Good-bye 2012 and Hello 2013!

This year has had its ups and downs for me and Master, but as always we have pulled through even the hardest of times and have always risen from our hardships as stronger people. I'd like to take a moment to look back at all of the great things that have happened to me and even take a look at the things that weren't so great, but made me a stronger person in the end.

I'd like to do things a little different this time around, though. Usually I list the good stuff first and the bad stuff last, but I want to flip it around because I'd rather end this on a high note as it is always best to look at the positive last. So on with the events of this past year.

The Not So Good:

1. In April of this year I was hit with a double whammy in which I landed myself in the hospital with an unknown illness that was causing my kidney's to fail. Talk of dialysis became something that was an every day thing and it was hard not to cry and panic. Because of this I missed a whole week of work and school
2. That same week a beloved friend of Master's family and grand father like person to me passed away due to lung cancer. It was one of the hardest weeks of this year, but it was his death that encouraged me to get well and keep my head up.
3. This occurred in October, but as some of you know I was in a poly relationship of a sort with Angel and due to circumstances it had to come to an end. I took it really hard, and possibly harder than I should have, but I think it is safe to say that I will probably never attempt another poly relationship. It's not because it was a bad experience, because it was nothing but a positive one, I just don't think I'll ever make a connection with someone else like I did with her, and I don't think poly is quite for me. Regardless, there is good that came out of this. Though things are still a tad awkward between us, at least we are still friends and I couldn't really ask for much else than that. So I'm very thankful.

Overall I feel as if I have been really put to the test this year with my health, be it physical and mental health. I  have had to deal with a lot of stress and hardships, but the most important part is that I have come out on top and I feel I've become a better person for it.

The Good:

1. I have learned to have a lot of patience over the past year and every day I am slowly growing more into the person I wish to be.
2. Master and I have celebrated our fourth anniversary this year and our relationship is only gotten deeper and more meaningful than it has ever been.
3. I quit my retail job and said good-bye to a load of stress that has been looming over my head for the last two and half years. I don't like the having no money part, but Master and I have pushed through this and we are doing better than expected.
4. I have made a lot of new friends this year and even grew closer to some friends who have become an important part of my life.
5. I graduated from college and am now officially a Medical Assistant.
6. I have gained a new found confidence in myself and my life. I feel more successful with my accomplishments and I am no longer afraid to openly admit that I am a great person and hold my head high with the confidence I deserve.
7. Master's family has been more welcoming to me this year and I can really feel connections beginning with them.
8. Master's report card this time around was nothing but great and simply a wonderful bit of news that all of us were hoping for. 
9. My blog has been receiving thousands upon thousands of views each month and I have even gained quite a few new followers, whom I'm ever so thankful for and excited about.
10. Most of all, I have learned. I have learned so many new things about life, about the medical field, and about how to love and serve my Master better. I am more sure of myself than I was this time last year, and I know what I want out of life and I know how I want my life to be. I am more knowledgeable than I was last year, and that is something to be very thankful for.

I want to thank all of you wonderful people for following me, for lurking, and for talking to me. You all have given me so much support this year and have made me so happy in my times of need. I am always glad to share my life with all of you, and I'm thankful that you all are interested in what I have to say. 

Here is to wishing all of you a Happy New Year and may 2013 be a better year for all of us.

~*~Anastassia~*~

P.S. The poll is closed and the votes are in. The majority voted that they wanted to see more toy reviews and talk of my kinks this year, so as a resolution for my blog, I plan to do just that and give my followers exactly what they want. Thank you for voting and participating in my poll!