Yep. One year living in Chicago. It certainly doesn’t feel like I’ve been out here that long. There were a lot of hard times over the last year. Times are still hard right now, but on a macro scale, I think I’m actually doing alright.

Things that happened:

• Slept on 3 different people’s couches in my first 3 months here
• Held two jobs at once for the first time
• Grew an awesome handlebar mustache that I eventually shaved off
• Got a library card and a Kindle and started reading books like mad again
• Went on food stamps for the first (and hopefully only) time
• Became an intern at iO
• Got used to non-Florida winters
• Started an independent improv team
• Successfully made a conscious effort to be nicer
• Met and watched famous people and soon-to-be-famous people perform
• Realized how much a girl meant to me…after it was too late (I legitimately might still be working my way through that one when I do next year’s recap)

So that was year one. I can’t help but feel good about year two. There’s a lot of opportunity to build on the successes of last year, and to learn from the mistakes of the last 23. Thanks for coming with me this far. I hope you’ll stick around a while longer. I promise it will be worth it.