It is now 9:20, Monday night, 12/31/12, and it is New Year’s Eve. I am about to go to the movies with my momma, but as I sit here and write this as an appreciation and symbol of gratitude towards my momma, I begin to think about all the moments that 2012 has brought me, my family, and my friends.

            This year was another 365 page book with each page filled, nearly spilling with ink from the rich memories that God’s grace has blessed me with. The family, the friends, the food, and the fun (The 4 F’s haha) all made 2012 the most memorable year of my life… so far.

            Some things that I remember were that I finished my first year as a student at UC Berkeley and it was incredibly hard. Barely passing with a B in my Physics Electricity and Magnetism class, I was able to receive my first job as a Physics tutor in the UC Berkeley Academic services. I also served a lot in my church as the electric guitarist for the worship team, and for the first time in the fall of 2012, I finally started connecting with my church. At first, things were very awkward because I was still adjusting to the environment and the different way people operate here at Berkeley. At home, my sense of humor is completely unreserved and can be considered very crude at times, but at Berkeley, I had to adjust how much of that craziness I could reveal. Over the course of this year, though, I have slowly been able to release more and more every day. From my quietness to the forest fire of the infamous “sucladuc”, I have started to really find my niche and community at the Ark.

            Speaking of my church, there have been a lot of changes recently to the way leadership looked just a month ago. Two core leaders of the Ark left and we have been trying to understand and deal with the changes. It was okay, however, because there was no bitterness in their resignation. One is going to pursue a degree in seminary in Texas while the other works full time at a House of Prayer in Berkeley. I am very thankful for those two awesome and incredible men in my life and for the brief moment I could learn from them. They taught me a lot, especially the one that was going to seminary, about marriage, relationships, and destiny.

In fact, I decided to take a year of celibacy that will go from July 2012 to July 2013. This year was designed so that I could focus on my pursuit of God, first and foremost, and my pursuit in academics and research so that I can get the right networking and undergraduate credentials. So far, it has been one of the most growing times of my life. This is especially due to my increased learning and giving capacity that I have had in the church. Since starting my job, I have been able to tithe out of my own pocket, so I am very grateful for that. Furthermore, I live with six other older ministry guys who have varying theologies but all incredibly strong walks with God. I have learned so much from them in only the past six months. I thought I learned a lot freshman year of college in terms of wisdom and knowledge of God, but this last fall has been an ever growing season of learning wisdom and maturity; but I am sure that there is more to come in 2013.

So looking back on 2012, I can easily say that it was lived out very well. I think I fulfilled most of what I needed to do, so we will see where God brings me next in 2013. Some obligatory resolutions that I have is to work out three days a week, gain 20 pounds, pray/read Bible daily, read outside book daily, and to swing dance as much as possible! It is going to one heck of a year.