2018 in review

Dr. Peach

Dr. Peach

Rest in Peace Walkazo 1991-2016
Banned User
It's that time of the year again. I figured we'd reflect on 2018 as we bid the year farewell. We should talk about how this year's been like.

Here are the good things that happened:
*I got both my GameCube and Wii U modded.
*I managed to play and beat Super Mario Sunshine.
*I redid my Grade 9 Math in summer school as Applied.
*I got my tech job for co-op.
* I have two new computers, new desktop and my laptop.

Here are the worst things that happened:

*The loss of Stephen Hawking
*The loss of Stefán Karl Stefánsson (man he revolutionized our childhoods and the internet with You are a Pirate and We are Number One)
*The loss of Stephen Hillenburg (man he defined our childhood and the internet with Spongebob).
 
Here's my good and bad things this year.
Good things:
*Got a ton of George Jones albums
*Inherited a family heirloom as I was deemed worthy of having my late father's ring.
*Had an epic birthday
*Got a guitar
*Got Ultimate
*Managed to fix a ton of stuff
*Got a new dog
*Had a wonderful Thanksgiving
*Had and epic Christmas.

Bad things:
*I got the flu, I'm better now
*I keep on getting mouth ulcers aka canker sores, putting salt on it helps me cope
*Hurricane Florence forced me to evacuate. I hope it gets retired 'cause I don't want to deal with another Florence, even if it causes minimal damage.
*My mother fell ill
*Of all the legends and people I knew well died. Here's a list: Stephen Hawking, John McCain, Stan Lee, Stephen Hillenburg, and George H. W. Bush.
*The Camp Fire out in California
*Hurricane Michael, it destroyed Mexico Beach. I feel bad for the people who lost loved ones and homes. I was affected, albeit not as strong as I thought it would be. I had minimal impacts, thank God.
 
The good:
-I completed seventh grade, and eighth grade is so much better
-I got Kirby Star Allies, which almost single-handedly made me a diehard Kirby fan
-I got Smash Ultimate
-I became the tallest in my household (well, my dad is still taller, but still)
-My huge appetite actually did something for once and I'm not as skinny as I previously was

The bad:
-I still weigh much lower than I should
-My muscles are still nonexistent
-A bunch of legendary people died
-I got both braces and herpst appliance
-The hurricanes were disastrous

The ugly:
-My 3DS broke
 
I don't remember much of the year. I hurt my back. I enjoyed the first half but my memory of the second half is really hazy because of morning shifts. I got offered a manager title again (inventory), but just like the last one (meat) it wasn't a promotion or pay rise; it was just a name so I rejected it for night shifts. I don't think anything else significant happened.
 
This year was freaking intense. Lots of highs, lots of lows.

- Went to Japan. My first time out of Australia. So good, can't wait to go back.
- Left a job for the first time
- Started another job
- Got laid off due to stuff out of my control
- Spent about 3 months unemployed, living off savings, being really bored
- Built my first computer
- Got my license
- Got back into streaming. Within the last week I finally made Twitch Affiliate so now I can make Internet dollarydoos off it (though I have yet to make any Internet dollarydoos)
- Went back to the job I originally left

What a year
 
I miss 2018 it was a good year for me. It's the year I finally started my adult life.

The Good:
-On April my Australian friend Dippy came to visit me for a week. That was like my highlight of the year.
-In May I graduated college with highest honors
-Became ASCP certified in medical technology
-In June got hired at an hospital as a part-time lab tech
-I got an apartment and now live with my fiance of 6 years
-In November I got a cat. I named her Tanooki because of her striped tail shes so precious
-in december my sister came to visit after not seeing her for solid few years. that was nice surprise

The Bad:
-My dad skimps out of my college graduation just like did for the high school one. oof
-lost my health insurance mid-way of getting treatment for a congenital condition i had bigger oof
-I miss my moms cooking
-Stephen Hillenburg unfortunately passed away :(
 
2018 was probably the greatest year in anime that i've ever watched. winter specially with ameagari, violet evergarden, sora yori mo tooi basho, mitsuboshi colors, and of course yuru camp, but also the rest of the year with wotakoi, lupin iii part 5, amanchu s2, yama no susume s3, yagate kimi ni naru, basically just some of the best animes i've ever seen although i still have yet to watch ssss.gridman or hisone to maso-tan which were suppose to be really good. also, the best online game of all time came out for nintendo switch: splatoon 2 version 3.0
 
Last year was easily the harshest roller coaster of a year I've ever had. Some of the ups and downs that I had were in direct correlation with one another, so you'll see a bit of this in my list. This is also assuredly far from every good thing and bad thing that's happened to me, just the bits I can think of off the top of my head.

