into my apartment. i realized i would be able to care about new people, and that new people don’t replace the old, but will often show you how much more you deserved. those three guys pulled me out of the slump i was in and made sure the month was full of laughs and adventures. 1205. bullies forever. 
october: the apple orchard trip is still my favorite memory of this month, two of my best friends got a year older and i got to celebrate with them. i distracted myself with work, friendship, and school this month. my apartment because mine again, but the clubhouse feel didn’t go anywhere. one of the best parts of the year was being constantly surrounded by friends.
november: a time to be thankful, a time to move on. i got involved in occupy richmond. registered for my final semester of college and found out i would be graduating on time. people came out of nowhere to become my best friends when i needed them most. had a wonderful thanksgiving with my family. realized that despite everything i have more in my life to be thankful for than i could ever deserve.
december: the year began to dwindle down. i got a 3.5 for the semester which was something i was proud of. the cold weather and holiday season had us holed up watching christmas movies for months. i started my first fight, and found out who will really stand up for me when push comes to shove. i had a christmas party to celebrate a lot of my favorite people, a hole got knocked into the wall, still funny. more silly moments with NDM. i tried to open my heart again, and shut it just as quickly. i spent christmas with my family and then flew to california where i currently sit.
2011 has been a year. it has been more up and down than any other year of my entire life. it has included standing on top of mountains in europe and crying on the floor of my shower and everything in between. i have met some of the greatest people who i am so thankful to call my best friends, and let go of some of the closest people in my life. i have grown stronger and more independent if that was possible. i explored the world and got my heart broken and was let down by people and had the time of my life. i can’t explain this year any better than hitting every high and every low possible, but i can say wholeheartedly that i lived every single minute of it to the fullest. here is to 2012. i can’t even begin to wrap my head around what is in store.
