melissaburgess

Reflecting Back on 2014

Posted on January 3, 2015January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

In mid-December of 2013, I posted a “reflection” entry, looking back on that year and all the new things I had done. Today, we stand at January 2015, so my apologies for being a bit late with this, but I’d like to keep it going and do a similar reflection entry for the year of 2014.

The year saw a lot of new, wonderful experiences for me. I was also able to re-visit some old places and enjoyed those, as well. I connected with some amazing new people and reconnected with old friends. Overall — it was a good year for me, so thank you, 2014, for treating me so well.

Here is my list, in bullet-type form:

Visited four new states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan)
An incredible Washington, D.C. trip including a visit to the Capitol, Library of Congress, Arlington National Cemetery, Georgetown, etc.
Solo trip to Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario for a pair of hockey games and sightseeing
Added another Finger Lake to my roster (Skaneateles)
Visited my third MLB ballpark // first NY Mets game
Visited four new NHL arenas (NY Rangers, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings)
Got my second tattoo
Had the chance to attend TEDx Buffalo (first time)
Got a full-time job working in communications
Saw a wonderful host of theater, including Matilda: The Musical, Jersey Boys and Phantom of the Opera, all in NYC
Purchased season tickets to Shea’s and saw: Evita, Wicked, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mamma Mia, Cinderella
Attended many great concerts: Demi Lovato, Cher Lloyd, Fifth Harmony, X Ambassadors, Tokyo Police Club, 5 Seconds of Summer, One Direction

That was my year, boiled-down to 12 bullet points. While that list doesn’t even begin to cover the details, or even cover everything that made the year 2014 a spectacular one, it’s a good start.

I can only hope that whatever 2015 will bring, it will be just as good or perhaps even better. In this moment, I feel as though my life is on a great track, and I am so incredibly blessed to have all the wonderful opportunities I have. I hope that at the year’s end in roughly 12 months from now, I will be in just as great a place as I am now.

Miscellaneous

The Newest Year

Posted on January 2, 2015January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

Here we are. The new year is finally upon us, and with it, many wonderful things (and some that will be not-so wonderful, but let’s brush those aside for now.) The beginning of a new year is always a time for reflection. Reflecting on the year – or years – past, yes, but moreso, reflecting on the future. Considering what we want to change in our lives, setting goals and resolutions (some of which may last weeks, others just days, maybe some, months).

Overall, the beginning of a new year is a great time for us to examine our lives and the path we’re headed on, and determine where we want to go from here.

Continue reading “The Newest Year” →

Books

Reading Goals for 2015

Posted on January 1, 2015January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

My goal for the year of 2015 is to read 52 books, amounting to (essentially) one book per week. I’ll be using this post throughout the year to keep a list of what books I read, but you can also follow me on Goodreads to keep track of my progress there. This page is always accessible on my blog by clicking the “Books” tab near the top of the page.

Books Read in 2015

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
Every Day by David Levithan
Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirzig
Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Expecting to Fly: A Sixties Reckoning by Martha Tod Dudman
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
Teach Me by R.A. Nelson
The God Box by Alex Sanchez
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
Mindfulness for Beginners by John Baskin
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
99 Days by Katie Cotugno
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Four Secrets by Margaret Willey
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
First There Was Forever by Juliana Romano
The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas
Read Between the Lines by Jo Knowles
The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre
Girls Don’t Fly by Kristen Chandler
Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald
A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith
The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
The Secrets of Attraction by Robin Constantine
Giving Up The V by Serena Robar
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
Choosing Glee by Jenna Ushkowitz
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn
Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Update — July 28, 2015 — 43/52

Miscellaneous

The Game of Life

Posted on December 29, 2014January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

“The world is not black and white; in its entirety and even in the most specific aspects, the world around us is one giant gray area. There is always movement, both forward and backward. Structures are built and then torn down – both physical buildings and in other ways, like the hierarchy of positions in a corporation or the building blocks that compose a friendship. Life is not black and white. The things you lose may come back to you someday, or they may not. They may never return, lost for eternity in the space that surrounds us. Or they may return, in the same way as before or in another way. You will change, you will grow, and sometimes, you will revert back to who you were before. It is all a grey area.”

The above paragraph is something I’ve had sitting in my drafts since early September of this year. For months, I left it there and intended to write more, to either expand on those thoughts or try to continue them in some way, but (clearly) I have been unable to do so. Alas, here it is, nearly the end of December. Much has changed in these few months, but I’m going to try to expand on my thoughts now, all these days later.

I think it’s important to realize this, the world is one big gray area. Nothing is certain. Everything can be destroyed; the wonderful flowering moments, but also the terrible ones. Good things can fall down, but bad things can be destroyed as well. The fact that nothing is certain can be exciting or scary; thrilling or terrifying; or maybe a little bit of both.

The point is this. Life is not black and white. Life is not certain. Things can come back full-circle or not at all. Some things will stay, other things will leave you, but it’s the impression those things leave that truly counts.

We are all moving pieces in the game of life. Sometimes we jump three spaces forward, other times we sink back a few slots. Some days we may sit exactly where we are, sometimes for weeks, months, years on end. But nothing is certain, everything is gray, and life keeps going.

A Better You, Uncategorized

Going Back, While Going Forward

Posted on December 26, 2014January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

Last weekend, I (briefly) visited Conesus Lake, one of the smaller Finger Lakes. We visited the lake at the very top of it, at a place called Vitale Park.

This was my first time there since 2008 when I first visited Conesus Lake – and that very same park – with my aunt, and it really just hit me how we can return to places and have such different experiences years later, and reflect on how much has changed in that span of time.

For instance, my visit in 2008 was with my aunt, whom I love dearly and only get to see a couple of times a year. It was my first-ever Finger Lakes trip, but I still remember it pretty well. We stayed in the area with one of her friends and their family for a weekend, and the park was our last stop before heading back to Buffalo. It was sometime in the summer – August, I believe. I was 17, newly graduated from high school and heading to college.

This visit, it’s 2014, mid-December, with my boyfriend – his first-ever Finger Lakes trip.

We only briefly visited the lake, as we had spent some time in Rochester, about 30 minutes north. But I suggested the visit because of its proximity, and I thought it would be a nice little excursion before returning to reality. The lake was mostly not frozen and it was just as beautiful as it was back in 2008. I’m 24 now, and so much in my life has changed since that first trip.

Obviously that’s to be expected – it’s six years later, after all, so of course things aren’t the same!

I’ve certainly grown in many ways, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. But my life has also grown, and it is becoming exactly what I want it to be. I’m shaping my life and I will continue to do this as the years pass.

I suppose it’s just a nice feeling to have all of these things changed in my life and yet be able to return to a place I visited years ago and have another wonderful experience there. It’s like I’m constantly going forward and have made so many steps in those years, but I was still able to go back, and on even better terms.