It’s been a good year, this 2011. I’ve done more new, memorable things this year than in any other year.
The biggest contributing factor was moving to Korea to teach English. It defines my 2011. Living abroad allowed a number of opportunities I never even considered before signing up, not to mention all the opportunities that I knew came with the transition.
Here are some of the other highlights of the year for me:
- I visited three other major cities in Korea besides Seoul where I live.
- I traveled to Japan and couch surfed.
- I ran 10+ experiments.
- I began my biggest secret project to date.
- I quit a majorly destructive habit I’ve had for a long time.
- I led a Growth Group.
- I ate a bunch of exotic foods, including ‘live’ octopus.
- I met tons of new friends.
- I published Top 10 Confessions of an A- Student.
- I kept track of what I did each weekend while in Korea.
- I pared down my possessions to just a few bags (and a few instruments and files back in America).
- I lived without a car, without a phone, and without central air.
- I tried lots of new things.
And now, here’s what didn’t go so well in 2011 for me:
- My posting consistency on Marshallogue dropped a number of times.
- I stopped posting to bondChristian.
- I gave up learning Korean.
- I never wrote the book I originally planned to write while living in Korea.
- I procrastinated more than I ever have in the past, which led to a few all-nighters and some unhealthy living.
- I didn’t send money as much money home in the beginning when the exchange rate was good so I’ll probably lose some now
- I let my laziness interfere with my ability to hang out with people on the weekends.
- I made my acne break out like crazy, probably as a result of stress and a bunch of my life experiments.
Of the items on that second list, though, really the first three were decisions I don’t regret. I would have liked to have completed those, but I think I made good trades with my time by giving them up for now.
So that’s the rundown. I’ll share more later about some of the specific lessons I’ve learned from these experiences over the past year.
