The Year That Was

(Starting time: 8:20pm) I have a long night ahead of me. Right now my family (meaning everyone but me) is watching a silent movie called "The Man With a Movie Camera." I currently have my glasses off so really I can only see this screen. Since everyone seems to be writing all the end of the year stuff you could ever dream of, I thought I might add my two cents in as well. Mind you this will only be interesting if you're, say, my therapist. Or maybe have been reading this journal consistently throughout the year. Otherwize I doubt it will be that interesting.
So lets see. I started off the year completely obsessed with the Beatles and have somehow, magically one might say if one were being sarcastic and felt like it, become obessed with a multitude of bands, none of which include the Beatles. Despite the Beatles biography I got for Christmas. In any event my musical tastes have changed drastically over this year, which is really quite significant. You see when I was in 8th grade I stopped listening to the radio. By 9th grade I had decided that most forms of popular music, save the few that I deemed alright, were crap and so I simply refused to listen to the radio. Then, as we all know, I fateful event occurred. I got school off! In Febuary (Febuary 25th actually. I figured it out.) I got school off and Mums was out. Then the Killers happened. After the Killers came Interpol (who, I might add, I have only recently started to truly appreciate.) Sometime after that t'Chiefs. Kings of Leon followed and so forth. So what's so amazing about all this? I had completely sworn off popular music that's what. In a 3 and 1/2 minute song I went from ridiculing popular music to absolutely loving it. Pretty amazing no? (On a side notice I wrote up a list of hot musicians after I "discoverd" the Killers. Originally it consisted of Brandon, Paul Macca and George Harrison. I would like to expand :and delete: the list. It now consists of the following: Brandon Flower, Ricky Wilson, Damian Kulash, Tom Chaplin and Paul Smith. Thank you.)
So there's the music portion. Lets see what else I have up my sleeve. (Looks up sleeve. Only sees skin.) Damn you Terry Pratchett!! Damn you and your wonderful British sense of humour!
Ah, speaking of Terry Pratchett, there was a change in my outlook on books this year. You see, although it was not chronicled within the depths of these pages, I went from reading teen "not so great, but fairly okay" literature to 1) wanting to be an English major 2) really appreciating older books (as in 19th century old) and 3) I dicoverd all 3 of my favorite authors. Pretty spiff if you ask me. Besides that I graduated from teen lit to fulfledge lit, with all thanks to Mr J. Barnes. I also discovered another reason to love the Brits; J. Barnes, D. Adams, and T. Pratchett (though the last one wasn't until this week. I say it counts though.) Also, and finally for this section, I was saved by books. All this year the only thing that has helped me the most (besides music of course) were the books I could hide away with. Mind the times when I hid away with those books weren't always the best times (like with HHGG etc.) but damned if they weren't a blessing. Douglas Adams was my major saviour. May he rest in Magrathea and with the Gods in his long, hopefully not so dark, teatime of his soul. (For some reason this bit seems to repeat it self. I wonder why...)
There's something else this year that has changed about me. My outlook is less gloomy most days. It's not perfect, but then again neither am I. I'm trying harder this (honestly) to be who I'm suppose to be, to be somebody who will get me to the things I really want to do. Mind you it's hard work and most days I curse it till the ends of the earth and the go sulk off and play clicken gold. Mind you this has only changed relatively recently (as in this school year) but still it's something that's different about me since January 1, 2005. But mainly (and most importantly) my outlook has changed considerably since the beginning of this year. My only hope is that it lasts.
I guess that's my hope for the year. That the improvements I've made in this year will last into the next year and into the next and into the next to the nth term. I want to continue to improve and continue to improve to the nth term. And everything to the nth term. Well that's it for me. I know there's more somewhere in my nice brain, but I think that's the important stuff. So much has happened this year really. Go read then archives if ya like. That will inform you as to almost everything. You'll be missing January but otherwize it's all there. Oh...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! When ya know it's time and all that. (End time: 10:16pm)