What's Your End of Year Review Like?

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I can't believe Christmas is on Friday!  Where did the year go?  With the end in sight, it's made me reflect on the past year.  There were a lot of highs - I graduated from college and participated in a life changing leadership program.  There were a lot of lows - Chico was diagnosed with cancer and I still have no job prospects almost 8 months after graduation.  I met a lot of inspiring people and got to do a lot of amazing things.  Overall, it was a year of growth.

I will never regret going to college in any way, shape, or form.  I didn't just learn stuff from textbooks, I learned a lot about myself.  But I thought that finding a job would be so much easier with a degree and I'm finding it's actually been harder.  I was living off a maxed out credit card for a little bit, then cashed out a very small retirement fund from an old job.  I used that to buy a laptop and a cell phone thinking that my paycheck from the nonprofit job that I've been waiting to start would replace the money I spent.  I was about 90% certain that I had the job, only they emailed me on Friday to say that they decided not to fill the position.  Now I'm freaking out because my tiny retirement fund is almost gone and I'll be right back to living on a maxed out credit card again very soon.  I'm hoping 2016 will bring some much needed peace and a job.

Thank you to everyone for the kind comments regarding my decision not to give Chico the chemo treatment.  I worried people might be judgmental, but everyone was so supportive.  I go back and forth several times a day still, but in my heart I feel like it's the right decision for him.  I'll do everything I can to make sure his last days are happy and filled with love.  For right now, at least, he's doing well and takes advantage of extra cuddle time.  He'll let me know when it's time to go.

I don't know what kind of plant this is, but I've been waiting for it to bloom since I got it back in February!  The first bud took what felt like a century to open and I was so excited that I had to share it!  There are 3 more much smaller buds that will hopefully open up soon.