Humility

My list of resolutions for 2010 started taking shape much before the clock struck midnight on December 31st. I can remember riding the Staten Island Ferry early one Saturday morning in November on my way to visit my best friend Lauren and thinking of what I wanted to happen for me in the new year. Thinking about it, it's sort of strange to plan for what you want to happen, new things to be done and changes to make but these changes--oh they aren't meant to start tomorrow. In order for them to really and truly stick, wait until January 1. Don't get overzealous with your resolutions, stick with your old ways until the new year. Mid year changes? Mid month changes? Mid day changes? They really don't stand a chance. This backwards thinking is--kind of exactly what I did. Let's chalk it up to mentally preparing myself for all the newness! Yeah!

On the list of resolutions I made that morning was take a class. Not only was this something I really wanted to do but it was also something that I needed to do. Moving to NYC, knowing almost no one, has been a pretty lonely adventure. In college, you are forced into a group whether it be because your professor assigned you to work with people on an assignment or you are forced into living with a random bunch. BUT, this isn't college anymore and I am not as good as establishing an identity in an already existing collective as I thought I was. So, join a class I did.

It was a crochet class that met three times down in SOHO. The little knitting/crochet shop couldn't have been tinier or cuter. It has brightly colored yarn lining the walls and little cubby holes for each color. In the center of the shop, sized just big enough to fit about 8 people at once, was a long table meant especially for sitting and learning. On the night of my first class I was semi nervous to find I was the only one who didn't know how to crochet. Although advertised as a beginners class, it seemed as though everyone else had done their homework ahead of time. While everyone worked their crochet needles into beautiful patterns, I was stuck at the beginning of the multi step process and felt quite out of place. After a minor internal heart attack, I realized that umm I wasn't being graded on this? Oh and also, who cares? So, I stuck with it and I put myself out there. I asked a million questions and made it obvious I wasn't catching on as quickly. I left the class feeling partially defeated but also a little inspired. I bought a crochet book so I could practice on my own and I know that I will finish my project even if it takes me the entire year of 2010.

While the following two classes didn't allow me to complete my project, in fact they barely helped me scratch the surface, they did teach me a little lesson in humility and it feels like that lesson might take me a lot further than crochet ever would.