2011 was a slew of ups and downs….there were some really tough parts that tested my personal strength and my friendships, as well as some really awesome parts including a move back to the city that I call home. Here is a recap, more for myself than for anyone, but please feel free to take a gander as I reflect on the past 365 days. (And I know that a lot of you are hatin’ on the new facebook timeline, but it helped a lot in creating this post. Thanks FB!)
January
I started off the year with a [literal] bang of a champagne bottle on Milwaukee Avenue. This will probably be known as the most epic NYE that I ever had with my friends and I will cherish the stories and memories forever…
In Jan I felt like I really started to get into the swing of things with my job with St. Jude. I was two months in and felt like I was really starting to put together some great events. I took my first work trip to Memphis, and met a bunch of people that I now call friends. I hung out with some awesome Radio peeps, met Josh Kelly and a few other smaller named country artists, and got pepper sprayed at my least favorite karaoke bar.
I also met my friends Mike, Jordan, and Dustin who became my outside of work Peoria friends.
February
February started off as a really great month with a record brreaking Radiothon in Bloomington and then slowly spiraled into the absolute worst month of my life. I won’t get into details, but it was a very big personal challenge that I had to overcome, and unfortunately hurt a friendship or two in the process. Everything turned out alright in the end, for the most part, but I learned a very big lesson. During this time, my friend Kim drove from Indiana for one weekend to cheer me up and we spent the time making ridiculous crafts and challenging our 12 year-old-selves.
March
While still dealing with a lot of personal stuff, I still managed to have a great month. I started off the month with business trip to a conference in Atlanta and saw CNN Headquarters. I also introduced the Region 13 office to Paczki Day! Very importantly, I met and had a conversation with the one and only Ira Glass. Enjoyed a 71 degree day in P-Town while it was 41 in Chicago. At the end of the month I had ANOTHER record breaking radiothon, which was quite amazing, and visited Kim in Bloomintong, IN. Also, my new cousin Sadie Lyn was brought into the world.
Part 2 will have to come tomorrow because this is taking longer than expected. To be continued…
