2009-A Year in Review

2009 was a year of many new things for me!


January 2009 also brought about fun travels! I went to Cabo San Lucas with a leadership program sponsored by St. Edward's Student Life. It was absolutely one of the most defining moments of my college career and I learned how to step outside the boundaries I set for myself and learned to take risks...one step at a time!





February 2009 was the greatest Mardi Gras experience EVER. Spending the weekend in New Orleans, going to the Endymion Ball, Eating PoBoys for every meal except the king cake we ate for breakfast, walking barefoot home from the bars, the parades, beads and friendships, sewing Kristie into her Dress, Cougars, Kid Rock...every part of the weekend was absolutely unforgettable! I simply cannot wait for mardi gras 2010...the countdown has begun!


March 2009 meant spring break in Conroe Tx, with my dear friend Austin Wood. It was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable weeks I had in a long time. From spending time in the hot tub every night, going to the Houston Zoo and accidentally finding ourselves at a free Ben Kweller concert at Rice, Spring Break 2009 was absolutely everything I ever needed!


April brought about Easter and Miss Kristie and I did our usual hang out, watch baseball, and spend time with random St. Eds people. It was a lot of fun but did not include our usual impromptu trip to Houston!


May 2009 meant the end of my first senior year, the last event I worked with UPB, driving to Nebraska for Lucy (my sister's) graduation, and enjoying the first part of the summer. Leaving UPB (university programming board, where I had worked for two years) was an interesting transition for me. It was like leaving my home, and it was exciting to know that I left having made a difference but was hard to let go.

June meant my 22nd birthday which was spent working orientation at St. Edward's. I did get a wonderful cake and a pineapple, and beautiful flowers from my best friend! After my birthday I worked orientation and it was a lot of fun. The beginning of the summer is always such a fun time for me, and this year was no exception!


July 2009 started off with a wonderful weekend trip to Houston to spend the 4th with Sara's family. We had wonderful drinks, fireworks, food, and friends. The rest of July meant orientation and spending time at the pool. However, I did have to move out of my apartment in July and this was just so inconvenient! I moved onto campus for about 2 weeks until I could move to my new apartment, which I love by the way! As July ended the weather was as hot as ever, but life was good!

August brought about a family trip to Denver to visit my great grandmother on her 98th birthday! This trip was absolutely amazing! We hiked, ti-died t-shirts, cooked meals together, toured DT Denver, played tennis and went to a water park! This vacation was simply Amazon. The end of August was also the start of my last semester of college as an undergraduate student. This time was so strange because I knew that everything was coming to an end, but I still had so far to go!

September meant I had started to get into the swing of things! School was a challenge because I was so excited to be done with everything. One class in particular was killing me! Strategic Management seriously caused me immense stress! But I did end up making and A in the class, so I guess all of the stress and hard work paid off. The end of September meant a trip to San Diego to help my sister move into school. I had never been to San Diego so it was a wonderful trip and it was so exciting to see my sister go off to school, to a place that she absolutely loves.

October was an epic month for me because my 12 year dream to see Hanson in concert was finally fulfilled. On October 31, I got to see Hanson in Houston on Halloween with Hello Goodbye at the House of Blues. It was SO AMAZING!!! The show was so fun, we had such a good standing location, and the pictures I got were fun! October 2009 will be remembered for a long time to come!

November 2009 meant the first year I did not spend Thanksgiving with my family. I had one lunch with my boss/mentor/friend and then another dinner with Sara's Family! It was nice to be included with other families but still strange to not see my family. November also meant Sara's 21 Birthday. Her parents came and took us (sara, erica and me) to dinner to Perry's Steak House in Austin. It was one of the best evenings I had ever had. The food was exquisite, the company was wonderful and the atmosphere was amazing! That dinner will be forever dreamed about.


December 2009 will probably remain one of the most important months of my life to date! December held my graduation, which was then followed closely by applying for graduate school. I forgot how miserable filling out applications and writing essays really is! But, I finally sent in my first application to Colorado State, and now the waiting begins! Graduation was so amazing and it feels so accomplished to be done. However, now my friends can introduce me as their unemployed friend, because of my lack of a job!

2009 was filled with many laughs, tears, travels, memories, friends, relationships, accomplishments, new beginnings, and fun! Sitting in the kitchen of a dear friend and writing about the past makes me really excited about the future months to come!

I hope that your 2009 was as wonderful as mine, and that your dreams and accomplishments come true in 2010. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Samantha