It's 2022

January 1st, 2022. 

Well actually January 2nd, because I'm writing this after midnight. It's a new year, and a lot of change is ahead. 

For one, a boyfriend. Sam isn't my boyfriend yet, but he FaceTimed me at midnight last night to give me a new years kiss, and I'm going to make it official with him when we get back to school in a few days. I can't believe I'm about to start my third serious relationship. Time has flown by, and yet each relationship seemed to last a lifetime... sitting still with each person and relishing in the love and infatuation and hope for the future. Each time, crushed by heartbreak, I never thought I could find someone else to love. And yet I somehow did. I'm excited for this new relationship with Sam. He has everything I've been looking for in a man that hasn't yet been satisfied. I'll be his first girlfriend and first love, which will make every experience new and sweet and pure for him and I'll get the pleasure of knowing he hasn't felt that way before I taught him to. There's lots of possibility; the relationship could be fleeting, just a fling... just lasting the span of the semester and ending when we graduate and go our separate ways. Or, who knows, it could blossom into something profound and amazing and we'll make it work beyond our time as students at UF. Either way, I feel more prepared to take on this semester knowing I have a guy faithfully by my side. Okay, okay, that sounds a little pathetic, but I could use the extra support of one man to replace the presence of my three best friends leaving me.

And that leads me to the next big change: Danielle, Hannah, and Talia have officially graduated, vacating our cozy and familiar Lyons Corner apartment and moving onto other endeavors. Danielle will have a job in two short months, Talia and Hannah will travel to Europe. I will try to fly to Wisconsin to visit Danielle before she starts her job. I really hope we can manage to stay in touch. For now, we have Sex and the City to talk about. With the departure of my roommates, I'll have three new ones--all strangers, maybe eventually friends. But it will surely be a strange transition, and I'm sure I will feel lonely at times. Maybe (probably) I will end up crying alone in my room...and I can't help but remember all those times during the pandemic that I cried on FaceTime to Matt, frustrated over my roommates excluding me, being ridiculous or annoying, or most of all feeling lonely. He had filled that hole so many times, in a non-judgmental way. He was always there for me. He understood what it felt like to be lonely. I could use that kind of support again, especially with the impending loneliness that I was bound to feel when I got back to school.

And finally, my career. In about a week and a half I resume my internship with Andersen. I'll be working 15 hours a week, and then when I graduate it'll turn into 40 hours a week and I'll officially be chained to the desk until my retirement (hopefully I can take a break when I have kids). In what city, I have absolutely no clue. In half a year I could be living in New York, Chicago, Boston, or maybe even moving back home in Boca for awhile. It's a little scary and overwhelming, being such a planner and not being able to plan where you might be permanently moving in a few months. But I guess the idea of a steady relationship gives me some security, a rail to hold on to while the subway pummels forward, into the future.

Before I log off, a short list of what I hope are attainable New Years resolutions:

1. Put more care into the friendships I neglected last semester due to my roommates being around all the time
2. Work out more regularly, a few times a week if possible
3. Read my Kindle regularly
4. Try harder at my job and take it more seriously. My career is going to matter for at least the next five years (at the VERY least!).

And with that, in the spirit of achieving my resolutions, I'm going to read my Kindle for a little while. Cheers to 2022, I can't wait to see what you have in store for me.