Happy New Year, audience!!

Wow, wow, wow. What a year it’s been.

It has been wrought with highs and lows for us all, I am sure. With so many headliners coloring the news, we certainly have a lot of labels to remember 2012 by: Hurricane Sandy, the Olympics, the Presidential Election, the tragedy in Connecticut, the list goes on. I’d just like to do a quick recap of my pinnacle moments this year, and follow up with my plans for the impending year.

2012 Highs:

1.) MTAC. Many of you might not know what this is. It’s an anime convention I go to every year in Nashville, TN. Super fun, and I’m able to just kick back and have tons of fun with my friends.

2.) Singing. So, I love to sing. Unfortunately, I suffer from extreme stage fright. My significant other ruthlessly pressured (not really) me into singing in a competition. Shaky as I was, I sang my way to victory! Yay!

3.) My Birthday. Yes, I know we all have those every year, but specifically, my significant other bought me a new violin! I absolutely love it~

4.) NaNoWriMo. Oh my, I cannot begin to explain how this NaNo season impacted my year. In my first post on this blog, I told of how this NaNo was so much better than passed years. I joined a community of fellow NaNomites while in a particularly somber state of mind. I didn’t think I had the energy to complete NaNo this year, but they pulled me through. I am still so thankful for their support and camaraderie.

5.) Thanksgiving. I had two dinners. That is all 🙂

6.) Curiosity Quills’ NaNoVirtuosos Competition ’13. I was just recently notified that I made it through to round 2! I would like to thank those of you who voted for me, and please please please wish me luck in the following rounds.

7.) Travelling, and Writing all the While. I’ve mentioned in my last blog that I travel immensely with my significant other. Thisvopens the door to so many landscapes, so many different slices of life and ambient atmospheres. They each give off their own aura, bringing with them a plethora of motivation and emotion to write by. Travelling has made me a better writer, and I couldn’t ask for much more.

2012 Lows:

1.) Missing Family Milestones. Unfortunately, traveling makes it hard to make it to my family milestones. I missed two graduations, all of my siblings’ birthdays, and a family reunion. I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with them, but I will miss watching the ball drop to the New Year with the family tonight, as I am back over the road.

2.) Hurricane Sandy. I am from Atlantic City, NJ. The majority of my family lives there. So when I heard news of this huge hurricane crossing land right on top of Atlantic City, my heart began to pound. I called all of my family profusely, and luckily none of them were hurt. My father is a firefighter, and he kept tabs with me well enough. Again, very fortunate.

3.) The Connecticut Tragedy. Though this didn’t effect me personally, it touched me immensely in a way I’m sure it touched everyone else. I sincerely wish all of the victims a peaceful rest.

So, there you have it. My highs and lows of the year. I am very grateful that my highs outlist my lows, and I hope it’s the same for all of you.

2013 New Year’s Resolutions:

Hmmm, this is a tough one. As an author, I know from experience that things almost never go as one outlines them. But I’ll compile a rough list of goals.

1.) Lose weight. I wanna work off the holiday meals’ extra calories. Live happily and healthily 🙂

2.) Publish. I’d loooove to publish a work. I have so much to show the world, now all I have to do is go out there and give it to you all.

3.) Write. Even if I don’t get published, I want to just continue to have the motivation to write each and every day. Writing, along with a few choice other hobbies, is my passion. I never want to lose it.

4.) Live a Life that makes me Happy. That pretty much says it all.

What are your highs and lows of 2012, audience? Do you have any resolutions for the new year? Maybe there are a few we can help each other with, who knows?

I hope you all have had an amazing year and have many more to follow. Raise your glass (both metaphorical and literal), to bittersweet endings, new beginnings, and for what has yet to come.

Happy New Year to all.

Signing off,

Kiryuu