Goodbye, 2015!

 2015 was a year of firsts, lasts, astronomical happenings and excellent adventures–in other words, it was a most non-non-non heinous year. The following are a few (well, more than a few) highlights I thought worth preserving in the cryo chamber of the internet.

Last Year I…

• Had the privilege of experiencing my favorite band of all time, Jukebox the Ghost, live in concert on a cold January evening. I can still feel the adrenaline almost a whole year later.
• Acquired a beautiful guitar named Malcolm.
• Graduated from high school, turned 18 (and was forced to sit in silence as the servers at Red Lobster sang me a tuneful rendition of Happy Birthday), and registered to vote.
• Discovered I had a knack for poetry, and, more importantly, stopped being afraid to write. I even started a blog as a result!
• Tried sushi for the first time (sadly, it didn’t quite live up to the hype).
• Went to my first (and last) Prom. It didn’t live up to the hype either, though dressing up was fun and they had a caricature artist. So.
• Drove out into a cornfield to watch the Perseid Meteor shower. I saw at least six shooting stars, which seemed to me a very impressive number.
• Received a Nintendo 2DS as a gift from some really cool cats with whom I am privileged to share a college campus.
• Was accepted into (and earned multiple scholarships from) the school of my dreams, where I am honored to be a part of both the prestigious University Choir and Jazz Choir.
• Was beyond excited to witness a real-life Abraham Lincoln impersonator at my high school. (For those of you who don’t know, I probably the biggest Abraham Lincoln fangirl you’ll ever meet.)
• Became a member of NAfME and attended my first Music Educator’s conference as a college student.
• Stood outside under the stars to watch the Super Moon eclipse. It was definitely apocalypse-worthy.
• Read many many wonderful books. Some favorites include (but are not limited to) the last two installments in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, the Noble Warriors trilogy by William Nicholson, I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak, and Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell.
• Saw these movies for the very first time: The Hobbit cartoon from a million years ago, which is magical and inexpressibly nerdy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which is perfection, Ant Man, Jurassic World, and the FANTASTIC new Star Wars movie. I also finished the brilliant TV Series The Office, and hosted multiple Lord of the Rings marathons.
• Began the long and arduous process of learning Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in c# minor, which will never be good enough, ever.
• Went to Worlds of Fun twice: once with my high school choir in mid-April, where we got soaked by torrential rain, found the perfect apocalypse hideout, and ate really bad theme-park food; and once with my family in the middle of June, where we didn’t get soaked but did ride a 300-foot tall contraption of terror (twice).
• Spent a week house-sitting for a friend, wrangling their chickens and experiencing other farm-y novelties.
• Saved a baby bird from sure death at the hands of a (gentle-tempered but curious) dog.
• Learned how to pronounce and write the Russian alphabet as a means of secret communication between friends.
• Co-planned a Hobbit-themed birthday party for my sister (complete with creatively decorated theme cupcakes).
• Took a class involving Star Trek and its commentary on the human condition.
• Was retweeted by the aforementioned favorite band (after which I concluded that we must now be best friends).
• Was mistaken for a tourist in Lincoln, Nebraska because I was foolish enough to go downtown on game day wearing something other than Husker gear.
• Starred in a silent short-film shot by my sister.
• Achieved greatness with my impression of Ron Swanson.
• Filmed a telenovela for my AP Spanish class with some goofy friends of mine.
• Made crystal aspirin in a college chemistry lab.
• Was asked by my best friend to be her maid of honor, which made me feel both super excited and really old.
• Performed in my last piano recital as a student, sang in my last high school choir concert, took my last biology test, went to my last pep rally, attended my last high school jazz choir invitational, and finished my last day as the children’s worship minister at my church.

It went by too fast–but hey, that’s exactly what all those adults at my grad party said would happen. So, here’s to 2016!