What a long, strange trip it's been.

So runs one line in my HS senior yearbook- the guy thought he was being original. :-p

But, this year does qualify. Battles with school, interviews with medical school, staring old enemies in the face and daring them to bring it on. Finding friendship in odd places, and love in stranger places still, just caps off the year right.

Snopesmeets and long email conversations, roadtrips through green hills and snuggling by the Christmas tree. Offering counsel to friends with troubles, and asking for help myself, challenging courses and proving the doubters wrong.

It's been one helluva year. I returned triumphant to the Miakonda woods I love so deeply, conquered steep hills in places I'm learning to love, met a bunch of new faces, and, above all, I fell in love.

It's been an incredible year. Here's to hoping 2006 is just as good, if not better. :-)