"My mission drive is to open up my eyes..."

I like anniversaries. Commemoration. Dates. Remembering. I also like contemplating the passage of time. So it is that I find myself noting this weekend: it has been one year since I returned from Korea.

So I often like to think about how much can happen in a year, and after such a learning growing experience as teaching English abroad one might think the ensuing months back in the U.S. could be anti-climactic or not filled with as much growth. Not so, my friends. Not so in the least. Strange is it indeed to remember the thoughts I thought in that plane that brought me back from across the Pacific. A year ago I was finishing War and Peace, and there was definitely some life symbolism going on there with regard to finishing an epic work. And yet there were unanswered questions. I was heading home hopeful, and now I see how all that hope was misplaced. No dredging up those nasty memories here, as they are so over and done and gone. But they certainly had their effect on me, and then there was the fall with all of its consequences, and all of its offering of renewal. Not to mention the challenges, the daunting challenges. Some of them I met ably, others maybe not so ably.

I like looking back on years. This is part of why I like birthdays, and New Year's Eve. I like looking back and I like looking ahead. And this year of law school, Long Island, Manhattan, Queens, Arizona, movies, connections from the past, new connections, old connections in new contexts, deaths in the family, new friends, dating, drinking, thinking, learning, and some really fun times and new interpersonal developments...there were some mistakes, sure. Questions? All the time. But even when things suck -- things like Long Island, and liars, and final exams -- I love seeing what the world will bring. Because it brings things such as the Long Island Rail Road, and finding your true self, and remembering what you're capable of.

Yeah, you could say I'm being vague. It's really just a little reflection. Anyway, most of you get the references, and if not, use your imagination. Or ask me! Meanwhile, I wonder what the next year will bring.

"I'm not losing my mind,
no I'm not changing my lines,
I'm just learning new things with the passing of time.
I'm looking on the bright side, I wear it like a bruise
I've never loved Elvis and I've never sung the blues.
I'm thinking of another, I remind myself of him
I wear him like a hairstyle or a stain upon my skin
but my flesh is getting cleaner and my hair is growing thin..."
--the wonder stuff, 'mission drive'