Year-in-Review Meme (and some reflection)
As seen at Debra's. The rule for this meme: post the first sentence of the first post for each month. While it is not a part of the official meme, I have added my year-end reflection after the jump.
January: Happy New Year one and all! This is hoping your 2007 is a happy and prosperous one. I love the new year and the fresh beginnings it brings. January 1st is like the beginning of the school year and new school supplies.
February: "There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, done with." -- Harry Crews
March: For several days, I've been thinking about the Garcia Lorca poem, "Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter." Each stanza of this wonderful poem begins with the line, "5:00 in the afternoon."
April: Shrinky wants to see pictures of people’s desktops, and this is a meme that (1) I have time for, and (2) isn't completely lame. The image is one that I took for Project 365 a few weeks ago.
May: About April's Project 365: As this month wore on, I felt I had lost my mojo, my photographic eye, my ability to "speak" through images. As I look at the body of images from the month, I've decided that this is just fine. I gained something else.
June: I started a new photo project yesterday, a project that depicts self-identity. So far, the results have been fascinating. Ask someone to think of a word or phrase that defines how they see themselves, have them write that word on their hand, then take a photograph of the results.
July: I wonder how many chances we get. We once worked together. He, in the machine shop. Me, in the office. I was 21. He was 26. He raced motorcycles and dreamed of owning his own company.
August: The "wrestling the alligator" analogy? I'm kicking its ass.
September [The move from Blog-City to Typepad]: It's been all around the blogosphere: today is the real start of college football. We start in three hours, and I'm counting down the minutes. We've been trying for a few years to break into the BCS. Maybe this is the year.
October: I know why they flirt with me: I'm hot! Icyhot, that is. Had I known it was this easy, I might have saved a fortune on the cost of perfume.
November: I had a massage this afternoon, and the message therapist told me I wasn't taking good enough care of myself.
December: International Dissertation Writing Month ended yesterday, November 30th, and while I didn't come anywhere close to my goal, I'm glad I participated.
December is typically the month of reflection, and even though there are 10 days left in the year, I'll reflect now. I like reflection, introspection. Each year at this time, I look back at the year, recognize what I've learned, see where I've been, understand how my life has shifted. For me, reflection is a very key component to understanding the world around me and how I fit into it all. This year-in-review meme helps me remember the year.
Overall, 2007 was the year of the photograph. Project 365 was central in my mind most days as I took photographs each day and posted them on a specific blog. Through this work, I met several people who have become important to me-- although we've never actually met, these folks encouraged my creativity and passions. I hope I did the same for them.
While I didn't recognize it at the time, Project 365 helped me through some very difficult moments of the year, moments I wasn't anticipating. First, taking photographs helped me refocus myself when writing the dissertation just became too overwhelming. I could step away from the words, and understand the same subject differently, visually. Second, Project 365 allowed me to turn away from a difficult situation I've found myself in, a situation that I can't easily extricate myself from. When told how little value I have or how questionable my talent is, I could take photos and know this person was telling lies. Lastly, when my mother died earlier this year, taking photographs allowed me to express the deep sorrow I was feeling but couldn't really express in any other way.
Working through this difficulty, through this year, I have been so blessed to know (know!) each of you who read and comment on this blog. I can't tell you how grateful I am for you. It's through the blogosphere I've found people who share my interests and passions, my sense of humor, my love of sports, of creativity, of expression, of thinking. You have challenged me, humored me, supported me, taught me, laughed at me, and laughed with me. Thank you for dropping by here, reading, and speaking.
Here is to a healthy and happy 2008.
Oh, I love that Lorca poem. Have you seen the movie about him - I think it's called Death in Granada? It's kind of a crappy movie, but it stars Andy Garcia, and the opening scene of the film is Garcia reciting that poem - it just blows me away.
Happy 2008!
Posted by: Pilgrim/Heretic | December 20, 2007 at 04:53 PM