…come to an end. I’ve struggled a fair bit with writing this post and have put it off for some time now. This past year has been one of the most turbulent periods of my life. We had a cancer scare in my family (thank you Health Canada for taking damn near six months from screening to biopsy results). I finished my dissertation with support from friends, colleagues and family. The college where I worked had a budget crunch which basically everyone knew was coming, but the college executive elected to wait until the day before we left for spring break to let about 50 of us now that our jobs were either being cut or weren’t being renewed. Meanwhile the strain of living on opposite ends of the world took it’s final toll on K and I. We ended our relationship on amicable terms about two months ago. I wish her nothing but the best out of life. She thrives wherever she goes and I know she will go on to do great things. Telling my folks about it was like breaking up twice over again (because of course mom happened to be on vacation so I had to have the parental talk twice regarding the breakup).

Although it’s been a long year I’m optimistic about the year ahead. Finishing the MA has made me much more employable. This helped alleviate the uncertainty and stress regarding my job at college being gone as well. And though the breakup with K was difficult, I no longer carry the weight and dread over the conversation we both knew had to be had. Over the past three years I’ve gained friends who’ve enriched my life, and helped me in ways they were not even aware. I’m on vacation right now, and my life is different from a year ago. The future is wide open and the seas in my life are calm for the time being.