2010, you taught me what it is to have love by showing me what it is to lose it; you taught me the value of success by showing me what it is to fail; you taught me what it means to have family by showing me what it means to be isolated; you taught me what it means to create by showing me what destruction leaves behind; you taught me what it means to be strong by showing me what it means to feel weak; and you taught me the value of answers by showing me only questions.
And yet, I'm here. Weathered and tired but full of as much life as there was death to feel over the past year. 2011, whatever it is you may have in store for me, I hope to match that with what I have in store for you. But alas, you are indeed the personification of time itself, 2011, and time in the end will always win over my life.
Unless, that is, I also invest in the lives of others. Through legacy, we can live forever. And it is my mission -- my duty -- to make that legacy a good one. In 2011 I will take what you have taught me, 2010, so that I can truly begin to invest in others. It is time.
Through confronting death, we learn how to live.
