With the New Year coming in I feel excited. I imagine we all must. It is a chance for a New beginning; and a time to come to terms with ourselves and the things we have learned, and use them and build on our knowledge (or at least I believe I should).

This year has been incredible for me, in so many ways it is truly indescribable. The things I've done at Champlain, through Champlain, or with Champlain, have given me what I believe is a remarkable insight to the inner workings of myself and communities at large. I owe this in part to a Core class I had the year before this with a teacher who can generally be quoted as saying in response to any paper you've given him "Make more Connections". Making connections and drawing lines between topics has lead me to see and look at the world in a way that I had not previously imagined. This new thinking has almost changed who I am.

So when I say this I am not speaking lightly, and this new way of thinking that I have adopted has lead me to places I would have never dreamed. Africa for instance. Its impressive to think that in my summer of school that I could be involved in such a large scale campaign, to bring such unimaginable change to bear, on people who I have never met, but whose plights I feel I can now understand. If you don't know what I am talking about http://emc-gamestakeonvaw.blogspot.com/ and read up.

I've learned that I can take and apply things from my class's in my major and use them in core class's or in life. And I have learned that no matter what I have more to learn, which is why I find my self so excited for next year.

This leads me however to something interesting I've been thinking about for a while. At some point over the course of this year, I was asked what I think makes somebody adult. This is an important question for me being a 20 year old and no longer being a teenager, but still not treated differently from one by the rest of the world. While at the time I didn't know how to answer I feel like I can reflect on it now and come up with an answer that I think a question like that deserves.

I feel like being an adult is constituted by several real qualities in people.

1. Responsibility:
Doing what you need to always before what you want to.

2. Honesty:
With yourself and others.

3. Reflection:
On what you and others have done.

4. Determination:
Not to give up when life gets you down, with the economy the way it is now this is more important than ever.

5. Courage:
To do what you know is right.

6. Restraint:
Against those who you believe have wronged you.

7.Humility:
To admit there are things you may not know.

Above all else this defines an adult:
8. Knowing that while you may never possess these qualities; but to strive to achieve them is what you must do in order to better yourself as an adult. This I believe is the fullest measure of an adult.

I believe these things make an adult and by this measure I believe that I am an adult. I know that being adult doesn't come with age. That being 18 suddenly doesn't make you any more worthy of making huge discussions about your life than being 17, but saying this I know what I want to do next year.

I have never been big on New Years Resolutions because I always felt that they were a little silly, but this year I have one, and for every year following too.

My resolution this year is number 8, I know I have a long way to go and I understand that, but I will try to work on the things that I need to work on and grow as a person and as an adult.

Until next year!
-Bryan