My 24th Year in Review

It's that time of year again! 2 days before my birthday, where I look back and think about what the previous year of my life has brought me in terms of experiences- good and bad.

Shows/Musicals/Concerts:

• Wicked (14 shows, in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane)
• Les Mis 
• Tim Campbell High School Disco
• Picture Perfect (song cycle with David Harris and Amity Dry amongst others)
• Anthony Warlow and Faith Prince in concert
• Lion King
• The Dream (Bell Shakespeare)
• Cal Wilson, Undercurrents
• Peter Pan (school production)
• Into the Woods

Trips:

• Melbourne
• Sydney
• Brisbane
• Adelaide

Celebrities I Met (for the first time):

• Tim Campbell (finally)
• Amity Dry
• Jennifer Morrison
• Cast of Les Mis 
• Cal Wilson (I said "hi", that counts right?) 

Fanfics Published: 
NB. There was a lot of one-shots this year! Sorry about that!

• The Party 
• The Most Convenient Definitions  
• Waiting Room 
• A House Is Not A Home 
• The Perils of Dating A Commotion 
• The Lurlinemas Tree 
• The Right Thing To Do  
• Blackout 
• Sins of the Father  

Experiences Had (AKA Things I did or that happened to me):

• Got my P's
• Got a car
• Got diagnosed with anxiety (That one wasn't so much fun)
• Went in my first ambulance (would have been more fun if I could breathe)

Reflections on 2014

2014 was an unusual year... there were more highlights than lowlights, but the lowlights were really low.

As has become my tradition on NYE, I thought I'd reflect on both the good and the bad of 2014 and my plans for 2015,

The Good:

1. Wicked. 2014 will forever be the year of Wicked. I saw it a lot (12 times to be exact) and it was really nice not to have to travel internationally to see it for a change. It's still magical, after all this time. And Jemma Rix remains the best. 
2. Musicals in general. This year I saw Beauty and the Beast, Wicked, The Lion King, Into the Woods, Les Mis and Picture Perfect, and David Harris' cabaret show Time is a Traveller, plus his show with Lucy Durack at Taronga Zoo, Wickedly Broadway. I think this is the most shows I've seen in a year. Despite the fact I spent a lot of this year broke, it was totally worth it.
3. I got my P's! Which means I can legally drive on my own, which has made life much easier.
4. I got a car. Which really helps out with number 3 on this list.
5. I worked with some great people and got to teach some great kids this year. Several of whom have now seen Wicked, thanks to me and love it :D And I get another year in the same school which is such a relief! 
6. Canberra. I am loving living somewhere with shops and public transport, and Canberra has some cool stuff. Really looking forward to the multicultural festival in February. I found it last year by accident, and it was awesome. 
7. Comic Con. Kelly and I did Comic Con in Adelaide and Melbourne, and I got to meet Ted and The Todd from Scrubs, Piper and Leo from Charmed and Jennifer Morrison from House and Once Upon a Time. 
8. Tim Campbell. Four years after seeing him as Fiyero in Wicked, many tweets and after being a fan of his for even longer than that, I finally got to meet him. And he was just as lovely as I'd always hoped. 
9. Family stuff- one cousin got married and another had a baby! 
10. I got to meet other awesome musical theatre people.
11. I found The West Wing. I love it. The End.

The Bad:

1. Being diagnosed with anxiety and depression. That's been the biggest struggle of the year, and despite all the good things on the list, this really has established the year for me. Ending up in hospital at the beginning was especially terrifying. 
2. One sister had surgery, my dad ended up in hospital with a fractured back, and my other sister found out she has something wrong with her eyes and we were worried for a while she might end up blind. 
3. Tarsal Tunnel- I am the only person who could screw up my ankles by walking too much. Although it was a great motivator to get my P's and drive. 
4. There were some... not as great kids I taught this year. It was a challenge. 
5. Robin Williams dying. I mean, it's not like I knew him personally, but the man defined my childhood and it was definitely the biggest shock of the year.

Goals/Plans for 2015:

1. Work on my mental health. 
2. Try my best at work this year and ask for help to learn the new system (I'm going to be working in the Distance Education part of our school this year).
3. Write. Read. Write. Read. 
4. See more shows. So far, for 2015, I have plans to see Wicked, we're making plans for Matilda and I'm seeing Taylor Swift in November 2015. 

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

At first this post was going to be the usual review of the year I do, normally right before my birthday. Then it was going to focus on my hopes/plans/dreams/etc for 2014 and New Years Resolutions.

