~flashback

Happy New Year to all of my fellow Jewish people! The time to re-analyze the past year is upon us once again, and as I sit at my desk at work I've got to wonder...where has the time gone? I cannot believe it's been a year, because although so much has changed, it's all happened so fast. Due to my two papers, I decided not to go to services this year (sorry Mom, priorities) but I still want to look back...I suppose a flashback (a la LOST) is in order...where was I a year ago?

I was starting my second year at Glendale, after officially switching my major to Mass Comm/Media Studies (I had been a political science major before; can you imagine?), and I was taking Speech, Astronomy, US History and Sociology. I surprisingly hated Speech (due to a biased ass of a professor), but ended up loving the rest of my classes. My history professor was a guy who protested Vietnam, and he was just so cool, not to mention ridiculously knowledgeable. Astronomy was difficult but really interesting, and Sociology was, well, Sociology. I was a member of the Scholars Cabinet, as VP of Communications along with Naira, and we, along with the rest of the Executive Cabinet and a new Director, were ready to make that year the best year ever !!!!! Unfortunately, that's not quite the way things panned out...not to rehash anything, but although I ended up gaining some great friends from Cabinet by the end of the year, I also ended up losing many, and there was a lot of unnecessary drama and tension that had me questioning why I ever joined (the Cabinet) in the first place. I began to bond with the First Years, and many a game of Egyptian War was played in the Garret. Meanwhile! I was working on my UC and USC applications, and debating whether or not to apply to NYU (decided not to). It was intense, but I got through it alive, though I've got say, that moment when I submitted my applications was absolutely terrifying. I had done everything I could, and at that moment, it was completely out of my hands. The holidays came and went, and then it was Spring.

Spring semester brought me Art History, Observational Astronomy, Russian History and Spanish 2. It was a hard semester, but I loved every minute of it. Russian History is definitely my passion, and I don't care what anyone says, it's absolutely fascinating. Art History was also an incredible class. Continued to bond with the First Years, many a party was held at my house :) Avoided people in Cabinet, it was bad news bears all around. Luckily, second semester flew by and before I knew it the time to receive admissions decisions from schools had arrived. Much to my surprise, I had been accepted to every single school I applied to. Though for a second I debated going to UCLA, I knew that wasn't where I was supposed to be, and within a couple of days I decided to go to Cal. The Scholars Banquet came and went, and I left Glendale with my head held high, my dignity intact, new friends and great (or at the very least, enlightening) life lessons learned.

With friends, it was a good year. Many parties, many adventures, many movie nights, many late night trips to Coral and Bourgeois Pig, rediscovering LACMA, discovering Alcove (ahhh I want an Apple-Brie Panini now!), and many of our infamous late night talks were held. We all stayed close, visiting each other at our respective schools, including a couple of trips to USC for me. As far as relationships go, I didn't really have any, and this was intentional. I knew that at the end of the year I would be leaving, so what would be the point of starting something? Besides, I'm really picky, and no one really caught my interest.

Summer came and went, and was filled with movies, friends, swimming, cameras, iced tea, 80s metal, driving around, live music, and good memories. My friends and I grew closer than ever, and luckily, we're still that close now. I spent a lot of time at home, reading and writing and just taking a mental break before the "big move." It was a Potter summer, so I re-read all the books and re-watched all the movies before Half-Blood Prince was released...we went at midnight, of course. (And yes, I realize how nerdy this is, haha.) Right before I left for Cal, I went with my family to Puerto Vallarta for a week, and it remains one of the most amazing, relaxing experiences I've ever had. I read Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End in 4 days, and it was the first time I had truly read for fun in years. They also happened to be two of the best novels I have ever read in my life, so if you haven't already, go pick up a copy, I promise you won't regret it. Summer also meant reconnecting with an old friend, and that has been one of the best and most rewarding things to have happened this year.

Then, I moved. Moved away from everyone I loved, everyone I cared for, everything that was familiar and safe, and I moved by myself. Two suitcases was all I had to pack up my entire life. I know that coming to Cal is the best decision I've ever made, but that doesn't make it any easier to start over. It was hard, at first, but I'm okay now. I would actually probably say that I'm better than I've ever been, because I'm happy and focused and healthy.

I can't believe I've already been in school for almost a month. I can't believe that I have friends and a small community up here; I can't believe I haven't been in a car since August 17; I can't believe I stopped eating meat; I can't believe I'm almost twenty; I can't believe I actually have papers due! I can't believe I just summarized an entire year into a few short paragraphs. It's ridiculous how quickly time passes.

It's weird, not only knowing I'm not going to services, but that I'm not back home going to services. I always loved the church where we held services, I remember as a kid before they used to have kid's services we would just run around and explore and it was just fun. I know, not what the holiday is about, but hey, can't blame a kid for having a good time!

L'shanah tovah, everyone, have a good one.