Sunset, sunrise...

I've enjoyed some wonderful sunsets over the past three days. The first one, on Sunday, occurred as my family was leaving Washington DC after seeing a fantastic production of West Side Story. The sky was covered in a thick layer of clouds, but just above the horizon the sky was perfectly clear. This allowed the blazing orange of the sunset to show brilliantly and reflect onto the bottom of the blanket of clouds above. The second sunset was on Monday, as Josh, David, and I were driving from Williamsburg to Portsmouth. We were crossing over the extensive bridge into Portsmouth just as the sun was setting. The entire sky to the west was a beautiful orange, and the color and light reflected off the water, leaving it shining. It was rather distracting, especially while trying to drive, but I did my best to steal only quick glances of the scene, and managed to stay on the bridge. Yesterday, I also marvelled at the sunset, from all places, at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Fredericksburg. As I was leaving the store, I couldn't help but notice that the entire lower sky was a startling pink, a brilliant blush showing where the sun was sinking. It just goes to show that the beautiful can also show up in the most mundane of places.

As the sun sets on 2008, I've been thinking about what an amazing, full year its been. I remember having a similar feeling at the end of 2004, the year I graduated from high school. I think there's something about a transition year that makes you really appreciate all that can happen and change within a span of a year. Here are some of my highlights from 2008:

• The year began with a wonderful Disney cruise to the Caribbean with my family. Besides it being a Disney cruise (making it wonderful in every way...), it was great to see a part of the world that I hadn't seen before and truly relax before diving into my final undergraduate semester.
• I successfully completed and defended my honors thesis. It was an uphill struggle, and something I don't really ever want to do again, but, man, it felt great to accomplish it. Sure, my research didn't really discover anything earth shattering and probably led to more questions than it answered, but I learned a lot, including the fact that research is not really for me (an important discovery in itself, I think).
• I graduated from William and Mary. My four years at William and Mary were incredible. I know that I grew and changed a lot as a person, and met, grew to love, laughed, and cried with people I know will be some of my best friends for the rest of my life. Graduation was a wonderful culmination to those four years.
• While there isn't a particular event that stands out in the summer of this year, it remains one of my favorite times of this year. I worked shadowing my mom for most of the summer, and learned so much and really enjoyed it. In addition to the working, I was lucky enough to have the chance to spend a lot of time with friends, take an absolutely fantastic trip to Florida, and spend a relaxing week at the beach with my family. It was the perfect balance between having fun and being productive, and I couldn't think of a better summer before starting a new stage in my life.
• I interviewed for, got into, and started vet school. What an amazing experience vet school has been so far. I've moved to a new city in the middle of the mountains, got a taste of new independence by moving into an apartment, met some amazing new people who I'm excited about spending the next four years with, and learned massive amounts of new information (some of which I hopefully retained). I'm starting to finally feel confident in the career path I've chosen, and for the most part I'm really looking forward to the rest of my time in Blacksburg.
• Candace and I adopted Elisa, our wonderful little kitten who has been such a great addition to our apartment. She's the sweetest, goofiest little cat, and adds some much needed levity when studying gets a little overbearing. I now can't imagine things without her.
• I went to New York City for the first time! This was something that I've been wanting to do for such a long time, and my first trip was just as amazing as I could have ever hoped for.

Of course, 2008 hasn't been completely perfect. There have been plenty of downs along with the ups, and we all know that there's no lack of turmoil going on in the world right now. However, I have nothing but hope for 2009, hope that we will continue to see the good along with changes that will lessen the bad.

I'm spending this evening packing for my family's new year trip to Orlando, which we're leaving for bright and early tomorrow morning. Clifton's not going to be going on this trip, so it's going to be interesting. I haven't been on a vacation by myself with both of my parents since I was four...so it's going to be kind of like I'm reverting to an only child for a week. We'll see how it goes. My parents, especially my mom, really need this vacation, so I really hope that it's fun and not too stressful for them. I'm really excited about it, so my hope is that it's just as enjoyable for them.

This post has become very long, and it is already after 11. I believe it is time for a nice combination of packing and champagne, perhaps at the same time! Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful and happy beginning to 2009!