Wow. The year 2007 has already come and gone.
Yesterday, my dad assigned
my brother and me to write a paper for school. The papers' setting was to be on December 31st of
2008, and we were to write as if we were looking back on our year of 2008. That night, we read our papers to the family (dad even wrote one, too). The papers were all very good (if I don't say so myself. ;)
:joke: ), and it was neat to see what my brother and my dad wanted accomplished in 2008.
In conclusion, here is my essay where I give account of what I would like my year of 2008 to be like (of course, it's all up to God ;) ).
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The Year 2008 of My Life
A fictional essay written by Elizabeth F. on December 31st, 2007
A lot has happened to me this past year: turning 18, school and activities, and growing in Christ. Now sit back and enjoy my recap of this past wonderful year!January was like any other January; however, I had an early birthday gift from the wonderful B. family. They treated me to dinner at an authentic Japanese restaurant. I had so much fun! The atmosphere was incredibly realistic and beautiful – I thought I was actually in Japan! We all sat at a very low table and sat on mats (I made sure I sat in the proper Japanese way), and we ate wonderfully traditional and totally different food! I had sticky, white rice (of course), Makizushi (which is sushi rolled up in dried seaweed), Sukiyaki (a dish made of noodles, edible chrysanthemum leaves, Tofu, and onions), and other such dishes of which I don’t know the names. The food was all very different, and unfortunately, I didn’t quite like all the dishes that I ordered. When were almost ready to leave, I thanked the nakai-san (the waitress) in Japanese. She looked pleasantly surprised, and said; ‘you’re welcome’.
January 20th, Michael and Nichole were married. It was so surreal; it was so hard to believe it had happened! The wedding was so neat, and it was quite and experience to be a bridesmaid. Nichole looked so beautiful in her dress and Michael looked very handsome in his Army Greens. It was all so beautiful and wonderful and fun!
On February ninth, I had my 18th birthday party. I had an Asian-styled birthday party, I invited many of my friends, and it was so fun! We all had fun playing Korean jacks, making origami projects, playing a Wii, (graciously loaned to me by the Lucas family), learning short and simple Asian songs and phrases, and performing a small ensemble of songs from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, “The Mikado”. The food was very good! We had sticky, white rice (once again, of course), and there were several party platters from the Chinese/American restaurant, “Panda Express”, which had one of my favorite foods from the restaurant, orange fried chicken. Yummy! Because my birthday was three days after the beginning of the Chinese New Year, I gave everyone small Chinese and Asian-styled gifts, and everyone loved them. Oh, I had such a wonderful birthday!
In March and April, for my
literature class, I read the book of Acts in the New Testament and all of Virgil’s Aeneid. Reading Acts was very uplifting (it was a whole ton better than the Aenied!) – I’ve learned that the New Testament is much easier to read and comprehend than the Old Testament. The Aenied was of course the typical Roman gods and goddesses stuff (yuck) but I did enjoy the writing and adventure of the storyline. I never thought that I would be one to enjoy stories such as Virgil’s Aeneid, and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, but I guess my love for reading has made me appreciate the writing and adventures of those century-old stories.
My family celebrated a wonderful Mother’s Day. We all got Mom gifts and we ate cake and ice-cream and we played Mexican Trains, Scrabble, and Yahtzee, which was a lot of fun.
I also celebrated
Hannah P.'s birthday with her. I couldn’t believe she had turned 17! I remember celebrating her 12th birthday! Wow, that is weird…
On Your Toes Studios was also preparing for its ballet performance, “With an Everlasting Love”, and
Melissa asked if I could help with behind-the-scenes work. I went to all the main rehearsals and helped organize the little girl dancers (making sure they were in their correct line up for their dances, and such). It was fun to see my friends again, and to work with all of the dancers.
May 15th was my last literature class for the year. I really enjoyed having taken another year from
Mrs. English. I had very good grades for that year. My average was “A”. At first I was a little disappointed, because last year my average was “A+”, but then I thought about it and realized that that “
Classical Literature” was much harder than the previous year’s “
English Literature”, and I had done my best in all I had done.
On Memorial Day, my family and I visited Jennifer’s grave, like we do every year. The visit was filled with memories and a little sadness. We all miss her. She would have been 13 years-old (which is kind of weird when you think about it. Where would my family be if she hadn’t died? I wonder how different my family would be as in interaction. It wasn’t, however, God’s plan to keep her with us. It was her time to go home, and I look forward to seeing her there.
On May 31st, OYT Studios had its ballet performance, “With an Everlasting Love”, which was an allegorical tale about God’s everlasting love for His chosen. It was set in Spain, and the music and choreography was very fun to watch. It was neat to see how much my friends’ dancing and acting had improved, and it was fun to work backstage.
Also in May was a music recital for
Northwest Worship Academy. Christopher and I played a song together, and I also played a song with Hannah P.. Everyone did very well and all of the songs played were praiseworthy and God-glorifying.
June and July were two very fun months. My family celebrated Father’s Day, Independence Day, and I had lots of get-togethers with my friends. July 1st, was Canada day, and I sent a lot of funny cards out to friends (especially the L. family. They had quite a laugh out of it!).
One thing that was very encouraging about those two months was that I read a lot of the Bible and God revealed Himself so much to me. It was (and is) so beautiful to look at His everlasting grace and love.
August was pretty much all fun and games. My family and I just relaxed and did no activities. We did, however get ready for the upcoming school year.
In September, I started taking
literature classes again. It has been my third year with
Mrs. English and I am learning and studying
American Literature. It is interesting to read stories by famous people I had heard about but never read their works. I can’t wait to read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. I have heard from the other students that it is a very good story.
October, November, and December were pretty much the same: piano lessons, and literature class. Thanksgiving was just my family all together and it was a load of fun. Christmas was a lot of fun, too. It was fun to buy gifts for people (and to receive gifts!). To reflect on God’s Gift to us was a very beautiful time, as well…
I hope you have enjoyed me telling you about this past year. It has been such a joy and privilege to be able to tell you about how God had (and has) worked in my life, and the experiences and joys he has given me and my family.
