A Survey of 2012

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?

I made my own little strawberry garden on my balcony. It was very exciting to see the little berries get redder each day! (Yes, I know, I am so elderly lol)

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm pretty sure I didn't. Let me go back and check what they were..

The first one was to stop eating bad foods - well I've been somewhat successful with this one. Haven't had fastfood in a long while, and I'm trying to curb my sweets intake. I guess this will always be a work in progress for me.

Get more exercise - I'm such a sedentary person. Seriously, when it's cold and rainy outside (which is most of the year), I just want to curl up and draw, read books, watch movies, or game. I'm trying to improve upon this, and go for a speedy walk at least once a day.

Get a house - no house yet, I'm sad to say. Hopefully this dream will be fulfilled this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not anyone particularly close, but many, mannnny people on facebook are either pregnant or just had babies. I still feel too immature and too 'young minded' to even consider... reproducing.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, though my eldest aunt did pass away. I don't know that I ever met her, so it didn't impact my life personally as much as it did my mother.

5. What countries did you visit?

None! I've been meaning to visit friends in California but it just hasn't worked out yet. I'd also really love to take my mom on a Euro trip.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

A steady income, selling art, a feeling of success. That would be amazing.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

I don't really remember specific dates, but I do remember specific events... like when my mom's friend's son went to live with his dad (sooo far away)... we were all so sad. When I got a daily deviation for my dryad painting (that was so exciting). When I got an xbox (I feel like such a nerd admitting that one lol).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Probably the growth I've seen in my jewelry business. It makes me so happy to think of all the people wandering the world, wearing my ear cuffs. :)

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not painting enough. For the first part of the year I was still in a major art block/art slump. I'd never experienced one this bad before... I'm fairly certain it was caused by the stress and pressure of art school. I was taking 8 classes at a time, spending over 14hrs a day (including weekends) at school working on assignments, and was exhausted. I think the thing that sucked the passion and inspiration out of me the most was the design assignments. That year we had mostly design classes and few illustration classes... and even in the illustration classes, I couldn't create what I wanted to create...

Though illustration takes a lot of time, it comes easily to me, so I put those assignments off to the side and focused my energy on all of my design projects, since I struggled there the most. So for over six months I was spending an incredible amount of energy on projects that were in a field I was passionless for and had no intention of pursuing, just so I could get good grades.

Then I had a nervous breakdown over the christmas holidays and had to leave the program. I had definitely pushed myself past my limits, and blew a few fuses. For the next year or so I had no passion in me to paint at all. The magical little sparks and ideas of things "I MUST PAINT NOW" no longer came to me. I was like a dead battery or something, that just needed a charge... well, I can thank Christina and Alice for giving me that charge. I saw what they were doing with their work, and suddenly felt like I needed to be doing it again too. I saw part of me in them.. the part of me I must have forgotten.

Now I feel so creative it's overwhelming and fantastic. I'm feeling very positive about my future and art!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope. Pretty sure I didn't get sick once. Sometimes I felt like I might be coming down with something, but nope, I was okay the next day.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Probably my laptop and my xbox. :)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Hah what a weird question. I don't have an answer to this one.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Well this is kind of personal... but lets just say my feelings on this haven't changed.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Definitely jewelry supplies.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My little trip to Kelowna. It had been a long time since I'd done anything remotely exciting or fun, and this was a good change for me.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?

I listen to soooo much music from sooo many different eras that none really remind me of a particular year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? happier.

b) thinner or fatter? probably a little fatter, but who knows.

c) richer or poorer? I feel richer on the inside, but on the outside, it's the same as last year.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Painted more.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Sitting on my ass wasting time.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Very untraditionally. Me and my mom slept over at our family friends house and had spicy chicken and rice for dinner and apple pie for dessert. Me and the kids played call of duty all night. Good times. ;)

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?

No. Maybe this year?

22. How many one-night stands?

This is another personal one, eh?

23. What was your favourite TV program?

The Walking Dead, Dexter, and the Ian Somerhalder Diaries. :P

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No, none that I can think of. Over the past year I've kind of isolated myself. Sometimes I feel I get lost in the lives and emotions of others, and "lose myself". I want to focus on me and where I need to go instead.

25. What was the best book you read?

I didn't read as much as I would have liked. I read Pride and Prejudice again, of course. I read the first couple books in the Fifty Shades of Grey series... over all not impressed with the writing, insane amounts of sex, and weak characters. I recently got a wholllle bunch of books at the used bookstore, so I am looking forward to lots of reading this winter.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

A few 'new to me' Led Zeppelin songs that made me quite happy.

27. What did you want and get?

A good laptop and an xbox.

28. What did you want and not get?

An Ipad - still working on that one.

29. What was your favourite film of this year?

I enjoyed quite a few:

Cabin in the Woods

21 Jump Street

Magic Mike

Prometheus

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

26, I drank wine, and had cake with my mum and Tracy.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

To be living in a house, for sure. To have my art studio room.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?

Oh my god. Horrible. This is something I'm definitely trying to improve upon this year.

33. What kept you sane?

Happy Pills. Will power.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Norman Reedus, Ian Somerhalder, Channing Tatum

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

So so many. But I try not to talk about this too much.

36. Who did you miss?

Marcus!

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Tabitha, hands down! We'd gone to elementary school together for a couple years, and then high school, but we never really hung out together. Then, because of facebook, we reconnected and discovered we shared a lot of similar interests and decided to hang. :)

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.

Well the first one that comes to mind is that keeping a blog is very valuable. It helps me to stay focused and work on my dreams, and at the end of the year, I can review everything I've done or not done, and make a better plan for the new year.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I'm gonna marry the night

I won't give up on my life

I'm a warrior queen

live passionately, tonight


I'm gonna marry the dark

make love to the stark

I'm a soldier to my

own emptiness

I am a winner


I'm gonna marry the night


(Lady Gaga)


Feel free to fill one out yourself and link me to it! :)