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You’re an Awesome One, Ms. Misewicz [FIERCE ANTICIPATION]

FIERCELY DREADING

Christmas.  I hate to be that person (everyone knows one), the Grinch.  The one who cannot get into the spirit of the season no matter what magical Christmas miracles are happening all around.  I have spent most of my life successfully avoiding any yuletide cheer.  When I was very young, the death of my Christmas-loving Grandmother led my mourning (and overly dramatic) mother to cancel the holiday.  Since then, my family generally finds themselves at various points on the globe, letting the day pass without a bat of an eye.  I honestly cannot remember a present received to mark the occasion other than occasional cash in cards.

My standard winter grump has been exasperated by starting off my holiday on a whirlwind  romantic tour of NYC, London and Paris.  I was eating baguettes and pate in St Germaine instead of turkey legs and gravy while watching TV on my mom’s D.C. floor.  When one is whisked away for the romantic vacation of a lifetime, fake trees and crummy gifts can’t help, but  pale in comparison. In case I haven’t been clear in this paragraph, let me put it this way: Christmas is a waste of my time and money because I should be drunk in London’s SOHO district right now.

 

SEMI-ANTICIPATING

The End of 2011.  This was a big year for me.  Mid-way through 2010 I had a quarter-life-crisis and moved from Washington D.C. to L.A. without any sort of plan.  I am not an actor or a singer or a person in possession of any discerning talent.  I was just unhappy in every sort of way and decided that instead of wallowing, I should just let go and start anew.  Yet, in every way that 2010 was devastating and difficult, 2011 was a reaffirmation of why life is beautiful.

The isolation of being alone in an unfamiliar city gave me a new focus.  I began a challenging and demanding job that took up most of my time.  I moved into my first independent place on your own (LA is NOT a good place to take your chances on an unknown roommate).  I became a staunch vegetarian, an active yogi and volunteered at a homeless shelter every week.  I cleansed and healed myself of everything I was running away from through the first half of 2011.

It became really exhausting being that “good.”  It was a life subsisting on kale, never thinking unkind thoughts, exercising, sobriety and abstaining from everything remotely fun. During the second half of 2011, I’ve reclaimed who I really was and had fun.  I dived head first into enjoying my life as a happy, confident and health person and I reaped the benefits of that.  I have had more fun in the past 6 months than I have had in my life.  I have gone everywhere from Disneyland to Oregon to Solvang to Paris.  I have seen more plays recently than in all my life and 75% of the movies released in North America.  Yesterday I went to a four-hour Philip Glass opera about Gandhi.  I am literally drunk on life experiences and am sorry to see even a symbolic end to the year of my independence, happiness and general taking life by the horns.

 

FIERCELY ANTICIPATING

The New Year.  As much as I loathe a yuletide carol, I cannot wait for the clock to strike midnight on a New Year.  Growing up both Polish and Southern, one could not find a more important holiday.  It is the day we gather our family and friends, peel our drunk asses from our previous night’s crashing spots and cook pork products while getting inebriated before noon.

2012 must really be the end of times because it is the year I will be growing up.  This year I entered my first serious adult relationship and upon our return from Europe we decided to take our serious adult relationship seriously and move in together.  Much like my veganism and yoga, my year of independence was really only a fleeting fancy.  I am fiercely anticipating growing as a person and including someone I love into the equation.  That is the best part of something new, be it a whole new city, a new job, a new relationship or a new year, there isn’t anything but possibility.

featured image credit: HikingArtist.com 

January 2012 credit: alykat