2014: The Year of Evolution

   

My favorite track of 2014, New Life (Cold Rush Remix) by Rambacy featuring Danny Claire, an incredibly uplifting song that packs a positive punch. Listen along as you read and feel the moving power of uplifting trance!

     Once again, here we are. Standing at the beginning of a new year with some thoughts and plans of what we want to do this year, but with no real knowledge of what's to come. All that we do know is what lays behind us in the year that we just closed the book on, 2014. Whether the year went as expected or if we were taken for a wild and unexpected ride, 2014 is the past and there's no changing it now. But before we launch our way fully into 2015, I think it's important to reflect back on the past year and remember all that we've gone through. For now I'm going to share some of the highlights of my year, the first full year for me in the "real world".

     While 2013 was easily named the year of change, I had a bit of a harder time coming up with the name for 2014. I couldn't figure out a way to sum it up nicely until I reflected on the year and realized I had gone from just changing to evolving, and thus 2014 had it's name. First off, the start of 2015 marks the second birthday of this blog, Just a Thought. This past year was different from the first in that I felt there were topics I wanted to write about but never got around to, which is why I haven't posted anything since this past May. This is something I hope to change in 2015 and get back to writing as my posts are always therapeutic for me and I enjoy seeing what others have to say in response to my posts. I have a few posts in mind and one I have to finish that I started last summer. I guess the reason this blog has taken a back seat is because of how much focus I've put into my monthly radio show in 2014. If you haven't checked it out yet, please give it a listen and let me know what you think as I'm always looking for listener input (http://forthesoul.podomatic.com/ https://soundcloud.com/djadaman/for-the-soul-episode-11). This radio show is one of the highlights of every month for me as it gives me a creative outlet while knowing that I'm exposing my listeners to great songs they probably haven't heard yet. I hope to keep it going strong in 2015 as my love for trance continues to grow.

     Now to focus on what actually happened in 2014 and see if I can make sense of it all. At the start of the year, I went from living solo in a big empty house to having my brother, his wife, and their little 3 month old move in. This was quite the change as I hadn't lived with my brother since he left for college, which was when I was starting middle school. It took some time for the four of us to adjust to living together, but things are pretty good for now and I keep learning through observation what married life with a kid is like.

     The first third of the year was spent the same way I spent the end of 2013, day after day at home job searching, trying to find something that would fit me well. Things finally changed in March when I got an e-mail from Coastal Sunbelt Produce. I had interviewed with them back in November of 2013 and they wanted to offer me a position as an entry level produce buyer. I had been considering alternatives such as a service program before I got this offer and I had to think about what I wanted to do. I decided that I was being given a chance to explore the position I had been trying to get and I took the job, starting in late April. Since then I've spent my working hours buying tens of thousands of dollars of produce, mostly mushrooms, which we distribute to restaurants, hotels, resorts, and other stores across the mid-atlantic. If you've been to places such as Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Applebees, Longhorn Steakhouse, or even the diners at UMD, and had anything with mushrooms, sprouts, or tofu, I most likely bought and handled part of your meal a couple days before you did.

     One benefit of being a salaried worker is having vacation time to spend visiting new places and doing new things. This year, that meant travelling out to see my Seester and Mr. Greggles and spending a week exploring Seattle. Seattle was a fun place to visit, as everything felt much calmer compared to the DC area. I spent the week checking out the tourist attractions, such as the Space Needle, riding a ferry across the Puget Sound, and even getting pushed to my hiking limits climbing Bandera Mountain. It was fun to hang out with my Kaitlin again and see her in her element, both at work making tasty pastries and drinks and at home making crazy vegetarian dishes (beet tacos anyone?). She and I spent time together checking out some of downtown Seattle and going Kayaking on Lake Union, seeing house boats and sea planes along the way. Overall, this was an awesome trip and was a great way to see what the west coast is like.

