Year in Review 2004: Breakaway

I'll take a risk
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway...

2004 was one of the most event-filled years that I can remember. It was filled with bittersweet conflicts, where things could have turned out better or worse, but in actuality, were a bit of both. Upon reflection, 2004 was a stream of challenges that ushered in a period of growth and maturity.

2004 started in a hurried, busy pace. Looking for my summer internship before my senior year, I was working well into the early morning, trying to balance both my professional and my academic requirements. By the end of February, I found myself besieged by family conflict and an ever increasing workload.In reaction to the "fight" I found myself in, I started to rebel, dying my hair red, trying to dig my heels into the ground. By the end of the school semester, I found that even though everything worked out academically, I felt so raw and vulnerable that it was so difficult to focus and to put myself back on track.Moreover, I stayed during graduation week to try to see everyone (okay, SOMEONE) before they walked on stage and finally bid W&M farewell. In the process, I found myself connecting and sharing my life with newly minted friends and sharing the last moments with those friends who were leaving, in some cases, to the point of excess.

By the summer, settling in my internship became difficult with the whole fight with my former roommate, my sister, as we basically stopped talking for the first half of the summer. The rest of the summer was full of trips to Williamsburg and NYC, which gave me some time away from the conflicts of both work and home in the company of friends.Even though I was hoping for an easy and rewarding summer, I found myself wishing for more...

As I settled back into school for my final semester, I was able to repair some of the bonds that were broken over the summer, with my sister and my friend Amy. But, again, I found that academics were becoming a problem due to my career search and my organizational duties, resulting in a last-minute withdrawal from my philosophy class. Plus, as I became friends with one of my fraternity brothers, some of my brothers (aka the "Mean Girl") just added unneeeded conflict by making my life difficult in the organization.The craziness settled by finals, where I was able to celebrate my last college birthday over a period of days, while I prepared for my one and only final.

2004 winded down very slowly, with family shopping trips and a last minute job interview, my life centered on the simple things in life--like spending time with my family and playing xbox. Of course Santa was nice to me, making it possible for my good friend Bobby to visit me for a day and a half. As New Year's Eve drew closer, I realized that I was in the process of shedding my old skin, and breaking away from everything that I found myself in this year. I spent the whole year with dealing with conflicts that challenged who I was as a person and who I wanted to become. At the end of the year, I was left with the question--how do I make that possible?

2004: A Year in Music (continued in On the Edge)

Next: Part II: Connect & Disconnect