A Year in Review

2012 was a much anticipated year...

A grand Noreaster, the Presidential Election, the end of the world... Well, at least two out of three occurred and we're still here to tell the tale...

For me, 2012 was a year of risk-taking. I graduated college a semester early in 2011 to open many doors that would lead me to the newest adventures life had to offer a college grad.

This year was an incredible journey. I moved to a new city with no plans but that of an apartment and a roommate, secured my first big-girl job, gained friendships, lost a few, and learned new things about myself that I didn't know before...

Like that I do indeed have a neat-freak inside of me that wishes for dusted windowsills and lemon-scented wood furniture. I have learned that in the next coming year, I need to control will-power to a stronger degree yet let my heart be vulnerable. I learned that while being independent is vital for the growth of self, it can alienate should it take control of how you steer around your relationships.

I've read a few good books, like "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker Jr. and of course a Nicholas Sparks favorite- "Safe Haven". I've stumbled upon music artists I can't believe I've lived 22 years without- Ed Sheeran and Peter Bradley Adams...

The list goes on and on. But one thing's for sure. I'm ready for this new year. Because with each passing day, we find new and exciting things and people that propel us closer to the individual we are supposed to become. Thank-you, Father time, for 2012 and all we've gathered and given away.

Who We Look Up To

It's no secret- People fall head-over-heels for pop-culture figures and their flashy entrances on the red carpet, or their embarrassing stunts in front of the paparazzi. It's a phenomenon that is sweeping our brainwaves and seems to be sticking like glue. But with so much going on behind the curtain, how can we be so blind to ignore some of these interesting people making a difference... no spotlight required.

Salman Khan

Salman Khan began his popular math-tutorial website to benefit his teenage cousin with her math homework from across the globe. His site, khanacademy.org now has over three thousand tutorials for students and teachers alike to follow and utilize to enhance performance in the classroom. Knowledge is power, and the man behind it is powerful!

Ben Rattray

Taking the idea of Change into his own hands, Rattray created the website Change.org, a platform that invites every single person to share their stories, ideas, and plans for change. It is on this website that we see personal accounts of why change is vital for the better of our people, economy, and world as whole. It also provides free-speech opportunities to other countries under protest and political scrutiny. 

Elinor Ostrom
 

In 2009, Ostrom was the first woman to receive a Nobel prize for economics, placing emphasis on the importance of collective action in the world's most urgent, emerging issues. At 78 years old, this incredible figure has done field studies of the world's fisheries, traveled with shepherds in the Swiss countryside and looked around the Los Angeles water basin. Her goal: to bring the realization to light that in order to preserve our world, we must overcome selfish interests.

All of these incredibly inspiring stories (and so many more) can be found here, published by Time.

So the next time you find yourself getting caught up in the Kardashian klan, the recent reject of the Bachelorette, or J-Lo's moves in techno-flashy music videos, think to yourself-
"Who am I looking up to?"