Happy New Year's Eve!

Here in southern California, we're about 90 minutes from midnight and the celebration of a New Year. So I decided to finish this year with a self-portrait. This is also the first time I've gotten a photo with the riding hat that I posted a long, long time ago, but never got brave enough to wear for a blip. So I guess New Year's Eve helped me muster some brave.

Definitely 2012 has been an interesting and challenging year. Thankfully I don't have to recap it because much of it is captured in the pages of this journal. I love Blipfoto. This is my very private, public journal. How crazy is that. It made sense though, when I heard Richard Rodriguez speak last month at our campus.

Rodriguez, author of Hunger of Memory: the Education of Richard Rodriguez, spoke to the students for almost an hour-and-a-half. I took a few notes as he spoke, but the main statement I grabbed a-hold-of was his comment "There are some things so private you can only tell them to a stranger." He was referring to the writing of his book and what a profound experience it was for him to explain what he had dealt with growing-up in California entering the public educational system without being able to speak English. He said the writing of that book helped him to understand himself. He went on to explain that who he was when he wrote that book is not who he is now. I completely identified with his statements.

So this is my very private, public journal - where some things are so private I can only tell them to strangers. This year has had some extremely fabulous moments and some very low, discouraging moments as well. Some of them are captured in this journal.

Happy New Year - 2013 Here we come.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol

P.S. This is also our daughter's 44th birthday.