Looking Back…2007

It’s almost the end of ‘07 and I can’t help but think where the hell has the year gone? Every year around this time, I start to think back and reminisce on all the things that have gone on. 2007 was a HUGE year for me.

It seems a big part of my year were concerts. I saw John Legend twice. First I had front row seats to see him in Toronto in April and the second time was when I traveled to Philly in July. I also met him twice and I was thrilled about that. I saw Eric Roberson in June and was right in front for that one too. Meeting him was a milestone for me because I can now officially saw that I’ve met my top 4 male singers… John Legend, Dwele, Darien Brockington and Eric Roberson. I saw Raheem Devaughn in March while I was vacationing in Charlotte, NC. In May on my birthday weekend, I saw Jon B perform. Then at the end of June, I went to an amazing concert. The line up was Donell Jones, Carl Thomas, K-Ci & Jojo, Jagged Edge, SWV and New Edition. I also saw Darien & Little Brother 3 times…once in March when I went to Charlotte and twice in Toronto in July & October. The most recent show I went to was to see one of my most fave. Hip Hop groups, Slum Village and got to meet them as well. My cousin, Jojo also took me to 2 concerts which I enjoyed as well. We went to see Mathew Good and Dashboard Confessional.

This was also the year for travel. I went on 2 trips. In March, I went to Charlotte, North Carolina for a few days to hook up with some friends, namely Nancy and Darien. It was quite the experience for me and I enjoyed it immensely. At the end of July, I went on a road trip with Tracey to New Jersey and Philly. The main event there was that John Legend was throwing a private show and party for members of the John Legend Network. That was amazing too. It made me realize how important it is to get away and I hope to do more traveling in the New Year. To see more on my trips, I have a section of my website dedicated to them. I still have to work on the Philly section but Charlotte is all finished. You can see this here: http://www.geocities.com/ladyvee76/travel

Not all things were good this year. I won’t dwell on the bad things but I will talk about one thing because I’m still struggling a bit with it. I lost a good friend in September. Her name is Elsie and I met her through work. She was a patient of ours and passed at the age of 60. Elsie was one of the kindest people I know. We were quite close and often she would come by the office just to see me. I also used to up to see her because she just lived up the street. She was especially there for me when I was going through some personal struggles, always making sure to drop by to check on me or call. When she had an appointment, I used to meet her outside to help her across the street especially when there was a lot of snow and ice or just simply to help her with the doors because she had a walker. She died unexpectedly on September 21. Elsie got ill and went into the hospital and passed about a week later. What pained me the most is that I was sick with bronchitis and couldn’t go to visit her; I never got to see her before she passed. To this day, I miss her…I don’t think I will ever stop but at the same time, I try and smile, thinking that I know that she’s watching over me. R.I.P. Elsie

I’ve gone through a lot of personal growth this year that I’m very proud of. It’s too much to write about now though because I’ve been up to a lot lately. I’ll save that for my next entry. All I can say is I’m a lot more confident and a little less shy. People have said this to me before but I didn’t really start to take notice of it until the last few months. I know my strengths and can actually take compliments instead of getting all awkward and brushing them off. I’ve surprised myself a few times because I am getting noticed/recognized and people whom I hold in high regard have asked me for help. It’s still all new to me but it makes me feel real good in my heart even though I’m still “wow” about it all.

I met a lot of new friends this year too. I finally met Nancy in person when I went to Charlotte in March. I was introduced to my friend, Tracey through a mutual friend of ours, Christine. I met my friends from the John Legend Network in person when I went to Philly this year: Deedra from Houston and Jenni from Oklahoma. Jenni’s husband, Rashaun is a professional football player. For a period of time, he played for 2 Canadian Football League teams Toronto and Hamilton so Jenni and I managed to spend some time together while they were here. I also went to my first football game ever with her! I met a few new friends via Facebook (FB). 2 people in particular stand out and they are Michelle and Jorge. Michelle’s from New Jersey and has become like a little sister to me. We met by having the same interests in music and built from there. Jorge, I met through a group I started on FB for Darien. He did a bit of promo work for Darien and I messaged him to inquire about it. We eventually graduated from emails to the phone. We talk practically every day and he’s probably one of my closest male friends. He’s from Springfield, MA but lives in Puerto Rico. Some of my friendships have grown as well, mainly 2….Vonnie & Darien. I met Vonnie through Darien in a round about way. Vonnie runs a website called http://www.honeysoul.com which showcases some of the best in soul music in all its wonderful forms. Shortly after D & I finally met in person, she did an interview with him which is how I found her site. It turns out she and Darien are really good friends. We corresponded through myspace here and there then she found me on FB. We are now in contact often and I also help her with some administration stuff. She’s one of the sweetest people I know and funny as hell! Darien and I have come a ways since the first time I saw him sing in Feb ’06 and I’m proud to call him a friend. He’s really down to earth and just an all around cool cat. In October which was the last time I saw him, he asked me to help him out with some business aside from what I do for him already so we are in constantly in touch. I don’t have a whole lot of friends but what I do have is a small bouquet of people whom I care about and cherish. I hope these friendships continue to flourish for the years to come.

All in all, 2007 was a very good year and I look forward to an even greater 2008!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!