Then I thought 'screw it, I'll do both'. So here we go:

2013: The Good

1. I met Idina Menzel. And saw her live twice. I don't know if there can ever be a bigger highlight than that. Sometimes I still think I dreamed that and I have to look at the photo to remind myself it was real. She is just so amazing and I love her. Her voice is huge, you just get goosebumps. I can't wait until we get to the US next year to (hopefully) see If/Then. 
2. I was in the same room as Julie Freaking Andrews. If I had met her, it honestly would have topped Idina. But I didn't have $700 to afford to meet her at the time, so... Idina wins. But just being in the same space as Julie Andrews was such an amazing experience. And then being part of a room singing 'Edelweiss' with Julie Andrews... just amazing.
3. Seeing Wicked again!! Twice!! 18 months is too long not to see this show, seriously. And whilst seeing the new cast was such a good experience (although sad, but I really do miss a few of the past cast members in particular); nothing beats Jemma Rix as Elphaba. She just is the green girl with every breath, and even after so many shows (she is the longest-running Elphaba ever in English), it still feels new. 
4. Musicals/theatre/shows in general. Legally Blonde (5 times in 2013), Grease (3 times), Jemma Rix: The Random Variety, Amanda Harrison: Up Close and Reasonably Personal, Hats Off: to the Classics, Driving Miss Daisy (and seeing Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones at Stage Door- Disney legends). 
5. And I also saw Adam Hills (Aussie comedian) live. He called me his "22 year old friend". I will live by that forever (even though I'm no longer 22).
6. I got a job (always a good thing!). I got to work alongside great teachers, and meet so many wonderful kids. Plus, I think (hope) I improved as a teacher and learned some things. 
7. I wrote a story that was extremely difficult, emotionally, for me to do. But I did it, I survived, and people liked it! I don't know whether I was happier I survived the writing of it, the posting of it, or just the research of it! (So much research!!! Note to self: next time you write a story involving lots of research, pick a less depressing subject). 
8. I went to New Zealand. OK, it was for a day. And all we really saw was the airport, the theatre and the roads between the two. But it counts.
9. I had an awesome holiday in Queensland with my friends. And it was just after I learned I had a job, so I could really relax and enjoy myself.
10. I have a job for 2014- without applying for it. Thank Oz for that. I hate writing job applications. Mostly because I'm not very good at talking myself up on paper. 
11. I made some awesome new friends via Twitter and fanfiction. And I like making friends. Even though I swear there is a trend I make friends with on Twitter that I know through FF because I'm reading their stuff and/or they're reading mine; and then they stop reviewing my stories. LOL. Don't ask me how, but it happens. Frequently.

2013: The Bad

1. I was unemployed for Term 1. I hadn't been unemployed since I was 16. Turns out, I don't cope very well at being unemployed. Namely because I stress a lot... meaning more so than I stress when I do have a job. I get depressed and I question everything- "Am I a good teacher? Is this what I'm meant to be doing with my life? Where is God going with this? On a scale of 1-10, how much do I suck as a teacher/person/whatever?" Plus, I was writing Come What May at the time, so combining the two... I was in a giant spiral of depression and self-pity and self-hate. The silver lining here is that I am hugely grateful for all my friends who helped me through those 17 weeks (counting Christmas holidays, because that counted too). 
2. For my new job (yay!) I moved 7hrs away from home. And I had exactly one visitor in the entire 9 months I was there. The bright side was I couldn't get homesick too often because I was so busy with school work and all the stuff mentioned above on the 'good' list. Plus, it was so much easier to do things from where I was this year.
3. I flew a lot. Now don't get me wrong, I like flying. I do. I hate airports. And flying is exhausting. So, this is kind of good and bad.

2014: Plans (so far) 

1. Seeing Beauty and the Beast at Melbourne Zoo on Australia Day (Jan 26). David Harris (former Fiyero and Emmett in Legally Blonde) is the Beast; Rob Mills (former Fiyero, Warner and current Danny Zuko in Grease) is Gaston; and Patrice Tipoki (soon to star in Les Mis and former Elphaba) is Belle. Plus, it's Beauty and the Beast. At the zoo!! 
2. Wickedly Broadway at Taronga Zoo in Sydney in March, including David Harris and Lucy Durack (former Glinda and Elle Woods... who will once again be Glinda as of May). Again- Broadway. At the Zoo. LOVE IT.
3. Moving and new job. Not so much loving the moving (so over it), but looking forward to the new job. As much as I'll miss the kids and staff from where I was this year. 
4. Lion King in April! And my cousins wedding. But I'm more excited for the Lion King (sorry, Cameron and Sheridan. I'm looking forward to your wedding too, but I've been wanting to see this show for a decade). 
5. Wicked back in Oz! Hallelujah. Already have 3 shows booked for May. Cannot wait. There's other musicals coming this year I want to see, but Wicked owns my heart. Sorry. 
6. Trip to the US! Fingers crossed this goes according to plan. Oklahoma, Florida and New York. Dream come true.

New Year's Resolution(s):

1. To be more organised- mostly when it comes to the new job.
2. To complete at least 2 big fanfics. Maybe 3. This mostly involves me actually putting aside time to write. This year, it's been slightly neglected at times because of teaching stuff and other life things.
3. To be a better friend. 

Does anyone else do New Year's Resolutions? What are yours for 2014?