general Thoughts on Each Year of the 10s

[CloudMistDragon 6,132]

Now that the year's finally wrapping up, along with the decade, what are your thoughts on each individual year of the decade and which one was your favorite? 

2010 was a pretty good start to the decade. I had a simple life, was loving my video games, doing well with my school work, and having an all-around good time. Even with some petty family drama here and there, I had myself a blast. 

2011 was even better. My mom brought some dumb drama to the table with her boyfriend and divorced husband, but that didn't stop me from having a mostly great year. I will never forget this year as the year where I got really into retrogaming thanks to the Angry Video Game Nerd, started breaking out of my Naruto shell with anime and manga, and of course, getting into MLP. One of the best years of my life. 

2012 was a downgrade. Really not so bad in objective retrospect, but this is where I was starting to get depression from my hormones kicking in. Worse, this is where I could start to see how bad the disconnect I was feeling with my already fractured family was getting. Main positive to this year was getting into writing fanfiction, feeling so free to just write whatever the heck I wanted to on the internet. Passing my SAT this year with an 1840 when I was only 16 and putting out my first playthrough of a brutally hard Nintendo game (Ghosts N' Goblins) was good too.

2013 was a rollercoaster. Better than 2012 in some ways, but really bad in other ways too. Couldn't figure out what I wanted to do when I went to community college, got depressed to the point of wanting to commit suicide at one point, and wasted a lot of time just diddling around. I at least aced my writing class though, took some good tips that would help me improve my story writing later on, and watching independently animated internet shorts helped with my depression by giving me the inspiration I needed to later learn to draw. 

2014 was better than the past two years. Although it was the year I had to drop out of community college, running out of funds and not wanting to go into debt, I had no other real low points this year. Despite learning the hard way that college is for people with plans, not people who are being pressured by their peers and family, I really did starting enjoying my games and my free-time hobbies more this year. 

2015 was also an upgrade. I started putting out more stories again and rarely ever felt depression slowing me down. Despite this unfortunately being the year where my dad left the country for good and the warning signs of my sister changing for the worse started to come up, this was a solid year of my life that I'll always remember as the last where I felt a sense of 'innocence'. 

2016 was brutal. It started off productive with me putting out stories once a month, but things quickly went sour when I had to start taking abuse from my sister being on drugs and had to consistently watch my older brother struggle with her while my mom's drinking got so bad she couldn't even function in society by the end of the year. Two truly good personal memories from this year worth a damn to me are beginning to draw and meeting who would prove to be my first true e-friend. One of the worst years of my life otherwise. 

2017 was rocky. I had to leave the house after my mom approached me with a gun in a drunken stupor and moved to stay with a friend for a while. Things got better after I got a job, but things got worse after I quit the job, something I sort of regret now even if I felt justified in doing so at the time. Despite trying my hardest to get another one, I eventually got kicked out of my friend's place and was only able to find refuge somewhere else thanks to my uncle stepping in. Worst of all, this was the year where my sister robbed my old house and let my inheritance be taken by drug dealers. I am grateful for this being the last year I ever had to deal with her nonsense though. 

2018 was hectic. My mom wound up in jail, I had to clean out my old house, had a huge falling out with someone I thought was my friend, and I had to move to another city to get a job, unfortunately forcing me to say goodbye to another friend. This year and 2017 were by far the hardest years of the decade for me after 2016. However, they matter more to me than 2012 and 2013, and this is definitely the year that woke me up to what was really important in life, got me in the proper mindset for focusing on working and getting independent, and saying goodbye to worthless internet drama for good. 

2019 was mostly good. Getting laid off from my job at Amazon at the start of the year was hard, but I eventually moved on to a less demanding job at Macy's warehouse, where I am now a top performer. Done with victim mentality forever. I also was the most productive with my stories that I had been since 2016, started taking my artwork more seriously, even found the drive to put out some more gaming help videos, and have more e-friends than ever now. Not exactly a dream year, but I couldn't ask for a better one to close out my decade after all the struggles that came before.

For me...

2011>2010>2015>2019>2014>2017>2018>2013>2012>2016

Not giving up the uphill battle, I'm looking forward to 2020. 

