2009: Rewind, Review, Reflect

It's that time of year... the time when I take a moment to write a highly self-indulgent blog post to ponder a year gone by and anticipate the year ahead.

While I thought that 2008 was a year filled with travel, 2009 raised the bar and gave me many new opportunities and new places. In total, I took 10 flights in 2008, but 12 in 2009.

The first set of flights in the year were to Dulles airport in Washington DC, going down to my Darden interview in Charlottesville. At the time, Charlottesville was a horribly foreign place, a place that I had reconciled myself with living in, should I get the opportunity to attend the Darden Graduate School of Business.

At the end of January, I got the phone call that changed the direction of my life... the phone call from a nice lady in admissions at Darden informing me that I had been accepted. I spent the next few months planning for a cross-country move, wrapping things up with my job, and spending as much time as possible with friends, and enjoying Edmonton.

Between finishing work, flying to Sioux City, Iowa for a wedding, and leaving for Charlottesville, I had exactly a week to pack up my life, say goodbye to everyone, and fit in a final camping trip out to the Rockies. There was definitely some stress that week, but being in the mountains for a few times was a good relaxer, and one of the highs of the year was standing on the top of a mountain that I had worked hard to climb. I had a big birthday/goodbye party, and on August 1, my sisters and I took off on a five day road trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, stopping to visit family and friends along the way.

And then Darden began. Since I've spent many, many blog posts discussing the details of my life at Darden, I'll try to sum it up quickly here. I feel like I've lived a year in the few months that I've already spent there. It's crazy how much an experience can help you change and grow, but I definitely feel that way about the last few months. I've already made good friends (who I miss being home for Christmas!), felt new things, experienced challenges I've never faced, and stretched myself to the limits.

During American Thanksgiving, I made my first cross-Atlantic trek, and visited the final of my three new places for the year: Munich, Germany. It was great to discover that all those years of high-school German were not in vain. I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the culture, and having my very own tour guide: my sister. It was a great first trip to Europe, and I'm already in the midst of planning my second, so I anticipate this is a new trend in my life.

Fast forward to winter break, where I flew to Toronto for a week, then back to Edmonton. Add up all the flights and connections, and you get twelve, a new record for me. Being in Edmonton is a nice bookend for the year, but I am finding that five weeks off from classes is too many, and I am itching to get back at everything.

What does 2010 hold? Well... I am taking a week-long "global business experience" in Spain over spring break. I'll finish up first year at Darden, and then start the new year in the spring, but what the summer holds I do not yet know. Although I have a few interviews lined up for internships, it is impossible to determine how it will all shake out. Perhaps those interviews and that internship will determine the remaining two of the new places I need to visit in 2010. I hope to continue learning and growing, and checking a few more things off my bucket list.

Happy New Year!