     If you know me well, then you know that I have a love for music, but not just any kind of music. Trance music is a part of my everyday life, from being my alarm in the morning, to playing in my head as I fall asleep. This past year I went to new lengths acting on my love for this kind of music. I started things off in March by celebrating my golden birthday with the German duo Stoneface & Terminal, getting to eat cake with them and chat about our love for trance. In October I attended another Stoneface & Terminal concert at a small DC night club, but this was just the warm-up for the day ahead. I woke up the next morning and got on a bus to NYC where I attended the biggest concert of my life at Madison Square Garden. Above & Beyond was celebrating the 100th episode of their revamped weekly radio show and I was one of 15,000 who danced the night away in the same arena that has hosted many others such as Elvis and Billy Joel. The event was broadcast live around the globe and it was the first time I've felt like I was right in the middle of such a big landmark event. In the past couple months of the year, I've started working with a friend of mine, learning how to do live DJing which is something I hope to focus more on in 2015.

     Having spent the entire year living in Greenbelt, I worked towards building a variety of different friendship groups in the area. Just about once a week I headed back on campus to spend time with Navs playing frisbee, joining game nights, and getting to know the new incoming freshmen. I also bounced between 2 churches before landing at MCF Community Church, which is the community version of the church I attended while attending UMD. The friends I've made from both churches are great and making plans with them has given me something to look forward to after work and on the weekends. I've also had a couple of mentors who helped me through the year as I started figuring out how to balance work and the rest of life while keeping my focus on God and my future. Through all of this I've also stayed connected with old friends, keeping in touch and enjoying time together regardless of where our lives have taken us.

     The holiday season this year was a bit strange as it was the first time that I've worked on the days surrounding the holidays. The holidays are usually my favorite time of year but some of the old magic that I used to feel was missing this year. Having numerous families to accommodate made this year different but it worked out well. I spent the final few days of the year with my former college roomie Tyler and we were able to catch up, play games, and discuss life as he prepared to start his first real job. New years eve was a blast as always as I took Tyler down to the same party I've been going to for over 15 years. Having won the annual spoons tournament last year, I worried heading into the night that I wouldn't be able to retain my crown but after taking on many worthy opponents, I once again came out with the winning spoon in hand.

     That's just about it for 2014. As I look towards the year ahead, I'm excited for what it may hold. I've got some big plans and a lot I would like to learn more about. It's strange being at this point, thinking not only of the year that just ended, but also about where I'll be and what I'll be reflecting on when 2016 rolls around. One thing is for sure, as it is every year, I certainly won't be the same as I am now. I tend to think of myself as someone who does things differently and thinks differently than most, especially since that seems to make itself apparent when I interact with most others that I know.

     One of the biggest understandings that has been at the forefront of my mind throughout 2014 is that humans are truly unreasonable creatures, and to think that we will act reasonably is in fact itself unreasonable. What I mean by this is that although we may know the best or right thing to do or say, it doesn't mean we're going to do it. No one has to teach us to do the wrong thing or to look out for just our own interests, but we have to fight a daily struggle to consider others. I believe this will continue to affect our daily lives, regardless of what happens big or small.

     A recent sermon at the church I attend was on wisdom and how you only need to focus on one question when making decisions. The question is, is what I'm doing or planning on doing wise in light of past experiences, current circumstances, and future hope and dreams? The pastor explained how no one plans on having regrets or ending up in a place they don't want to be in, we just fail to plan not to have these things happen to us. If you just float along and allow the trends of society to carry you, you'll end up in a place you most likely don't want to be.
   
     As for me, I plan on continuing to evolve and do what I believe is best while doing what I want to do. Just because my year of change and now my year of evolution have passed, doesn't mean I am done doing these things. In truth, I am just beginning and the year ahead will be full of unexpected events, hard decisions, and opportunities to make a difference. For now, it's time to look ahead and dive into 2015, for which the title of Year of.....is still waiting to be discovered.



Just a Thought