The Good
*Took part in my school's Fall Show as a Stage Manager, which is easily the best show I've been a part of
*Hosted my first Killing Game
*Gained two new leadership opportunities in this community, as well as moderation status in other ones
*Developed new, powerful relationships
*Performed this really awesome "monologue" earlier this year that scared my entire class
*Got into the highest level writing class at my school, which also involved going on a fantastic retreat
*Joined/formed some other new communities
*Played the dog in Summer Shakespeare, and apparently I stole the show
*School dances are always fun
*Helped form a new committee at my school, which is going wonderfully
*Went on the annual family camping trip over the summer
*Discovered my love for walks!

The Bad
*Overbooking myself to the extreme at the end of last school year
*Children's Theatre Company specifically was a horrible time
*Had to miss an entire family vacation for Fall Show
*Going into this school year, carried over plenty of self-destructive tendencies
*Lost some of my most important friendships
*Played the dog in Summer Shakespeare
*Didn't get into the Winter Show
*Kind of lost grip on plenty of school assignments early on
*Some new communities fell flat on their face
*Overall, just not a good mental state at all compared to all of my previous years

The Ugly
*My dog had to be put down. I had a dream about her last night. I still miss her every day.
*Home situation is not any better than what it was before
*Mental state. I'm trying my hardest going into 2019 with a flushed mind, but we'll have to see what happens

But there's a fourth point I'd like to add to this list, and it's
The Beautiful
*I learned a lot about myself. Last year was a chance at self-discovery. I was challenged with who I was, who the people around me were, and what was important to me. It was a year of growth and reflection, and I'm still discovering more and more to this day. I can't say every bad thing that happened in 2018 is excused because of this, but they all are responsible for this growth. I think, though, that while I grew plenty through hardship and heartache, I also grew through compassion, endearment, comfort, friends, family, and love. The ending of last year, while certainly far from perfect, reminded me a lot of that, and I don't want to forget that moving forward.
*I've got a new mindset. Because life is far more than what you want to become, or where you want to go. Before, I was always told life is a static thing: either you're dead, or you're alive. But it's not just that. It's every individual moment and relationship that makes you who you are today.

I guess that got a little preachy towards the end, but I get excited to share that because it's an important discovery that I really want to focus on, moving forward. Hopefully 2019 is a far, far better year, and if it isn't, well, that means I've still got some growing to do.
 
Winter v1.0
January 01 / March 19
*Dog exists.
*Turned 17.
*Passed math class with a 73, after starting the year with a 27.
*Found family's Nikon D60. Kindled a passionate love of photography.
*Menstrual cycle finally stabilized after 6 years. Don't want it to be stable, but it means achieved healthiness.
*Entered a bad 9-month relationship.

Spring
March 20 / June 20
*Dog exists.
*Started and strengthened a new friend group.
*Started my detransition and my road to self-discovery.
*Fully mingled with a Canadian Love Live group, and made a really good set of IRL friends.
*Met current partner through said group.
*Left the community for quite a long time, in part due to misguidement, but it also helped me re-evaluate.
*Begun to feel emotionally distant.

Summer
June 21 / September 21
*Dog exists.
*Bought a Riko nesoberi.
*Started therapy.
*Went to an exchange program, got heat-stroke every day for a week, and had to leave early.
*Hit one of the lowest points of my life.
*Was no longer allowed to talk about certain topics or express parts of my identity.
*Was almost forced to leave long-time friends behind.

Autumn
September 22 / December 20
*Dog exists.
*Got Canada-wide third-place with a team in a hacking competition.
*Left 9-month long relationship.
*Came back to the Mario Boards.
*Got accepted into my top University with a scholarship.
*Re-explored my identity as being pansexual.
*Mostly transitioned my name back to Sofia.
*Got diagnosed with depression.
*Didn't feel any sort of happiness for about a week and a half.
*Almost requested to be hospitalized.

Winter v2.0
December 21 / December 31
*Dog exists.
*Bought another Riko nesoberi.
*My crush and I confessed we liked each other.
*Entered a relationship at exactly midnight on Christmas Eve.
*Depressed, but more stable.
*Still am highly unsure of my identity, who I am, and am a bit scarred after this year's events.

I had a lot of high points, but the low points were extremely overpowering. 2018 has been a year of regrets, forgiveness, and self-expression.

I hold my head high for 2019!
 
