Some Thoughts on 2010

I don’t want to go on forever about 2010 or we’ll be here all day. The one thing that stood out to me the most about this past year was the feeling that I was really an adult. In January I took a fellowship with Southern Living magazine as an assistant copy editor. I had a paycheck, my own apartment, and a pretty independent life. I look back on this past year and I really am thankful for that degree of independence, especially after spending most of 2009 wondering if I was going to get any job.

Tomorrow, it will have been exactly a year since I moved to Birmingham, someplace I never imagined I’d live. B’ham proved to me that you can never judge a place by your pre-conceived expectations and exceeded any expectations I had.

Sure, the traffic can be bad, no, the shopping isn’t as great as Atlanta, but Magic City boasts an abundance of great local restaurants, beautiful neighborhoods, a lively arts and music scene, and lovely people who really care about their city. It’s a place that’s large enough that you need a year or two to really explore fully, and you will almost always be delighted with what you do discover. I didn’t really understand how much I loved it until I was literally driving away but that city will hold a special place in my heart.

Working for Time Inc. (who owns Southern Living, Cooking Light and other familiar brands under their LifeStyle branch) opened my eyes to the perks and ugly realities of working for a corporate company. It was difficult sometimes to bear the changes, but the experience I gained there both as a copy editor and then as a production assistant for MyRecipes.com is invaluable. I’ve always been really blessed to work with colleagues that care about their work and each other, and I was blessed again while working at Time Inc.

As this year draws to a close, I’m happy to look back on 2010 as a year during which I was satisfied with all aspects of my life, from my private life to my work life. I’m always more and more surprised at the end of each year to find that such a large amount of time has already passed, but I’m looking forward to 2011.

I’d by flat out lying if I’d said I wasn’t a little depressed to be unemployed again, but I’m back in the Atlanta area with my family, my best friends, and though it’s a struggle some days to be thankful, I try. I’m confident that the right opportunities will open for me and I really hope that I can recognize and capitalize on all of them.

Good or bad, I hope that all of you can close this year with a peaceful heart and I wish everyone all the best in 2011!