1. Hand in Too Many Jars - Although trial and error was a theme for 2012, the approach could've been better at times. There was a tendency to put too many objectives in play at once, which pretty much set me up for immediate follow-through failure.
I wanted to practice my Spanish, learn how to code, and read the Randomhouse 32 "best" novels...all at once. In addition to crafting, photographing, blogging, working out, cooking, and a multitude of other things that weren't yet regularities of my daily life. Despite being jobless, thus having a lot of spare time, it was a little excessive.
2. "Best" is Subjective - Short follow-up to a point I made above. I've always considered it a difficult task to give me a book that I dislike enough to not finish. It may have taken three attempts, but I finally forced myself through Madame Bovary. I also posited that I liked classic literature. My Randomhouse experiment has, in part, disproved both theories.
I did actually complete all of the books that I started, but there was ample skim reading in some of the more obnoxiously long-winded and preachy texts. And I feel quite assured that there are classic books, considered among the best literature has to offer, that I can't stand. In the future, I'll take "best" with a grain of salt.
3. Losing Someone - There's nothing I could have done to change this one. But it was definitely one of 2012's rougher patches. And one of it's more thought-inducing - a lesson in appreciating the people in your life. It's easy to get caught up in the immediate activity around you and lose track of the people outside of that radius. My great aunt's passing helped to remind me that you don't want to wait until you know time is limited or gone.
4. There Is No Perfect Job - I've hoped, prayed, and looked for the perfect job. Initially, my focus for Costa Rica was figuring out my perfect job. Frankly, I thought about virtually everything besides employment. Then I spent seven additional months in Chicago pondering this question, before accepting that perfect is unlikely even if you're unequivocally excited about what you do.
I suppose it's sort of like buying a house or finding a spouse. They'll pretty much never tick all of the boxes on the dream list. Once I accepted that, I was able to find a job that I felt proud to accept. As long as I can find things to appreciate about the situation that I'm in, it's right at that moment. I'm learning and growing, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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That's 2012 in a nutshell, which leaves one more day. One more blog. And that final day of this year-long commitment will be looking forward. Trying to sketch out a gameplan for 2013.
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