The Good stuff:

-I was able to pull through finals and passed to tenth grade. I can internationally say now, I'm a high-scholar. What a great and satisfying feeling, finally freeing myself from the hell that was last year's studies.
-I progressed quite a lot in drawing and art in general, I can start feeling an artist awaken in me. For a long time I've been searching for something I could really explore in a way that would make it my passion, and this... this might be it.
-And with the art, comes the creativity, an even better asset I've developed. And you know, taking those two factors in, maybe I can find some career that gets my mind working like that.
-I made better friends, ones that actually care about and wanna be around me. Had to... "ditch" some people, and stop pursuing some whose attention I desperately wanted, but in the end, it turned out to be the smartest decision I've done when it comes to that. That also means I've eliminated an incredible amount of toxic people from my life, thank god!

The Bad stuff:

-Some family problems have taken place between us. That settled down a bit, but wait until school starts again next week.
-While I found great friends to replace the ones from before, I HAVE worked a lot to get those, and thinking that all those years I wasted my care on people who wouldn't even talk to me without me intervening, it just feels like I lost a pretty big portion of my life, on nothing.
-School projects get stressful, and that's gonna be a running theme this year too.
-A dog was found on a piece of land my dad owns, she was supposed to be ours because her mother abandoned her there, but an incident happened... I'm not sure she's dead... but she's gone now...
 
Bad:

-Depression and frustration


Good:

-Still refuse to get killed by it
 
The Good:
-Found out who I was and came out as gay to multiple people, including my dad
-Me and my boyfriend's entire history started on January 31, we started our relationship on September 5
-Got to meet my best friend, who lives in Peru
-Threw my 159 at bowling, the third highest score I've heard of in my age group (165 and 189 were the better ones)
-Started publishing my stories to good reception
-Got drawn a ton of times
-Posted my most famous tweet, which got to over 2100 retweets
-Had a job over the summer working for the town my mom works for, which I enjoyed

The Bad:
-Got diagnosed with clinical depression
-Got emotionally abused by my mom for the majority of the year
-Living with a homophobe for a mom is hard
-Lots of stomach problems
-Another event from March 16 that I won't talk about here

The Ugly:
-I don't actually know how to fill in this section
 
Good things:
- Got my job back (long story short, labor laws suck)
- Got my first ever lead in a play
- Almost sang a solo at Solo/Small Group contest (I say almost because we got rained out and couldn't go)
- Came back to the boards finally
- Got a girlfriend
- Met and became friends with some of the greatest people I know
- Got a better phone
- Was introduced to one of my new favorite games
- Was put in charge of my school's GSA
- Improved myself in both acting and singing
- Met some awesome Iowa thespians
- Joined a song dubbing community full of some really nice people
- Saw Phantom of the Opera and got to meet my second cousin who was in the show
- Became a basketball manager
- Turned 17
- Got a new laptop

Bad things:
- Severely overworked myself in January/February
- Got into my first ever car crash (worst day and following week of my life)
- Broke up with previously mentioned girlfriend after about four months (though it was mutual, so it wasn't all that bad)
- Let my mental state deteriorate to the point of not being motivated for anything that wasn't choir/theatre
- I still isolate myself/have a hard time connecting to people as a result of events that caused me to leave the boards in the first place

I'm more than ready for a fresh start. 2019... Bring it on.
 
Good things
Democrats retake the house in the 2018 midterms. We still got a blue wave even though the margin they have isn't great.
CVS is getting sued for having homeopathic products
This stupid ass (or ironically brilliant) hashtag #transMenAreNotWomen created by transphobic terfs who show us that they're abject morons
I got a boyfriend
Progressed a lot in 3D modeling
Got a new phone (OnePlus model) and a hand-me-down tablet so I can actually read news sites that I used to be unable to because I was using the old ass Android HTC One.
Storage drive might be dead, but got a new one that's twice the size.
Listening to tons of more music
Smash Ultimate
Re-elected moderator of RationalWiki, elected as board member, but didn't attend board meetings yet

Bad things
Donald Trump being a shit head
Stocks plummeting, which I suppose is expected after Republican tax cuts
Bolsnaro feasting his rapey eyes on the Amazon rainforest
My bird needing to get euthanized, and also I had to spend $400 earlier this year on her because I didn't know what illness she had, but she has relentless gout
Fucking mass shootings this year and the NRA and its followers being shitbags
Climate change deniers not dead yet (k I mean politically neutered)
Anti-vaxxers taking foothold in Italy, and anti-vaxxination movement still being alive
 
Positives:
~ Learned some new handy-dandy tricks and techniques in Flash.
~ Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in all of it's glory.
~ Staying true to my word and not migrating accounts again like I've done every year prior to 2018.
~ Adventure Time's stellar ending.
~ Got a bunch of new games and WoN figures.

Negatives:
~ Accidentally bricking my laptop for that short period of time.
~ My border collie passed away a few months ago, she lived to be 19.
~ First emotional breakdown I've experience in years.
~ Lots of stagnating and procrastination, very little progress has been made.
 
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