Sblogging and star words

I'm sitting on the couch in the family room, and my sister is sitting next to me. She's just started a blog as a project for herself in 2011, and she's typing a post right now too. She just decided we're "sblogging," or synchronized blogging.

So...it's 2011. It seriously feels like 2010 just whizzed by, and I don't know what to think about this new year. I have to graduate college in May, which is a terrifying prospect. In July I'm going to LeakyCon 2011, which I can tell you right now is going to be the highlight of the year, but I still need to find myself at least $400 more before I go. I guess everything will work out somehow...It always does.

I'm sure everyone has their own start-of-the-year traditions. We have a tradition at my church that my pastor started about six years ago called "star words." On the Sunday closest to Epiphany, we pass baskets of paper stars through the congregation. Each person takes the star on top of the pile and turns it over to see which word is written on the other side. They take that star home and hang it somewhere they'll see it, like on the fridge or the bathroom mirror, and that word becomes the basis for their journey with God for the year. The results are always astounding...every single year, I find that God puts my word in my life over and over and over again.

My word for 2010 was "Gratitude." I try to always be grateful for the many blessings in my life, but this past year I really did feel gratitude so much more than usual. At the beginning of the year I was still adjusting to life after Ecuador, and I was grateful to be home with my friends and family whom I'd missed so much, but as I shared my stories of the trip with people who didn't quite understand or appreciate them, I was so grateful for the experiences I had in Ecuador -- experiences that most people never get to have. I went to my first hp-ohio Crystal Ball, which I will never forget, mostly because of all the friends I made there. As I ran into a few rough spots with friends at school, I was so grateful for my friends from home who have always been there for me, any time of the day or night. When summer rolled around, I was grateful to have a job and be earning money in this difficult economy, even if I didn't particularly enjoy my job. I was so grateful for the love and fellowship of my church family at Montreat, and of my real family at our fabulous reunion in July. School started and I met my friend Annika, whom I feel like I've known for years already! I was grateful for my summer job again when I took my sister to Wrockstock 4 as an early birthday present, and I was so glad to be able to watch her revel in her first con experience, to meet some awesome musicians, to make lots of new friends, and to spend time with old friends. By the end of the semester, I was extremely grateful just to have survived and passed all my classes, let alone with good grades. All year long, I felt so much gratitude to all the members and staff of the Harry Potter Alliance, the Harry Potter community at large, John and Hank Green and the Nerdfighters, and all the other awesome YouTubers who are committed to decreasing worldsuck. Together we raised $123,000 for relief efforts in Haiti, worked together to win the HPA $250,000 for future programs in the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook, comforted each other as we mourned the loss of Esther Earl and vowed to never let her star go out, and raised over $135,000 for various charities and took over YouTube with the Project for Awesome!

2010 was an insanely awesome year, and I'm so grateful for everything that happened. My star word for 2011 is.......drum roll, please........"Strength." I have to admit, my immediate reaction was "Oh, great!" So I'm likely going to be needing a lot of prayer this year, but I know God will give me the strength to make it through whatever comes my way. *sigh*

Best wishes to all as we start the new year. What are you looking forward to in 2011?