In a single word, 2011 has been bittersweet. An emotional rollercoaster with peaks as high as my eyes have seen to valleys as low as the deepest of purgatories. Yes, 2011 will be a year to remember.
The year started out not too bad. Actually, the same as it ended: sickness. Although, I’m pretty sure I was just “sick” last new year’s eve. My roommate and I watched the terrible Eden Log and plunged into a delicious Yogurt Mountain treat. And in about 6 months, I turn 21.
A few months later on April 27th, my state was devastated by several tornadoes. My city was one of those places. Tuscaloosa was hit by a large EF4 tornado late in the afternoon which ripped through and left a path of destruction that is still visible today. Countless lives and homes were lost during the whole ordeal. I was at work in the control room of the datacenter at DCH Regional when it hit. Huddled on the ground floor of my building with about 20 or so of my colleagues, all I could think of was “this isn’t that bad…” But it was. When we finally crawled out of the basement and started assessing damage, I was pulled into the emergency department to initially guard the doors but was pulled by senior staff to work clinical triage. Until I arrived home that night, I honestly didn’t know I if I even had one. That was, at minimum, traumatic. And still affects me today.
One month and one day later, I turned 21. The night of my birthday, I worked. But I was off the next weekend (first time in about seven months) to take a trip with my mom to Philadelphia, Mississippi and try my luck at the casinos. It was probably the best trip I had ever had with my mom. Nothing too fancy, just lots and lots of bonding time.
The next several months were pretty quiet: I had a beach trip with my parents and built a new desktop (yes, it counts).
Everything started to dip down in October when my mom was put into the hospital for heart attack. Then, it hit the the lowest it could about a month ago: mom passed away. Besides my mother, she was my best friend.
The year ended at about average.
Next year, I have goals set for health and success. Here’s to obtaining them.
Logan
