This special end of year blog post is dedicated to the memory of my Uncle Mike who passed away in June of this year.

One thing about me, I am honest. Since the creation of Don’t Blink I have used my blogging platform to tell it straight when it came time to evaluate the passing year. I have always made sure to sufficiently describe how I thought the 12 months went and what they meant to be. If it was average, it was average. I didn’t sugarcoat anything. With that said, you can take it to the bank when I say that 2014 was a terrific and significant year for me.

I believe what made this a banner year for me is pretty obvious. A third of the way through 2014 I decided to advance my career as I packed up all my belongings and headed to the exact opposite end of the country where I took a position at Coastal Carolina University. It was a big move, and with big moves come big gambles, but I ended up hitting the jackpot.

In 2014 I moved to a new city, a new state, a new area of the country. I moved into a new residence, got a new driver’s license, got a new address. I started going to a new gym, a new church, several new grocery stores. I became involved in a new culture, a new climate, a new way of doing things. I got a new phone number, new keys, and new license plates. I kind of became a new man.

I enjoyed some major highlights in 2014. My beautiful niece, Mikayla, was born. I started dating a wonderful and beautiful girl, Sidney. I made a cross country road trip with my dad. I traveled to places such as Atlanta, Baltimore, and Charleston. I made national television on one of my favorite shows as I attended College Gameday at the campus of the University of South Carolina. I participated in the filming of a Darius Rucker music video and actually made the final cut. I enjoyed Southern tailgating and watched big time college football from the sidelines. I had the fortune of appearing in newscasts and newspapers because of my work at Coastal Carolina University. I tallied up new experiences pretty much every day after my move to Myrtle Beach.

I learned some lessons in 2014 as well. I realized the necessity of taking risks. My eyes became even more open to the importance of family. I became more aware of how prominent and growing my career choice is in society. I learned about the importance of diversity. It became more apparent to me that when it comes down to it, no matter where you grow up in this nation people are people and we all have similar needs, tendencies, and thoughts. I probably learned most of all that sometimes distance from loved ones is very tough. My Uncle Mike, who this blog post is dedicated to, passed away in June. It hurt not being there for him and my family in those last days.

If 30 years from now you were to push four different years in front of my face on a sheet of paper (i.e. 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014) and ask what year sticks out the most, I would circle “2014” in a heartbeat. I grew, experienced, and enjoyed this year greatly. I want to take the momentum of 2014 with me into 2015. I have high hopes for the new year and when the next December 31 comes along, I want to write a recap similar to this one. Thank you to all my readers for the tremendous support in 2014, I can’t wait to share 2015 with you. Don’t Blink.