Well 2010, you felt like you flew by but looking back it was a packed year. 2009 left a horrible taste in my mouth so I was excited to see what was next in my life. If I were to put a title to 2010, it would be “The Year of the Catalyst.” This is the year I started to get my life back. What most of you don’t know is that I really did try to live healthier and eat better, but I had so many personal obstacles in my way. I just get going through spurts of eating well and then just eating crap (figuratively of course) for long periods of time. I would have a pretty good running regiment going and then I would just quit. I also didn’t have the same support system. I always thought that telling people you were trying to lose weight always set yourself up for failure because it was just more people to let down and the more guilt you would feel if they saw you eating or being lazy. The fact is that telling people you are going to be better doesn’t produce guilt, rather it builds a support system around you. Another thing was that I wasn’t trying to lose it for any reason. I was just doing it. When we moved to Tallahassee, I really took a good look at myself, along with pictures of me, and I said “I have lost control of my life and I need to do something about this. I’m pushing 400 pounds and I have two choices: eat all the unhealthy crap you want and die young, or make the effort now so I can live the life that God wants you to live.” So on September 14th 2010, I took my life back and I haven’t looked back ever since.

This year was full of change not just because of this, but because of many other things. At the beginning of this year, we had no clue where we were going to end up. Megan graduated in December of ’09 and we were on the hunt for graduate schools. It was about four months of a lot of uncertainty and living on faith. We had toured the University of Colorado in October of ’09 which was awesome, and then we made the trip to Tallahassee to visit The Florida State University in February. As you may recall, FSU was my dream school growing up, but I really didn’t have the grades or the GRE score to get in but I visited the department anyways. Megan fell in love with her department and I fell in love with mine as well as the city. I then made a checklist to compare CU and FSU which involved such things as Big 12 vs ACC, Mountains vs. Beaches, Cold Winters vs. Humidity, etc.  more importantly we prayed a lot about it. We finally decided on Tallahassee so then I started looking for a job with no luck. As the saying goes, the rest is history. We moved here on July 15th, I got in to the department as a non-degree student, worked my butt off and 50 pounds later I’m a full time student.

I also had some sad times this year but also some closure things that deeply needed it. In March of 2009, two of my dearest friends Travis and Rachel Joiner were murdered by Rachel’s ex-boyfriend. It was a great blow to me, along with everyone who had ever met them. Nothing more terrible could have happened to better people. Travis and I were best friends when I lived in the small town of Eldorado, Texas. I was awkward and portly, but Travis and I were both in Boy Scouts together and we both had a great love for Legos which is how our friendship grew. Even after I moved, we would spend time at each others houses over the summer and I went to visit him a lot when he went to college. This year, the trial finally happened and Rachel’s ex-boyfriend was found guilty and got the death penalty. This summer before we moved, we went down and saw their parents and their little brother. It was awkward at first since I hadn’t been back since before the tragedy, but then we reminisced about all the fun and crazy times we had with one another and it really brought it all together. I miss Travis and Rachel greatly, but their memory still beats in my heart.

This year I also lost my dear Grandma Knote. She was a great lady who loved all of her grandkids and great-grandkids very much. I’ll never forget the summers we would go up to Montana and stay with Grandma and Grandpa. We would always go up around the Fourth of July and they would save the fireworks coupons for us so we could buy an arsenal of explosives. Every morning, I would wake up, watch Nickelodeon, watch Grandma and Grandpa read the Bible and pray together, and then we would eat breakfast. A few hours later, we would go to McDonald’s, then go swimming. It was like every summer you knew what to expect, you had a schedule of fun. I miss those days. Grandma was another one of those that would love you and treat you as if you were her own no matter what. I miss you Grandma Knote.

Okay, now on to happier things… THE RANGERS WENT TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!! How cool is that!?! A lot of us thought it would never happen but it finally did! I know I know, we lost. But we still beat the Yankees and the Rays which was just awesome. There’s always next year… and the year after that…. and the year after that. Either way, it was a special season to be a Ranger. My dad and I went to the Season Opener and I kept saying “this is the year” (not that I’m taking credit or anything.)

Overall, this year has had it’s ups and downs, but more importantly it has been a year for new beginnings and a new lease on life. I’m stoked to see what 2011 will bring. Should be an adventure. See ya next year.