The Blog is Back!

Happy New Year’s Eve, dear readers!

So I’m sure y’all never expected to see a blog update from me again, especially after a ridiculous many-month hiatus. But I’m here to say that I’m back, and I’m back for good this time. You may not believe me, but I’ve got reasons (not fabulous reasons, but reasons enough) for my absence from the blog universe, but this next year is going to be different. I’ve got a lot of posts already planned and mentally outlined, and I’m ready to go, if you’ll still have me. 2013 is going to be a better year in hopefully every way possible.

But let me start with an apology. Dearest readers, I never meant to go this long without an update. The next post was constantly in the back of my mind, but despite that, I could never quite get it to go to the tips of my fingers. Because if I was to write a normal blog post, like the next Book Review or some such trivial thing, I would feel dishonest, and y’all would probably feel gypped without a proper explanation of my absence. I hate offering excuses, which is what all these are, but sometimes simple but meaningless excuses are all that you have. And so I am sorry about that, and about my absence from you dear readers as well.

And now for the explanation, something little more than an excuse as well, but one I hope you can forgive. So it’s time for me to get honest…really, really honest. Basically, 2012 was probably one of the worst years I’ve ever experienced. Despite things that were absolutely amazing about it (which shall be detailed further down in this post), most everything else sucked. For a while I’d been fighting this sense of stasis; everything felt stilled - my future, my career, my musical progress - and it drew me down into a state of non-functionality. There were days I couldn’t even get out of bed; even that was too much to accomplish. This began to impair even my ability to go to class, something I had never experienced before this year. It had nothing to do with the classes themselves, which were all interesting and taught very well, and everything to do with an inability to conquer my non-functionality.

But after two straight semesters of declining grades and general frustration with life, I’m hopefully on the upswing. I’ve got a lot ahead of me for 2013, including brand new classes, my first major violin recital, summer camps, and grad school auditions. I’m ready for 2012 to be over and for 2013 to be a refreshing new start. I’m taking care of myself and things are going to be good again. Part of that includes writing more, both stories and blog posts for you dear readers! I promise I’ll stay true to fortnight updates (at the very minimum!) if you’re still here to read them. You can trust me this time.

Anyway, with that out of the way, I can list the things that were absolutely fantastic about 2012! Number one, obviously, is the fact that I went to Italy for the summer, visiting Rome, Naples, Pompeii, and bunches of other places. I even got to go back to Prague, which is one of my favorite cities in Europe now. I miss all of my friends from Rome, especially my writing class friends and my 2 Boston girls and my Texas Tech buddy. Although I’m terrible at keeping in contact with people, this year I’m definitely going to try harder at it! We still need that Mexican food night, after all.

Additionally, I got to play in an orchestra on a concert featuring the incredible Yo-Yo Ma. That’s right, I accompanied the internationally famous cello player himself. It was the highlight of my musical experience thus far, and I hope in the future I can repeat the experience. Yo-Yo Ma was funny, kind, and incredibly friendly. He took pictures with nearly every orchestra section, he signed programs, and he even made jokes. I will admit that when he walked onstage at our first rehearsal with him, my eyes teared up because it was just so astonishingly amazing that finally it was actually happening, as if until he walked onto the stage the whole experience hadn’t quite been real. I will never be able to listen to the Elgar concerto in the same way.

Aside from those very awesome things, I spent time with old friends and fantastic new ones, and I wrote and *nearly* finished three short stories that basically just need editing. What are my plans for 2013, aside from taking care of myself?

1. I’m finally going to finish listening to my entire iTunes collection. I have 46.29 GB of music, and I still have a good percentage that I’ve never actually heard. I’ve been vowing this resolution for three years; finally, in 2013, it’s going to happen.
2. I’m going to progress as a violinist. This year, I have a recital as well as grad student auditions I’ve got to prepare. Considering how intense some of the schools are, I’ve got to step up my game. Although I know I can get better, I’m excited to actually put in the work.
3. I’m going to bake more! This fall, I’ve been baking once in a while (one of the reasons this post isn’t as long as some of the others is because I spent all day baking some Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread) but I’m hoping to bake something at least once a month in 2013, something new and delicious and from Pinterest. (I’ve become slightly obsessed with Pinterest…)
4. I’m going to focus on my studies and my music and if a guy happens to come along this year, great. And if he doesn’t, oh well. I’ve got great friends; guys are a (welcome) distraction but I’m going to try to keep from obsessing about finding a relationship this year. Would I like one? Sure. But finding one is definitely not going to be my main priority.
5. Blog posts are going to get awesome. I’ve got a bunch of themes ahead: general life posts, article critiques (thanks everyone who responded to my post about orchestras! I love hearing feedback and that was definitely my most read blog page), Book Reports, Movie Reviews, and a Food Frenzy series (every four cooked items, I’ll post a picture-loaded post with details of my triumphs and failures) for sure. And of course, I’m always looking for new ideas, so don’t hesitate to comment with an idea or two for a new post.

With that out of the way, I’m off with my freshly baked goods to a New Year’s Eve celebration. I’m so excited to get on with 2013, and I wish all of you dear readers a very Happy New Year.

And look for the next blog post by the end of this week!

Until then,

Julia