2013 in Reflection

January: Started with my and Best Friend's somewhat disasterous New Year's Eve-in. It was a nice idea, anyway ;) Was bombarded by PUPPIES. I came back to Albuquerque, and I couldn't believe how easy it felt. I missed K every day, but my friends were more excited to see me than I expected and I loved being back with them. A lot of us were together every weekend, doing something. I bought tickets to see K in March.

February: I spent waiting. And waiting. Texted K too much. Went to classes. Continued to be loved by the people here. V and I got closer. We saw each other every week and we loved it. Became "Queen of the Puppies."

March: Went to see K and it wasn't what I expected. Spent the rest of the month confused and angry. In retrospect, it was probably for the best-- I was able to realize that K couldn't be my whole life, no matter how hard I tried. V and I talked about it, a lot.

April: Spent my 21st with the best people. Best Friend was with me and that was most important. She bought my champagne flutes for my birthday. :) But then things got hard, for both of us. So we talked a lot. I went home a few weekends specifically so we could be together. We got through it. I had a panic attack over registration, called K hysterical at one in the morning. She talked me through it. Talked to Spider, found out he was moving. Had several intense conversations with him, culminating with him telling me he loved me. He promised to write me over the summer.

May: I remember this finals week being the most intense I've ever experienced. I ate fried chicken and champagne and then piled into bed with all of my favorite people. One of the best nights. Had a conversation with K that reinforced that I was still in love with her and her with me. Took an intersession course right after finals, made it through barely. I was exhausted but also elated. This was a really great month. Went up to the mountains just to talk and look at the stars with S. We went to a baseball game, I sang "Sweet Caroline" at the top of my lungs with T. I came home to spend my summer with Best Friend, Vert, and Pokemon.

June: Worked. Looked for apartments, found one. Went thrift shopping for furniture, more often than not bought books. Visited Best Friend at the shelter all the time. We hiked most weekends with Vert and Penny. I loved our evening hikes the best. We got nervous about nearby fires. Our siblings graduated from high school. I house-sat for Best Friend and missed her. Spider actually wrote me-- three times-- and I was delighted.

July: Was rough. K and I fought briefly but intensely multiple times and it culminated in us not talking for about two weeks. I was not upset about it. I was tired and needed to be done with her for a little bit. Best Friend was having serious problems at work. We spent a lot of our time this month having drinks after work and having depressing conversations. I was worried we were drifting, but these conversations reminded me we weren't. We discussed the best place to survive a zombie apocalypse on National Tequila Day. K and I had a fifteen minute conversation at the end of the month in which things were brought right back to normal for us-- reinforcing that we needed the break in that we needed to recognize what was wrong and fix it. We worked on fixing things and it worked.

August: Was wonderful. One of the best months. In a matter of a week, I expressed to K how much I wanted her to come see me, and a bit miraculously, we found a way for it to happen. I spent LOADS of time looking at plane tickets. We got excited to see each others' faces again. Best Friend and I got bored of Pokemon. We went to an amazing concert and loved every minute. I moved into the apartment, spent a week basically living at a coffee shop because of my lack of internet. Found out Roommate was pregnant. Started school again. Saw Best Friend in brief snippets. Went to a wedding with Best Friend, and despite my sickness, hot weather, and being ignored by the other guests, we had a fantastic time. We danced and had excellent conversations. One of my favorite memories of us. I was happy and excited this whole month and I spent a lot of my time singing loudly in my car.

September: K was here and things were shockingly perfect. We had the best week. Spent too much time looking over at each other saying, "This is what it would be like." It rained the whole time she was here, ruining a lot of my plans, but it didn't really matter since we were together. But then she left and I broke. Cried all the time. Didn't eat. The only way I can describe it is by saying that something in me broke when she left. And it's still not really fixed. Best Friend and I started talking about the possibility of moving. Spider and I started talking again, regularly, and it was different. We were heartbroken and talked about how sad we were. Even with all of my sadness, I had constant reminders that I was loved and I'm really grateful for that.

October: Was weird. Best Friend and I were struggling, in different ways. We talked a lot. We met in-between and realized how much we REALLY missed each other. T and S and I went on a roadtrip and it soothed me in ways that I needed. But then we came home and things went downhill. I was sad, a lot of the time and did things to avoid that sadness. Would talk to K and be reminded of how sad I really was. My dad and I could not get along, and it really pissed me off so I didn't even try to make an effort anymore because nothing I did seemed to make a difference. Celebrated Halloween excessively. Drank excessively. Started spending all of my time at S's house because I couldn't really handle being anywhere else.

November: Things went really downhill with Roommate, in regards to finding her replacement. I was stressed ALWAYS about it. K and I found our balance in regards to talking. I never stressed about her anymore, which was a really nice feeling. Always felt loved by her, even though we didn't communicate constantly. Wrote a ton for school, more than I've ever written in the past. Drank too much, instituted two weeks with zero drinking because I knew I wasn't handling drinking in a healthy manner. Went home for sister's birthday, fought with Dad, but spending time with the siblings, Best Friend, and Vert made it worth it. Had a nicer Thanksgiving than expected. Tentatively found a new living situation, but got into a really bad place with Roommate and things ended badly. Basically wrote all the time. Still always at S's, but spending more time with his roommate and girlfriend (my new roommate).

December: Things both got more intense and calmed down. Wrote and wrote and wrote for school. Best Friend got a job in a different state, we prepared for her leaving. Finals Week was anticipated to be intense, but in retrospect I handled it really well. Made preparations to move into new apartment with C. Spent a lot of time drinking at S's, with him, J, and C. Loved how close C and I were getting. Talked over moving a lot with Best Friend. Recognized that I am still not okay, about a lot of things, but mostly about being here and being away from K. Also recognized that there's not much I can do right now to change those things, so tried to remain "hopeful but not expectant." Wanted to leave the state, more fiercely than I had allowed myself to feel in awhile. School ended and things came to an abrupt halt. Packed. Went back and forth between my city and parents' home, all the time. Christmas at home, New Year's Eve in the new apartment. Felt ready for 2104.

Grateful for this crazy year, filled with intensity. 2013 was truly my most intense year yet, I think, both in intense highs and intense lows. A lot of the year seemed to be about waiting, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I feel like I spent my year waiting for change, and that may not be the best thing, but I also don't know how I should have done things differently. So I'm going to own it. 2013 was filled with intensity and waiting. I'm ready for you 2014. Let's see if you bring all the changes I've been waiting for.