[Cocokoru 133]

Wow, that's a tough question to be honest. I can't remember what I did each year and which exact year it was. I guess it would be good to have a diary for this kind of moments, haha.

But I can say that the year 2019 is the most memorable. ...And not only because it's the most recent. I did find the courage and made lots of new experiences, which also made me a better person, I understand many things better and I truly know what I want now. Depending on what you do in life, you may (often...) encounter people who don't understand you, maybe judge you. But I learned that there is a place for everyone out there and I don't want to hide anymore. Always staying true. I left my old life behind and found a few amazing people this year. I discovered the My Litte Pony show. <3 I started to draw. And I worked on other personal projects. But the most important lesson to me is, that life is only truly enjoyable, if you can share the experiences with friends and/or experiencing them together.

[TwilySparky 24,714]

I honestly have no idea. Most of the decade has been me growing from a child to a young adult so... it has been an experience so far. I guess 2019 would be cool.

[Megas 26,008]

2016, that was when I managed to get a stable job as well as finally get my driver’s license 

[Cash In 18,598]

2017 must've been my favourite out all of them, since that's when I got into the MLP fandom. Well, that and the fact that nothing majorly bad happened to me that year. The entire decade as a whole was...less than adequate, but to its credit, it has taught me some very valuable things. Well, I guess that's par for the course of growing up.

[Bastian 13,313]

Honestly, 2019 was the best year for me.

It is the year when I joined the brony fandom and the MLP forums.

Im studying 9th grade so I don't have a lot of things to worry about.

 

 

[LeafFerret 3,373]

2010: Great year, miss it quite badly.
2011: First year at a new state and school, bit of a step down from last year.
2012: Final year of school, was worst than 2011.
2013: Being homesick most of year but I still miss it.
2014: First proper year in the forums and was a good year for me personally.
2015: First proper bad year for me and the first where I've experienced depression and mental problems, did end on a good note.
2016: Don't remember a lot from that year other than searching for work.
2017: Probably one of my better years recently but still not great. Also ended on a good note.
2018: One of my worst years in recent memory but there was a silver lining that year.
2019: Another rough year for me, finally got my driver's license, went back to school and made use of that silver lining and it paid off, ended on a good note.

I noticed all of my even years start out well but end badly but all of my odd years start rough but end on a good note, bit of a trend for me.

Edited December 31, 2019 by LeafFerret

[Here No Longer 5,264]

I'd say my top three are: 2019, 2014, and 2013, in that order probably.

 

Yep, 2019 is actually the best year of this decade for me now that I think about it. Though pretty much every year between 2014 and 2019 sucked, particularly 2018 which I'd say is the worst year for me this decade, alongside 2017. Mental problems plagued me for this entire decade, and they still do, and I don't think they'll go away entirely. At least right now it's not as bad as it was last year around this time, where I couldn't get the thought of suicide out of my head.

 

As for individual years:

 

2010- Generally speaking, a forgettable year for me.

2011- Well, this one was a little more bad than good, but it had a bit of both.

2012- I mean this is the year I first played Team Fortress 2, which honestly is good and bad now that I think about it. In general, though, this year was alright,

2013- Honestly, a great year for me. Did some great things that year. Also, the year I got into MLP which would allow me to find this forum in the first place, so yeah.

2014- Pretty much a continuation of 2013, except slightly better.

2015- When everything started going slowly downhill. My ex broke up with me and accused me of being shallow (when it's him that really was in context), I had to deal with annoying kids so much, and it was the worst marching season I ever had in high school.

2016- At first a continuation of 2015, but then it became a little better than 2015 towards the end.

2017- The year I'd first get suicidal thoughts because my life was stagnating at this point. Also the year I thrashed my old computer.

2018- Horrible year I hope I never speak of again. Let's just say my life was so horrible I wanted to end it.

2019- A continuation of 2018, at first. But then I met my boyfriend online, and well, everything changed. The past three months have, even with their own ups and downs, been the best 3 months of my life that I remember from this decade at least.

 

Ranking them all:

2019>>2014>2013>2012>>2011>2010>>2016>2015>>2017>>2018.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Dustleeshus
Added ranking.

[Envy 5,758]

It's been a really wild rollercoaster of a decade, with no time really being predictable.

