A New Year, A New Beginning

New Year, New Beginning, New Dreams, New Accomplishments.

I start 2011 having established myself in a new city and new surroundings. A year ago, I wrote about gaining perspective, writing about my fears, my struggles, and my new year resolutions. Looking back at those resolutions, the overarching theme seemed to be maturity. Be a new man, be an adult with responsibilities, goals, ideas, and less ignorant. Lets review:

1. Finish Application and get into Law school, (Check)
2. Be open, honest, bold, but respectful, (Check)
3. Continue swimming. Live that once healthy lifestyle you had, (Check for the first 8 months)
4. Eat better, eat less, (Kind of, and only for the first month)
5. Smile. Sing. Dance. Laugh. At least once a day, (Check)
6. Have an intellectual conversation with anyone at least once a week, (Check, when I had the opportunity)
7. Challenge your mind. Have people challenge your opinions, thoughts, and feelings, (Check-ish)
8. Stay current with World News, (Quasi-Check, when I finally got off Facebook)
9. Be you, and (Check)
10. Love. (Check)

By the looks of my checklist from last year, I accomplished many but ultimately failed at others. But if you think about it, the phrase New Years resolutions in its entirety is suppose to mean you're resolving something from the previous year. Thus, there must have been problems to resolve. So making resolutions require finding issues from the previous year to solve, but what if there were no major issues. Either way, we shouldn't dwell on the past year and any issues that occurred, instead we shall look ahead, look at the future and what it can bring, the opportunities.

Before we charge ahead full steam, lets do a quick review. Crazy to think that a year ago, I was an aspiring law student, applying to law schools and floating in the uncertainty of whether or not I was qualified to be such a student. I was in the midst of deciding and creating my career path. A year later, I've completed a semester and I'm no longer an aspiring law student but rather an aspiring attorney. I attend a school that is innovating and making a name for itself, just as I am attempting to do. I am surrounded by a great environment with the right people and classmates.

Although I believe we are all in control of our own destiny, I also believe in fate. There are parts of our lives that are out of our control, where our decisions begin/end and fate takes over. Whether someone may view it as good/bad, I am suppose to be here, in this situation, this circumstance, in this moment. I am happy, I am enjoying the process and making the most of it. I am in my pursuit of happiness. Where it may be, whatever direction it may take me, however long it will take me, I will find it or maybe, if I'm lucky, it will find me.

Sorry, I got sidetracked, where was I? Right, year in review, applied to school, swam in master meets, got into school, helped coached the Newport team to another conference championship, worked in Philadelphia, moved to San Diego, started school, met awesome classmates and friends, experienced law school testing (midterms) on the weekend, finished first semester classes, survived finals, played too much golf over the year, and bummed around for the end of the year. Thats pretty non-eventful-ish.

2011 - it will be a fantastic year. I'm excited. What it holds will be the experience of a lifetime.

We have embarked on a new decade. A decade that may as well be life altering. In fact it will be life altering. A Juris Doctorate, a career, traveling, perhaps a MBA, a wife, a house, a kid(s). This decade is uncertain, but what is certain is that it will be fun, exciting and I will be happy.

Here's to you 2011 and the new decade.