A Thank You To All The People Who Made My 2012 Great
2012 is nearly at an end, and despite some very rough patches, it has overall been a great year. And what made it such a great year was the people I surround myself with, family and friends, both old friends and new.
First and foremost, I was reminded that I can count on my family to help me out when I need it most, without judgment or condition. When, on my 26th birthday, I was in need, my brother and sister did not hesitate to inconvenience themselves to give me aid. And when I informed my parents of what happened, they told me they were proud of how I handled the situation once I realized I needed help and and that they raised a son who knew he can be completely honest with them. (They weren’t proud that I’d gotten myself into the situation, of course, but they were proud of how I handled it once I was there.)
My many existing friendships continued to flourish and strengthen this year. No where was that more evident than when I had the honor to see two of my closest friends get married in August. I met the bride during my first year of law school back in 2008 and we became fast friends. She introduced me to her then-boyfriend, at that point having only dated for about a year, and he and I developed a friendship just as quickly. Four years later, I attended the groom’s amazing bachelor party, then had the honor to attend the most touching wedding ceremony I’ve ever witnessed. The couple had a close friend officiate, which made the ceremony extremely personal and emotional.
In 2012, two events occurred that allowed me to meet numerous people that, until previously, I only knew online. Good TVeets Con 2012 brought together many of the people I converse with most with on Twitter, and ended up being more fun than any of us ever thought possible. Four months later, I went on the West Coast Road Trip, which allowed me to reconnect with three friends from college, one friend I met at Good TVeets Con 2012, and introduced me to five more Twitter friends. I remain amazed at how well everyone got along at both events; people came to Chicago for Good TVeets Con 2012 from all parts of the country and everyone instantly got along. On the West Coast Road Trip, old friends and new came together to welcome me to their cities, and everyone got along as if they’d known each other for years.
Finally, this was the year I started taking comedy writing classes at Second City. That experience has been great both because it is helping me hone my writing and storytelling skills, and because it has introduced me to many very funny people. But best of all, in one of my classes, I met someone special…
So thank you to everyone who helped me when I needed it, who gave me moral support when things were bleak, who shared jokes with me and let me bounce ideas off you (a few Twitter friends and I took a running joke and are trying to turn it into a TV show/podcast series called The Whiskey Rebellion; be on the lookout for updates), and, most importantly, made me feel better about myself. I look forward to doing more of the same and many new things with you all in 2013.