2010: In the Spring my grandpa passed away. So there you go, that's what started off my decade. Although he had been really sick in late 2009 and I had already done a lot of mourning back then. Aside from that, 2010 is one of the less memorable years for me. I think the only other thing of note is that I moved on from my ex this year. Well... I thought anyway. I think this is the year where I also got through Comp II and finally realized that I have a skill for academic writing.

2011: This was a better year, and one of the least dramatic. Although it's mainly defined by entertainment for me. I just remember it being the year I got to go see two bands live - Streetlight Manifesto and Chicago (my first time seeing a band live). Also, as I've noted recently, this is the last year we saw actual snow. I could not fathom that it would be the last time back then when there was over a foot of snow on the ground and snow drifts much higher...

2012: In the Spring I began my first job as an overnight stocker. In preparation for moving on to university, my grandma surprised me and bought me a tenor saxophone so I could march when I returned. ...But nothing went according to plan after this. Working nights was miserable and although I did fine grades-wise, I could not keep up musically. Although, oddly enough being a bassoon player got me an automatic invitation into the university's high-level symphony orchestra which was a BIG deal.

2013: Yikes, 2013. It started off with a trip with the orchestra which was really awesome until I stupidly broke my bassoon on the trip and that ruined everything. That really set the tone for the year, where I ended up having to drop out entirely and gave up all of my dreams. One thing did happen in the midst of all of that - my ex and I oddly reconnected. When I had dropped out and returned to my night job full-time, that was what was keeping me together as I was really depressed about my inadequacies. Somehow despite that, I ended up joining the local community orchestra with my ex and keeping on playing (which I did in large part to get closer to her). In November, with finally some money to spend, I ended up getting me an oboe. Thus completing my collection of the three instruments in my signature (which had been my signature for a long time before this lol). During the university year I told myself I could not have an oboe until I completed college. I was adamant on sticking with bassoon, which means me buying the oboe was me saying "I give up".

2014: In early 2014, my grandma passed away. She was way too young and took such good care of herself. This was really sad. Things were also already falling apart with my ex again, but... that's a long story. Past the depressing beginning, I see 2014 as mainly a year where I had amassed some money from my job and began spending much more freely. The oboe kind of kicked that off, but in 2014 I got a lot! It was all attempting to fill an empty void, though.

2015: This year right here is the craziest one of my life. Can it ever be topped? I don't know about that. I'm going to have to spoiler this, because it is long and gets a bit weird. I've told this story before, but it's been a while, and besides it is certainly the story of the decade for me, that pulls together a lot of the events of the past few years in some magical way that feels like fiction:

Spoiler

 

The worklife was becoming more stagnant and stressful (which it was really bad in 2014). I wanted to move on, I wanted to go back to my dreams, but I knew that what happened in 2013 was real and was just the way things were. Then the bottom started falling out. My ex started acting more inconsistent... And then in June, the dog we got in late 2007/early 2008 (a very hard time for me) who I just adored so much randomly passed away. When my grandma passed away, I got sick... But when this dog passed away it was even worse. I could not sleep, I could not breathe, and I was still crying when I returned to work a few nights later (he passed away at the beginning of my weekend). I did not even want to live anymore. And my ex gave me the cold shoulder shortly after this. The "life" I had built up to live after giving up on my dreams was shattered.

Now... In 2014, when I felt empty I bought a lot of electronics (a nice gaming PC, TVs, an iPad, a nice BOSE Sounddock, a PS3, etc.), clothes, and even G3 My Little Pony toys. But for some reason... After the events that happened above, I began to turn toward instruments. Not necessarily new instruments, but any instruments we could find in the wild. The first one was a French horn, which sadly was never going to work. Then it was a trombone, which did work. Then it was another clarinet. Then in mid-August, I fought hard to win a bass clarinet on eBay and WON it! Lol. Anyway, the details there aren't important. Somewhere around August I restumbled upon someone's YouTube that I had found a couple of years later. She recorded this amazing cover of Ventus's Theme from KH, but this time when I came across it again I was like "Wait, how did she do that?". Upon looking more into her, I began to feel like recording might be something that even I could do. I greatly underestimated what kind of skill and precision goes into the art of recording, but what matters here is that the flame of passion for music was relit for the first time after dropping out of college in mid 2013. She (the Youtuber) played a lot of wind instruments in her recordings and instantly became my hero. Lol. I was like "Hey, I have a lot wind instruments, too!" But her main instrument was oboe/English horn, and that inspired me to pick the oboe up and try to learn it for real this time.

