The Year Wrapped
As the earth completes another lap around the sun, the calendar year ends and we ready to enter a new decade: 2020. A lot of things can change in a week or two, let alone a whole year. Looking back at 2019, the year was filled with highs and lows, adventures and (a few) moments of boredom. There cannot be light without dark, good without bad, for life itself has the duality of death in the end. I hope everyone reading can look back at 2019 and remember highlights and events resulting in memories that make them smile.
Before I get into this post, a bit of a side tangent. I read a book a while ago that talked about the Japanese calendar and how it traditionally divides the year into 5-day segments, or 73 periods, each with a different name and theme. The periods each fall within the normal four seasons that western cultures typically recognize. An interesting thing that the author notes is how the start and end points of the seasons differ between the Japanese and the Gregorian calendar. For example, February 5th is considered the beginning of spring, instead of the spring equinox on March 21 as many people would think. I would recommend the book as the author adds short memoirs of her experiences during each of these segments as she writes the book over a two-year period. Anyways, I just think it goes to show that linear time is an illusion, a social construct made by humans to try to make sense of the changes in the world. But I digress.
Remembering what happened in 2019 brings me way back to the beginning of the year in cold, snowy South Dakota, where I spent winter break from college with my family. A few days after the new year we took a trip to the Bighorns in Wyoming. We carried all our gear in on cross-country skis and sleds and spent a few nights staying at a forest service cabin where mice snuck in for warmth and moose walked outside the windows near the creek while we sipped coffee in the mornings. Days were short as light was limited, but we skied out into the wilderness, warmed ourselves with hot soup by the fire, and gazed up at the milky way when night fell.
The dog was happy to join us as we spent a lot of January snow-shoeing, hiking, and having meals with friends. Mid-January meant the start of another semester at college, this one much better than the first. Back in Vermont the weather was as cold as South Dakota, but the slopes for skiing were much more impressive.
February saw me turn 19; celebrating with friends, Mediterranean food, and a feminist film: On the Basis of Sex, telling the life of Ruth B. Ginsberg. Later I went to Dartmouth to see a friend’s concert and took a bread-making class at King Arthur Flour with my aunt. We came out with six loaves of bread between the two of us, we did manage to eat them all. Vermont celebrated its’ annual Cheese Fest. For work, our newest campaign for eco-reps was focused on waste, so I spent many hours collecting and sorting trash. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, and I got a bonus when I found $5 in someone’s leftover take-out bag they had tossed.
March was filled with snow. Spring break was spent in Northern Arizona with my family and one of my good friends who’s attending NAU. We went to Flagstaff hoping to escape the snow but alas most of the time we were there was cold and blustery, though we did get a few days of warmth when we visited Sedona and Phoenix. An adventure hiking the Grand Canyon left us tired but exhilarated, as we may have misread the distances and ended up hiking from the South Rim to the Colorado River and back in a day (a total of 17~miles).
In April I visited the farmer’s market a lot and ran a half-marathon in Burlington with one of my best friends. Performed flute in a band concert. Celebrated Passover with some Jewish friends. Celebrated Easter with some Christian friends. Hid eggs for a small group Easter-egg hunt with chocolates and coins. However, much to my dismay when I wasn’t looking someone (not in the group) stole the golden egg with $5 in it! A tragedy…Peter Rabbit was not pleased.
Avengers Infinity War hit theaters and a group of my friends and I went to see it opening night. It took three tries to tickets but we made it to the 11 pm showing and it was worth it.
May finished out the school year with a hard round of finals but great relief for being done with my freshman year at college. I got my first tattoo to celebrate, much to my mother’s dismay. After packing everything up and moving out of the dorms we made a quick stop in New Hampshire to see my aunt and uncle and stopped by Maine to see the ocean. Back in South Dakota I was welcomed with a snowstorm. Yay.
Work began the ‘summer’ months, as I drove up the Needles Highway to Sylvan Gate at Custer State Park for my job as a gate attendant. One of my friends stayed with my family for the summer and worked at the same place as me, we got up to a lot of adventures this summer. Over the summer I went on many runs, hikes, bikes, tried to get together with friends. Snow storms canceled work a few times. A quick trip southward to view petroglyphs near Edgemont.
In June went to Minnesota for a wedding. Visited the drive-in movie theater for the first time, listened to music at the local bar, saw plays at the Black Hills Playhouse. I was a Transylvanian in my friends’ amazing Rocky Horror production.
In July celebrated some birthdays. I ran another half marathon and dragged my mom along. I made a new PR and she finished under her goal time! Quick camping trip in the Badlands, woke up with the prairie dogs. Did touristy things I haven’t done since I was a kid. Went rock-climbing. Biked 50 miles on the Michelson trail with my dad and a good pal. Gold Discovery Days in Custer brought a tiny carnival to town and a parade where I rode my first (mini) ferris-wheel.
