Van Ree's Voice

For me the year 2012 ended in a different fashion then I am use to. I’m used to getting together with all my friends to enjoy the Seattle Space Needle fireworks show at midnight, and the fun of the town afterward.

If you had asked me when I graduated from college last spring where I would be half a year from now, my ideas would have spanned from Seattle to New York City. In all of the destinations that came to my mind however, Nebraska hadn’t been one of them.

It’s funny thinking back on it now, but a year ago this December I remember sitting in my room at college deep in thought about the future. Though I knew it was in my last stretch of school and I had to grow up sometime, I didn’t really understand what that would entail.

One night as I sat in bed reading Shakespeare for class I spaced out for a minute or two, just staring up at the ceiling. I looked at the sharp details of the popcorn-textured ceiling of mine and thought about what was to come.

I realized that that was probably the last winter I would spend in Pullman. It was the last winter I would be within a ten-minute walking distance from all of my best friends; the last time I could enjoy the freedoms that only a college student experiences.

Then I thought about what was next. Where would I be a year from now? More importantly, what ceiling would I be staring at a year from now? I let my mind race. I could be in another country – be it reporting from a hut in Africa to a tiny apartment in France.

I thought maybe I could be in New York City, chasing my dream job with a chance to make it to the top. The ceiling I pictured then, small and quaint. The brick walls of the tiny apartment making it appear antiqued. But with my mind springing back to my crackling, water-damaged, popcorn ceiling I realized something.

A year could take you anywhere you wanted to go. It starts with a dream, and if one works hard enough, ends with happiness. All I wanted, wherever I ended up, was to be happy. The ceiling, among other things would be different but the end result would be the same.

I didn’t make it to New York, Seattle, or any of the other thoughts that came across my mind. But then again, it turned out I didn’t want to. If you can imagine this country girl in the big city, than that makes one of us that can.

I ended up a year later in Sidney, Neb. The ceiling I stare at now is beige and textured. Cracks that once made themselves known have been covered and painted over, the ceiling fan outdated but adorable. I never thought I would be ringing in the New Year in this place, but I’m glad I did. Starting in 2013, life will be a lot different for me from what I’ve known and how I’ve spent all the other 22 years of my life.

From arriving here over a month ago I have made amazing new friends and acquaintances that I know I will stay in touch with, no matter where the next year might take me. Whether it is nowhere new at all, or a different continent. All I know is I’m happy to be where I’m at, beige ceiling and all, and I am ready for what another year of life can bring.

Contact Hannah Van Ree at [email protected]