I was having issues learning it, because of course, it's the oboe. The community orchestra (the one I joined to get closer to my ex all of the way back in 2013 - Yup, that one!) had an oboist that was friendly and that I talked to a little bit when I first got the instrument. So this time I came back to her and asked what might be going wrong. She told me it was just the reed. Lol. But she pointed me to a family member of her's that is a professional oboist/English horn who makes reeds. This turned into more than me just buying reeds from her, I decided to take lessons from her. I had no intention of taking lessons to return to school, I was only learning to record, but she being the person she is, easily figured out that deep down I really wanted to return to school. She was a great teacher, and laid out a plan and a college for me to go to. And that's the story of how bizarrely enough my desire to return to my ex (by joining the community orchestra) and the instrument I bought when I gave up on music ended up getting me back into college.

But it doesn't even stop there. It dawned on me at some point when looking at the woman who inspired me to play the oboe's website and seeing which university she attended that university looked a little familiar. I went and saw which university my teacher attended and they were the same one! Now understand how weird that is alone, as my teacher lives in Oklahoma, and the woman who inspired me in the deep South, and the university in the far Northern midwest. If that wasn't enough, I learned that they both attended at the same time and know each other.

I remember almost literally falling out of my chair when I came to this recognition. And the funny thing is that one time my teacher asked me who inspired me and I neglected mentioning it, because although she is a talented performer all-around, my teacher would probably be like "What?" when I told her that I was inspired by someone who did video game covers on YouTube. To think if I had just mentioned her back then. Lol.

 

 

2016: So, yeah, 2015 happened. And everything good that 2015 ended up leading to happened in 2016, thus making 2016 the top year of the decade for me. In early 2016, I passed my audition, and was just full of bliss! In late summer I got to say goodbye to my night job and start moving for college. Let me just say that the fact that I was now back to a normal day and sleep at night schedule was enough to make me feel alive again. At college I got into the Wind Ensemble and I got to take Music History I! Music History I had been something I was looking forward to forever! That fall was also when I got my own dog, a French bulldog. She is the best little dog and is a highlight of my life!

2017: Not quite as good as 2016, but I was still going through college nevertheless. Perhaps the best thing about this year was something small - my oboe professor (different from my teacher before, of course) was (is) an early music and instrument enthusiast much like me and he actually brought some crumhorns and a cornamuse for me to get to play! The summer kind of sucked at first, as I randomly broke a tooth and had to wait a couple of weeks to get it fixed. Then 2017 closed off on a more depressing note with one of our dogs back home passing away. She came from a different litter than the one we lost in 2015, and she lived a significantly longer lifespan than her parents, and I always anticipated this could happen while I was gone. It did. =(

2018: This year looked really good. If I could survive Piano and Aural Theory, I was going to graduate! The Spring semester turned out to be rather Hellish, with me glued to the piano for the majority of it hoping so dearly that I could survive... No kidding. Unfortunately, all of this Spring semester stress caused me to ignore a health issue that was beginning to pop up - foot pain. After the pain wouldn't go away, I knew something would have to be done about it, but... I never had a day free. Now I did end up surviving piano and aural theory and graduating! After graduating I began to get my feet looked out, but I guess it was too late. No standard treatments did anything. To get some money while taking some foreign languages in preparation for grad school I ended back up at a job similar to the one I had before, but it proved to be too much for my foot pain, which is enhanced horribly with activity. So I ended the year with a new doctor and hopefully being put on light duty.

2019: Not the best year, that's one thing for sure. The foot pain has followed me into this year with no reprieve. And nothing has been able to be worked out with my job, leaving me without finances for most of the year. One great thing that came out of the early part of the year is that I finally came back out to my mom, and she finally began to understand that it's not a phase anymore. Now a lot of my family knows and gives me at least some acceptance. Spring was straight-up HELL. With tornado warnings every five seconds. I almost spent more time in the bathroom taking cover than I did sleeping in my own bed. In summer I tried to return to work part-time, but working still hurt me so bad. During this time, we lost the third of our English bulldogs. He was a part of the same litter as the one we lost in 2017, so he lived a very long life, but that didn't make it any easier. I miss him.

