Ode to 2013 |

I had plans for New Year’s tonight…then I got sick. So, instead of celebrating with friends, I’ll be celebrating with Josh, my carry-out Olive Garden, and Phish Food Ben & Jerry’s.

But that’s okay. I was really disappointed not to hang out with my friends, and thinking about how lame this New Year’s was going to be compared to last year’s. Last year, Josh and I were in Thailand, (he was in Phuket, and I was in Chiang Mai), and I brought in the New Year with the ladies of L Squad. We hung out in downtown Chiang Mai, set off our own floating lanterns to join the thousands of others in the sky, watched fireworks, and as my first act of 2013, I had a Nutella Banana Roti from a roadside stand. It was a magical night, for sure.

Especially on New Year’s, when the night is all about looking back over the past year, and anticipating what is to come, it is hard not to dwell on the past. I try not to do this, especially now that all of the “a year ago today, I was in ______ , doing ______”s are happening.

However, I think 2013 was one heck of a year.

I rode elephants in Thailand, for the SECOND time in my life. So awesome.

Josh and I celebrated 5 years together (dating + marriage) on the beach on Penang Island, Malaysia.

I watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

I absolutely fell in love with a place and a people in Maasai Mara Kenya, where we took a safari.

I used my love of writing to tell the story of Allan, a little boy we met in Uganda who was a victim of attempted child sacrifice, and through my writing, donations were made that enabled him to go to Australia to receive much-needed reconstructive surgery.