Embracing 2012

At the end of almost every year I tend to write a blog, outlining the highs and lows of the former 12 months and assessing where the future may take me. Although the transition from December to January is in reality no less arbitrary than the end of any other month, our culture has declared it to be a time of reflection, an opportunity for change. Having not blogged for a good two months now, I thought it best to jump to the occasion.

12th March 2011 - Chomsky comes to Cardiff

There is no doubt in my mind that 2011 has been the best year of my life so far. Upon reflection, it’s not a surprise. 2011 has been the year of Noam Chomsky, the event that propelled my confidence and organisational skills beyond my comprehension. I experienced my first Green Party conference, having the Deputy Leader of the party casually drinking lemonade on the chair of my living room. I joined the Young Greens committee and got chosen by the local party to stand as a candidate in my ward.

It’s been a year of battles, of elections and arguments. Student protests, the Welsh and Alternative Vote referendums. The Riverside by-election and the much more influential Welsh Assembly election, in which we came close but not close enough. In the last 12 months I’ve learnt a substantial amount about politics, about people and about media.

Flicking through the soon to be discarded diary of 2011, it’s been a year of so many memories it’s hard to comprehend that they were all packed into such a short space of time. The controversial Jody McIntyre blog, helping organise the SELect project debate with Rhodri Morgan, campaigning for friends in the Student Union elections, my first proper job within the embracing walls of Cardiff Castle, drinking WKD blue from the Society Achievement Award, publishing my final environmentalist rant as Gair Rhydd Science editor, watching Friendly Fires live at Glastonbury, Young Greens Convention and more.

May 2011 - Campaigning for Welsh Assembly Elections

If I’ve learnt anything from this year, it is to plan less and live more. Life is far too integrated now with other people, reliant upon too many factors for perfect planning to work. Planning my time and energy efficiently has gotten me this far but it has its limits. In January I was meticulous, arranging the ins and outs of the Chomsky event which the details of rarely came into fruition. Many events, campaigns, friendships and experiences later and it is clear that a flexible approach is needed when life becomes so full and rich as it is now. Rough, sketchy ambitions and aims are useful, but the path to get there cannot yet be laid out with certainty. Waiting to see which way the wind blows and setting sail accordingly is not only more successful but more fun too.

Looking forward to 2012, there’s clearly one date which is going to be crucial. On Thursday 3^rd May, Cathays will vote for their councillors for the next 4 years and my name will be on the ballot box. Their preference will determine my future.

For the last 20 years, academic success has always been high on my agenda. Education was the ladder that pulled me out of Rhyl and into University. GCSE’s led to A-Levels, A-Levels to Cardiff and up until now every exam has just been

June 2011 - My first music festival

another rung on the ladder. But in 2012, my first real exams, which will count towards my final degree classification, will give me a real realisation of how far my academic success can go. This year won’t be decisive, I’m still not graduating- but it will send many clear messages.

The start of 2012 is rare for me, because for once I actually have a very clear understanding of what I want to achieve and how to get it. Whether it’s exams, the election, relationships or other I feel in a good, solid place. But it’s a solid and reliable position only for the time being. The cliff face of May 3^rd is approaching at magnificent speed and over the next 4 months the real challenge will be on. Beyond that cliff, life sure looks foggy. It will remain to be foggy until I wake up on May 4^th and reassess the world through enlightened eyes.

Planning beyond that date is pointless. Sure, I have ideas of how my life could progress either way, but I know that my life is too spontaneous to bother planning them in detail. For now I can concentrate on my exams, on using every resource at my potential for the good of the campaign, on enjoying it while it lasts and, yes, on the one who managed to cut through my usual thick skin to become more than just a friend.

For now, enjoy the present. There’s one more night left of the year. It’s the Student Union; a place holding so many memories that it almost feels like home. I will embrace the start of 2012 warmly, but inevitably with a growing sense of urgency and anxiety.