I haven't thought too much about the order of this but I believe it's an accurate summary of 2008's highs (and, connected with them, lows). This past year will go down in history as a landmark for me. In the form of Stop Six, I shall explain.
6. The Downtime - After finishing a glory semester at a school on a hill, I decided to take some time off. I was able to disguise it as just part of the program I had taken (and at first, that was the reason) but really it was so I could have time to think. I also watched a lot of Lost. And I did a lot of writing. But most importantly, this downtime taught me how much I hate downtime. Don't get me wrong - I understand the need to relax as much as anyone. Yet I used to think that I would be happiest with nothing to do but to sit back and enjoy life with friends. That's not true. I need challenge. I need goals. Fortunately, the rest of my experiences of this past year set me up for those.
5. The Creation of Stop Six - Silly, I know. It's not that Stop Six itself is that meaningful to me. Rather, it's the fact that I have an outlet of writing. Most of my ventures in writing (like during the downtime) were far too serious. I'm a person who always needs to have a venue to express himself through writing. I would try to write the greatest composition known to man. Needless to say, it sucked the fun out of the experience. Stop Six has taught me that it's not how good you write, it's how much you enjoy writing it.
4. The Dynamic Duo - I went to my friend's cabin again this summer. Usually, I go up with a group of four or more of my other friends. This time, it was just me and said friend. I was worried that it would make for a fairly boring time, but it proved to be quite the opposite. I had more time to just chill, I didn't have to share all the fun stuff with other people and I bonded well with the one friend. And there were girls.
3. The Haters and Lovers - I had a terrible job this summer. I got no respect, shifts, or money. I wrote an angry Stop Six entry about it (one that I believe will go down in Stop Six history). It was not a good experience at all. In the limited sense at least. What this prompted was one of the best experiences of my year. It was ironic that the job that I wanted for so long was easily one of the worst I ever had. It led me to re-evaluate what exactly I wanted in life, and to see that things are rarely as you hope them to be. I quit that job and moved on to what was the best job I ever had. Why was it so good? Because I got everything that was missing - I got respect, shifts, money, and in the words of my manager - love.
2. The End of An Era - I'm not planning on going back to that school on the hill. I had many reasons to leave and not return through my years there. None of those were good, however. But the one I've left on is very, very good. And my memories from that school are equally good. Much of my past few years of life were defined by that school, and my last few weeks there were the perfect ending for it. It was like your favorite TV show coming to an end - so many great times, but to keep it going would just be an injustice. It was time for it to end, and the season finale was fantastic.
1. New Life, New Direction - Tomorrow I will officially begin at my old/new school. I used to get most excited for the video games I would get at Christmas, or seeing a pretty girl the next day at school. Now my child-like excitement is directed towards a new career path. I never thought that would be possible. The above-listed experiences all played a role in my discovery of what it was I wanted to do with my life. This is my challenge. This is my goal. Few things feel this good.
Good plot twists are not changes. They are a revelation of the unexpected direction the story was heading all along. This year, my life saw many a good plot twist.
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