August saw one more visit to the Bighorns, this time further in the park near Cloud Peak. A more detailed description of the trip is in a previous blog post, but to summarize we had a great time, went on some amazing hikes, and I got stiches for the first time in my life.
Rally week brought in thousands of motorcyclists to the Hills. Hiked Black Elk Peak for sunrise on my friend’s last day in Custer. The end of August echoed with goodbyes to some friends and hellos to others. Sophomore year back in Vermont began with a bang, as the first weekend back I went on a trip with some friends to a river cottage in New York.
In September school got into full swing, club activities started up, and adventures were plotted. I camped overnight at Mt. Mansfield in the rain, competed in a sprint triathlon at Buzzards Bay, MA, and had to get my bike tire changed three times in two days. (Before the race, after, and again the next day). Went to a vegan food festival in Montreal and the next week on a sunrise hike on Camel’s hump with a wonderful view of rain and clouds.
In October camped in the Adirondacks. A girl’s trip to Montreal over the holiday weekend where we enjoyed art at the MAC, MFA saw mummies, walked up to Mount Royal Park, and more. I biked to Mt. Philo and back with two girls crazy enough to join me for a windy 30 miler’ on a Sunday. The next week ran at the NIRCA NE regional race (6K) in MA and placed in the top 10, which qualified me for nationals (though I ended up not going since the race was in Virginia). Saw Rocky Horror on a rainy Halloween where half the town flooded.
The first weekend in November I ran my first 10 K at Shelburne Farms and was the first woman to finish which won me some maple syrup. Performed in my first Orchestra Concert on flute and piccolo. Hiked Mt. Abe and Mt. Hunger. Went to my first contradance with some friends and got addicted (you guys it is so much fun, just trust me and try it).
Thanksgiving was a wonderful break, as we got the whole week off from school. I stayed with relatives in New Hampshire and visited friends in Massachusetts. A few days were spent exploring Boston, going everywhere from the Commons to Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, to Mikes’ Pastry, the Boston Library, to the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the Peabody Museum at Harvard, Freedom Trail, and Lesley University to see Robin Kimmerer give a talk on her book Braiding Sweetgrass. A day and a half in Ipswich was spent kayaking, walking on the beach, and cooking delicious food. Returning to New Hampshire for Thanksgiving brought even more good food, a Christmas parade, and craft fairs.
December was an abrupt back to school then break, with a week of classes and then finals. Contradancing on Saturday, one last yoga class on Sunday, and then drudging through a week of finals wrapped up the semester. I boarded a plane and instead of arriving in South Dakota found myself in South Carolina. (Don’t worry, this was intentional and not an error from the airlines). The warmth was a nice change for all of us, as my family had driven out in the camper to meet me. We are currently camped on Myrtle Beach for the whole month of break, using our site as a base to explore the area, since none of us have ever been to South Carolina before. Thus far we have seen several lovely beaches and state parks (Myrtle Beach and Huntington). Waccamaw Wildlife Refuge, Brook Green Gardens during the Thousand Lights display (oh my goodness, so gorgeous), biked the coastal trail, and explored the Market Common.
We went to Charleston and saw the Bigelow Tea Plantation and Angel Oak State Park with one of the largest trees I’ve seen in my life (besides the Redwoods). The day was rainy but we walked around the old town and King Street. We plan on going back before the trip is over and hopefully can visit Magnolia Plantations.
Christmas was lovely, though this year was the first one that wasn’t white. We did bake some goodies and shared them with fellow campers.
We’ve been to nearby small towns like Conaway, Surfside, North Myrtle Beach, etc. One day we decided to visit Bald Head Island in North Carolina where we saw a few dolphins, a coyote, and lots of birds. Back to Huntington for more walks, explored the castle Atyalla, and finally saw some alligators much to my mother’s dismay. And now with one day left in the year, I’m flipping through my old calendar writing this post and getting sappy with all of the memories one little book holds.
It’s amazing how much can happen in such a short amount of time. New friends are made. Time shapes us into new versions of ourselves, so hard to notice until you take a look back at where you were. It’s a strange experience, like when you hear your voice in a video and know that it is really you speaking yet something sounds different. Change is gradual, like how hair lengthening takes time and when you look back at old photos you may be astonished by how long your locks have gotten.
This was a very long post about my life this last year, and is probably not as interesting as the New York Times “Year in Review” or National Geographic’s version or a lot of other important events that went down in our world. But I hope it encourages you to take a moment and reflect on all that you have done this last year. I bet it’s more than you think. Even if all you’ve done this year is work or relax and reflect, can you spot some differences between the person you were in January and the person you are now, in December, at the turn of a new decade? Let me know in the comments below what some of your highlights were for this past year and a few things you are looking forward to for new. I’m hoping to write a post soon about what I’m looking forward to for next year, possibly diving into New Year’s resolutions and how to make them stick.
See you next year,
An Adventurous Aquarius