The Last Year

A year ago, I was up here, in Canada, looking for a house. A year ago today, I was snuggled under one of Grandma's quilts with my cousins, watching a movie.
This last year has been good. I've made lots of new friends, and made better judgments. I've enjoyed the privacy that I've allowed myself in school. I hardly know anyone, and I'm actually quite content with that. I used to know so many people that every class I was in, someone would talk to me, which is great, but it's nice to just sit, do classwork, get reading done, and relax. I don't have commitments every weekend with friends. I have been able to add responsibilities as I go.
That being said, I'm not a loner! :) I have formed a close circle of friends that I get along well with, who take as much pleasure from drama as I do. I'm closer to my small group at church than I was to the one in Katy, and we get together outside of church for dinner or at youth events.
School is also so much more relaxing. Weeks like these last few have been chaotic (I have 5 projects due in the next four days) I have to keep reminding myself that I get 8-10 hours of sleep. In Katy I'd be lucky to get 7. I am doing well in my classes and learning relevant relational things. In Katy, I would be feeling bogged down with hypotheticals and historical facts, worrying so much about the memorization that I forget the importance.
Here, I have had more opportunity to have Spanish oral practice in class. I have had more presenting opportunities in my other classes. I have written more essays, poems, and short stories than probably all the essays, poems, and short stories I had written before this year combined (minor exaggeration).
My beliefs have been challenged more- especially in debate. Canada is much more liberal than the US, and my school is one of the more liberal schools in Calgary. The conservative government party is called "progressive conservative," for goodness sakes. Probably about 10% of the school population is gay. Biology is taught from a solely evolutionary standpoint. Sex-ed is not abstinence only. Though Christianity is not publicly criticized, it is considered a religious minority, which leads to some interesting discussions.
I've had more time to spend with family here, and though I miss many of my friends dearly, I still keep in touch with most of them, and will see most next week. :)