cheers

I ushered in the new year, chatting with Chin in the car while she drove us home.

A year ago, at the same time, I was lamenting the arrival of 2009 with Jean-li, while at my cousin's house. What a year it has been since then!

New years always evoke nostalgic feelings and bittersweet memories in me -memories of what had been, what have been and what could have been. (Suffice to say, my path has been pretty smooth so far, aside from occasional bumps here and there.) And sometimes, new years conjures memories of the road not taken –the 'what ifs'. What if I went against the flow and stayed in F6 instead? How much difference would it make to myself, and the people around me, I wonder. What if I had chosen some other major besides Economics, and wasn't sent here to this school? What if I decided to join the matriculation program instead? My list of what-ifs is infinite.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I-/ I took the one less travelled by,/ And that has made all the difference.

I will never know if it is better for me to take the other paths but for now, I am more than contented with all that my life offers –the ups, the downs, the stress, the 'madness', the freedom, the choices, the opportunities, the PEOPLE I get to interact with (both new and old friends). J I feel like my world is so much wider than what it was. As for whether I've become a better person than who I was, that's not for me to tell.

Currently, I find solace in the cup of tea, the bottle of snacks, the new 2010 calendar and the pile of uncleared books on my study desk -the Economics notes to be revised, the Accounting assignment to be done, the super-thick and intimidating Kaplan SAT and random storybooks-. This is my life. Here's to a (hopefully splendid) new year!

Welcome, 2010!