Kelly Li

During the last week of every year, I usually reflect back on the past 12 months - the good, the bad, and everything in between. This year was no different.

I look back on pictures and think back to memories that prove 2011 was/ is (for the next 9 1/2 hours) definitely a year of growth and transition, in some ways much more so than others.

A quick recap of 2011 (the good parts):

• According to Facebook, this year I added 132 friends (though I probably don’t have regular contact with a good portion of those) I do know that there are friendships I’ve made this year that I am very thankful to have and look forward to building closer over this upcoming year.
• I launched my first web series and with it, a subsequent concert that was more successful than I could have ever imagined.
• I was able to work with some amazingly talented individuals and create new relationships and friendships that I hope to continue through new projects, each one hopefully better than the last.
• I was/am able to be a part of 2 companies, though very different, both very close to my heart.
• I celebrated the wedding of one of my closest friends and the engagement of 2 others whom I had the opportunity of helping match up over 7 years ago.

This year, I also lost a person who was incredibly important to me. He was a man whom I wish I could have gotten to know more than I was able to, but he was a man loved by many. I continue to learn more about him through the memories and moments shared by those who loved him.

From something of sadness and loss, this year I learned that life is ultimately but a moment, a spec in the history of this vast universe. I’m a thinker… or actually, an OVER-thinker. It’s just a part of who I am. However, the older I get, and the more I realize that life should not be about the words you left unsaid, the things you wish you did, and the dreams that never became a reality.

As one year ends and a new one is about to begin, I will continue to speak with truth, act with integrity, love with passion, and live a life with no regrets.