Ah, 2010. Like 2009, but a little worse. Not much like 2008. Hard to remember much before that. Anyways, I'll split this into a couple different categories.

1. School life - Dramatic improvement from January to December, I hated my living situation last year. Bad hall, bad suite, bad roommate, and an awful lot of feeling like I should be doing something else. But this Fall, as a sophomore, I felt much more liberated to just be myself instead of trying to do the standard college things. I accepted that liquor, dancing, and loud music just weren't for me - something I had already known, yet still I found myself trying to go to parties a lot last year. I didn't much enjoy them, but I felt guilty anytime I stayed in on a Friday or Saturday, like I was wasting time and opportunities. So in the fall, I generally went to bed early, woke up early, and on weekend nights I might watch a movie or play a video game, and I've learned not to punish myself for wanting to be alone at times.

2. Academics - Spring 2010 was a good time academically, and Fall 2010 was even better by .02 points. I came into 2010 as a Math and PPA major, now im a PPA major with a Math minor and likely a PolySci minor. In the Spring I was able to do a small research class in the Math department which was sweet, and now I've actually done some work for my major, and enjoyed it.

3. Friends/Relationships - Pretty bad year for those. I blame Obama.

4. Philosophy - I've always been a thinker (and a talker) but my ideas have changed many times as I've grown up. I recognize that they will change again. 2010 was a pretty good year for my interpretation of life, although only because of how I see things now. I don't know if I've ever felt more disillusioned or confused with life than I did in the summer of 2010. Many times I couldn't even get a single word out of my mouth, and I felt hopelessly lost trying to express my frustration and discontent. But as fall semester picked up and I applied myself to trying to learn, my love for liberty and my optimism in humanity returned. Things make a little more sense now.

5. Sports - Highlight: Team USA beats Team Canada in overtime! Lowlight: Team Canada beats Team USA in overtime. The Juniors Championship win was SOOOOO sweet, but the Olympic loss was SOOOOO heartbreaking. Still, both were absolutely wonderful tournaments. Other things that happened - JMU beat ranked Virginia Tech in Blacksburg!!! Arthur Moats gets drafted by the Bills and plays well!!! The Sabres win the division! - but lose in round one to Boston. I have always maintained, since the Hasek years, that losing in round 1 is worse than missing the playoffs altogether, since it feels like such a long climb and in a matter of days, your season is ruined with Vanek's knee. The Caps lost too, but The Blackhawks winning the Cup was good, the Saints winning the Super Bowl was good, and the Lakers winning the NBA Finals was AMAZING. Seriously, that was the most exciting basketball I've ever seen over that 7 game period. And 5 rings for Kobe!! Woo-hoo. I don't remember who won the World Cup because I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT SOCCER. The Bills suck and the Sabres suck, but on the whole, not a bad year for sports.

6. Music - I didn't listen to much of anything that was released in 2010, but I did get a better ear for classical music, and even a little opera. I now listen to more Schubert than grunge, more Liszt than hard rock. I still listen to certain hip hop a lot and a bunch of alternative-rock music, but that's such a broad category. Romantic era piano works are now my bff.

7. Things I saw/Places I went - I drank legally in Canada! I went to Philadelphia for the first time! I saw the Women's museum in Seneca Falls! I went to game 2 of the Sabres/Bruins series! I went to a World Juniors Tournament game!

8. Favorites in Film/Television - Community is now my favorite TV show, although I still love South Park. Best movie of the year was Toy Story 3, props also to Inception, Despicable Me, Scott Pilgrim, and Harry Potter 7-1.