In October, with my foot problems, it was between finding a new job or getting surgery. My family gave me to go ahead to go for surgery, so I did. I'm going to give it more time before I fully comment on the results, because I still hope that things can turn around - especially with the more rigorous physical therapy that I have now. But I really think I still need to find a new job, or hope desperately that something easier on me has opened up at my job. I'm feeling very anxious going into 2020, I really need something that I can work full-time and not hurt myself so bad. I need a miracle! You know... Like what happened in 2015 to get me back into music, but this time getting me into the right job or getting me feeling better.

So... That was the decade! Wow. (It would be more dramatic if I hadn't skipped over so much stuff with my ex, but that's fine. I hate mentioning her to begin with because I don't want to talk about her behind her back and I wish her well with wherever she is right now, but it can't just not be mentioned how me getting close to her again set off the bizarre turn of events that got me back into college. lol)

Edited December 31, 2019 by Envy

[TBD 16,730]

Every years is dead to me, best to live and let die. But I still can't believe ten years has passed...talk about anguish. 

[Twiggy 2,964]

2010 - 2012 were shit cause drugs.

2013 was when I got clean. Haven’t touched drugs (that weren’t doctor prescribed) since. 

2014 was meh I had a job at Burger King and went down in fame as the first person who got caught stealing nuggs and didn’t get fired. 

2015 was when my daughter was born making it my greatest year. It’s a lot of work but having a kid is great. It’s like having your own personal clown. Always brings me a lot of joy. 

2016 was alright. Was working construction. My house burned down in a wildfire.

2017 was garbage. Wife and I went our separate ways. Got a little messy in court with visitation. Dat new house tho.

2018 was when I started my detailing business and it was a huge success. I have financial stability and have crossed the threshold where I’m objectively not a loser. 

2019 was great. Got a savings and ex-wife and I signed a white peace. We’re frens again. Spent a week in Canada lol @ bagged milk. 

 

2015 > 2018 > 2019 > 2013 > 2016 > 2014 > 2017 > 2012 = 2011 = 2010

thank u for reading my bolg 

Edited January 1, 2020 by Twiggy

[Steve Piranha 25,977]

Well, surprised seeing 2019 as the best for many. Most people think the current year is the worst . Anyway, landed a pretty decent job recently, with opportunities on the way, so yeah, I’d pick this as well ...... despite the end of ponies 

[Odyssey 5,685]

2010: Was pretty quiet. I was only 11 at the time, so my world then was small. 

2011: I had fun at the time, but looking back at it now, I was just a really excitable teen. Of course that isn't a bad thing, but again, small worldwmview. 

2012: This was when I got a taste on reality over a few things, since I was actually really sheltered until then. It was an upsetting year for me, but I'm glad for it now that I'm older. 

2013: Take 2012, but play it 2000x times more reality inducing. I was really socially awkward, and it didn't help being that kid in high school. I was also fairly dense and easily upset. 

2014: Worst year. I wasn't allowed to come back to school, and I just wasn't taking good care of myself. By the time I was told I was suspended, I knew I had to prove to my family and myself that I will be okay. 

2015: It's the most "just there" year for me. I went to a much better school and am taking myself to places now, but this was otherwise a bit of filler year. 

2016: A much better year than the last few. I started to apply for school courses and overcame some personal issues in my life.

2017: Was pretty solid. It was mostly just 2016 again, but I kept working towards goals more and just tried to be careful. I kiiiiind of became bitter on certain things, but I didn't let me stop that from having a good year.

2018: Best year in the decade for me. Got my driver's license, moved to my first home, completed a course, accepted a few more things about myself, and overall just happy with where I was. 

2019: The first half started out slow due to circumstances, but it wasn't bad. The second half was much better. Some of my personal issues surfaced again, but I can handle them a bit better. Not a really exciting year overall, but it's one to remember by

2018>2016>2017>2019>2011>2010>2013>2015>2012>2014