Rigning in a New Year!

Happy new year everyone! It is crazy to think that I only have six months left in Guyana. Last night I went with one of my students again to his church and spent time with some of my new friends. I rang in midnight by participating in a food race. I lost miserably, but it didn’t help that I got distracted by all of the fireworks, or bombs as they call them here, going off right after they said go. We had to eat cake and drink a bottle of lemonade with no hands. Now that was a challenge.

I often times will look to my fellow teacher’s blogs to see what they are saying about their experiences, and often find that they do not update nearly as much as I do. However, I did look one day this week to find that Dan had done a post that I really enjoyed. It was about 100 things that made his 2014 year. I really liked that idea and wanted to do something similar. (See Dan’s original post here: http://guyanadanmusic.blogspot.com/2014/12/100-things-that-made-my-year-2014.html ).  I wanted to change it a little bit. I decided that I was going to mention 50 memories/blessings of 2014 and 50 things I look forward to/want to accomplish in 2015. This was amazingly hard. Thank goodness for Facebook, or I would have forgotten some amazing things and put in some items that had actually happened in 2013!

Memories/Blessings of 2014:

 Adam Lambert concert in Chicago with Leah and Jess

 Sheltered Reality SSDB in Des Moines!

Graduating from Waldorf College

Choir tour out East

 Joining Choir

 Mu Phi convention in California!

 Moving to Guyana

Having amazing coworkers (Claire, Dan, and Eric)

 My first concert as a teacher!

Growing my testimony as a member of the LDS church

Conversations with Steve

Shenanigans with Alex and Dee

Being single

Learning to play Bass Guitar

Packing a 40 foot shipping container

 Kelsey and Tyler’s wedding!

Singing a duet with Jon at my concert

Performing my senior recital!

Working at Mosaic

 Lair Family reunion!

Passing my Praxis 2 music portion!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nashville trip with DrewP

My first PTTN reunion!

Meeting and singing for the archbishop of Rome

Finding out I passed my Praxis 2 PLT with flying colors on choir tour

Interviewing for and getting offered a job with GLMA

Performing at the nursing home and playing with animals at the humane society for Mu Phi

 Receiving the Outstanding Chapter award on behalf of Zeta Lambda Chapter

Receiving an award for community service hours along with Haley

Seeing Tonic Sol Fa in concert

Meeting Shaun Johnson and talking about BBE so he remembers me!

Poke wars with Britt

Getting to know choir people on tour (and sadly leaving them knowing I wouldn’t see them again)

Night trips to Mason/CL with Emily and Kaylin

Trips to the Burg

Spelling Bee (The musical at Waldorf)

 Music lounge….need I say more?

Finding out DT is engaged!

Finding out Molly is pregnant!

Being a speech Coach with Molly

 Being Colorguard director

Being in the Waldorf Wind Symphony

My first teaching job

Learning that I can live in another country

Making new friends in Guyana

Reintroducing handwritten letters

Talking to a line of Lairs from 3,000 miles away

Meeting people at the Summer Lime

Spending my first Christmas away from home

Really learning how many people in the world support me and want to see me succeed.

Things I look forward to/want to accomplish in 2015:

Learn to drive a Manuel

Get my license in Guyana

Own my own hammock

 Finish student teaching

Get my teaching certificate

Learning to play barre chords

 Arranging music

More successful concerts

Complete my first year of teaching

See all of my friends again

 Return to Sheltered Reality

Make new friends

 Leave my students wanting more at the end of the year

Help design a year two curriculum

Finding love? (You never know…)

Going back to Mason City Ward (I miss them like crazy!)

Improving my video editing skills

Spending time with family

Helping with GLMA stateside as much as possible

 Mu Phi-ing it up as much as possible as an alumni

I can’t believe I am saying this…Snow

Lair ChristmasFourth of July 

Celebrating my birthday with friends

Getting to know my coworkers more

Challenging my students

Making music with Claire, Dan, and our students

Seeing student growth

 Learning to cook more Guyanese meals

 Reading more

 Spending time in nature 

Celebrating new life with many friends who are expecting

My high school class reunion (weird…)

 Having seasons (Hello fall!!!)

 Reintroducing myself to being a student again….kind of…

Finding out where I will be student teaching

Transitioning from having my own classroom to being in someone else’s again

Going back to my job at Mosaic (or at least I hope so!)

Drum shows

 Learning new things

Learning more about genealogy

Singing with the GLMA choir

Working towards goals

Being with friends for celebrations

Discovering what it is like to transition home after being in a different country for so long

Hosting more people in Guyana!

Traveling to a new country (Suriname)

Watching the buzz about GLMA grow around Guyana

Inviting people over for dinner in our home

Striving to make myself a better/more positive person every single day

I hope you all have a very blessed and safe 2015!!!