Happy New Year!

So, 2011 is over and 2012 is upon us. 2011 has been an amazing year for me, and there are so many memories and people who have made 2011 a year to remember!

Below is really just a summary of why 2011 was awesome.

1) Seeing Wicked for the 3rd time in Brisbane, QLD in March. Seeing the show in Brisbane was special because I saw it with my best friend from kindergarten, who was the person who introduced me to The Wizard of Oz when I was 5, and I fell in love with it.

Wicked in Brisbane- me with my friend Maree

2) Seeing Wicked for the 4th time in Perth, WA in August. Seeing it in Perth was amazing because I took my parents to see it, I made two new friends at the stage door (Hi, Kelly and Alana!), and of course, meeting the cast. It was so amazing to actually meet them... next time I'd like to not sound like an idiot, though ;)

Me with Jemma Rix (Elphaba) 

Me with David Harris (Fiyero)

Me with Lucy Durack (Glinda)

3) Graduating uni with my Graduate Diploma of Education and becoming qualified as a teacher. Teaching's all I've wanted to do since I was 7, so for it to come true is an amazing achievement. Getting a job already lined up for 2012 is even more incredible.

4) Making the most amazing friends, both at uni and through twitter. Apart from my beautiful church family, and a few special people I've met through my life (Deepika, Kristel, Jasmin and Christine <3); I've never had many real friends. And by that, I mean people who love you for who you are, people who have truly changed me and my life for good.
And then uni happened! I've made some beautiful friends who I hope to have in my life for many years to come.
I never expected to make those sorts of friends this year, and especially not through twitter! But I'm so grateful for all of them.

5) Turning 21. It's a huge milestone, and with the stressful year uni-wise 2011 was,  all I wanted was to have all my family and friends in the one room. And I got... most of the people there, so I'm pretty happy.
And dressing up as Elizabeth Bennett (the theme was England- you had to dress up as someone associated with England), was awesome. And my best friend Kristel made my dress for me, so it was extra special (and yes, my dress is green. Duh).

6) My writing. My writing is a huge part of who I am, and it's also the most private part of me- except maybe for my faith. I'm more comfortable sharing my writing with strangers than people, so if you know me and I share my writing with you, that's kinda huge. Not even my parents know I write.

Writing is also what keeps me sane. I wasn't expecting to have any time to write in 2011, but well... I've never been good at not writing for very long. Oops.

And in 2011 I've written some stories I'm very proud of, and met some beautiful people. Everyone who reviews anything I write on FF.net... I can't thank them enough for taking the time to read what I write and share their thoughts on it with me. I never expected to have that opportunity!

7) Twitter. I've already said I made some great friends through twitter, but I just have to say that getting tweets from celebrities... kinda helped make my year.
Celebrities (public figures, whatever you want to call them) have thousands of followers, and I can't even imagine how many tweets they must get daily from fans.

I've always been kind of... invisible. I've always been good at blending in and not drawing attention to myself, but that doesn't mean you don't want to be seen.
And to get tweets from celebrities I really admire, which means they've seen me and taken the time to reply... it means a lot to me.

In summary:
2011 was awesome, challenging, scary, and I learned so much about myself and what I'm capable of achieving.

2012 is going to be even bigger, and I hope just as amazing!