To the surprise of no one, Gwen Bell announced that there would be no official Reverb11 this year. I’m disappointed — that was an excellent exercise for me. However, it was an excellent exercise for me, so I’m going to do it again this year. I wrote 31 prompts and I’m excited to start ending 2011.
Despite writing new prompts for myself, I want to begin this project with a nod to Reverb10. Today’s prompt comes from Kaileen Elise:
Where did 2011 begin?
Skiing is my big passion, so every year I eagerly wait for cold weather and snow so I can gleefully slide down a mountain. The year never really feels complete until the ski season ends, and this year that was especially true.
This year I was working as a ski instructor in the morning and cooking at night, leading to 60-70 hour work weeks, so the first third of 2011 is largely a sleep-deprived blur. However, by May the weather was finally too warm for the snow to hold up and Tahoe’s amazing 2010/2011 season came to an end. My year began a week later when I performed my end-of-season ritual with my roommate. That ritual pushed us from roommates to friends and hit the reset button for me, so my year began. I moved to Spokane within the week.
I’ve spent this year working to find my place here, trying to define my identity so clearly that I can take it anywhere without feeling like I’m starting over. I’m re-evaluating and rebuilding my core story, examining my beliefs and making room for a little more faith in myself, a little more self-compassion. It has not been an easy year, but last December I recognized that I had a lot of work to do if I wanted to change my life.
I’m not sure when 2012 will begin or how 2011 will end, but I do hope that I end 2011 with copious amounts of gleefully sliding down a mountain and begin 2012 feeling love and compassion for a new friend.
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How do you end the year? Are you participating in a reincarnation of Reverb or some other project? Share the links in the comments.
