The first words, or lyrics, spoken in the film paticularly caught my ear tonight:
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee,
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love.
The end of 2010 is only 10 days away so I'm going to take some time and words to mull over my year. I've never really thought about 'measuring' my year as such but now seems as good a time as any. I think the best way to measure a year is in, as the song says, love. So here goes.
MY YEAR IN LOVE:
Relationships.
If I think back to the very beginning of this year, I was in a relationship. To be perfectly honest I'd completely forgotten about it until now. It wasn't serious, it wasn't really going anywhere and it hasn't been missed but the experience can't be faulted. It gave me some insight into myself and I only grew as a person.
Friends.
In terms of love with friends, I can only jump around with happiness and laugh till the cows come home. A slight hitch in holiday plans for the end of the current school/college year caused a rift in the friendship group I frequented (I make it sound like a bar...) and things were tense. All soon righted itself though and we may have a obvious split in the group of about ten people, but it's for the best. I now have four incredibly close friends who I could not love more. Experiences over years and months have only brought us further together and I believe I have never had a single argument with any one of them. Small disagreements maybe, but nothing to shatter glass or bring tears. I couldn't ask for a stronger friendship than that I hold with those four.
The last month or so has brought me a new friend. Well, not necessarily new as I have known him for at least a year now, but it is only recently he has become a friend I would hate to lose. Some drama has surrounded him recently and through it all I've sat by and listened because thats all he needed. I've stood my ground for him because thats all he needed and just like the four mentioned previously, I couldn't love him more. For any of the five I hold very close to my heart, I would walk to the ends of the earth and back if it would save their lives or simply make them happy. (I forget just how soppy I can become sometimes).
Family.
To put it simply, my family is not close. We've never been close. Arguments are not a rarity in my house as we all very opinionated. However, the past year seems to have changed us all as individuals and as a family unit. I used to come in from college, throw my bags and folders down, run upstairs and not leave my room, except for dinner. My brother used to come home from work, run upstairs and not leave his room, except for dinner. My sister used to come home from work, go to her room for a few minutes and socialise for the rest of the evening with my Mum and Dad (if he wasn't on late shifts). Things have changed now. I come home from college, throw my bags and folders down, sit in the kitchen with my Mum while she makes dinner and either spend the evening in my room or sit downstairs socialising. My brother tends to socialise more after dinner nowadays and my sister has become the unsociable git of the family. Her routine seems to be home, dinner, room. The differences in my family seem to have brought us closer. Not in a massive way, but enough to stop arguments erupting every minute and enough to make us feel like a family for the first time since I can remember.
To measure my year in love would be of great satisfaction to me. I've lost a boyfriend, lost a few friends, gained closer friends and discovered a family. I couldn't thank life more for giving me an amazing year. So as 2010 draws to a close, I welcome it with a happy heart.
