Moments

Inspired by Alana over at Sunshine and Bones, I am creating a post of moments from 2011--those moments that hold so much meaning when you look back at them. 2011 wasn't a bad year. I'm still jobless, but I'm making things happen for myself. Thinking back over 2011, there were so many moments that meant so much in hindsight. Here they are...

Possibilities: I took this picture from a rest stop along Interstate 5, which runs down the center of California from the Oregon border to somewhere in SoCal. I was driving to King City, south of Monterey, for a job interview. I didn't get the job, but sometimes, just getting an interview is heartening.

I rarely experience sunrises--even when I'm awake in time, I'm usually holed up indoors, not paying attention. So seeing this one reminded me that every day is a fresh start, with new possibilities. I try not to forget that.

At the capitol building in Sacramento

Speaking up: With my background in teaching, I've always been careful about sharing political opinions in forums that might be found by students. This year, I've let go of that a little, especially because of this case--the Troy Davis case resonated with me. My initial knowledge of it came from Richard Hughes of Keane, but once I read some of the history, I was appalled that a case filled with so much doubt could result in execution.

It wasn't about innocence or guilt for me, but rather the idea that in order to tell people, "Thou shalt not kill," we use killing as an accepted punishment. I'm not comfortable with this idea, even in clear-cut cases where guilt is known with one hundred percent certainty. This year, I spoke up--in a very small way, but I spoke up, and I'm proud of that.

Joy: It's one thing to become friends with someone on the Internet and another when that friendship comes crashing into real life. I was so very fortunate to meet Maayan in person this year, and her friendship has come to mean a great deal to me. One of the most joyful moments I can remember this year was singing along with Mumford and Sons at the Railroad Revival Tour, arm-in-arm with a loud, crazy actress from New York who doesn't mind a loud, crazy musician from California and all of her various quirks.

Comfort: Summer and I have been friends for over eleven years now, and she has seen me through the highs and lows of finishing college, starting a career, traveling, moving (a lot) and everything that comes with becoming an adult. I'm sincerely happy that we are still friends, and that she is doing so well in her own life--a good career, a great husband, and yet, still time to go on adventures, big and small, with her duck-toting friend. She listens to me when I need an understanding ear, and I try to do the same for her.

Taken while on a walk in my Stockton neighborhood,
a few months before moving.

Victory: Off in the distance, as seen from one of many waterways in the San Joaquin Valley, is Mt. Diablo, which for a few years, was a symbol of stress and anxiety. I vanquished it in 2010, and now, it is merely a symbol of how much I have overcome in my personal life. What used to defeat me now makes me stronger. I could see the devil mountain from Stockton, and on a clear day, I can see it from a certain hillside here in Lincoln. Whenever I see it, I think to myself, "You are so much stronger than you can even know." And I smile.

Bliss: Maybe it's because I'm a fiery Leo, but something about the ocean calms me, helping my normally racing imagination slow down and be peaceful when I'm near it. And there is no ocean like the Pacific. The greatest joy of living in California is being near it--and having opportunities, whenever I can make them happen, to sink my toes into the sand and feel the water rush over them. Even an overcast day in Carmel does nothing to diminish the bliss of having my feet in the ocean.



This is not a complete list, of course. I've had so many moments this year--happy, sad, angry, anxious, victorious, and everything in between. It's been a good year...and something tells me 2012 is going to be even better.

What are some of your best moments from 2011?