Reflections from 2011

For me, 2011 was the year of many things. There were ups and downs, changes, revelations, and many things to be proud of.

2011 was the year of tech: But then again we could probably call every year in this century the year of tech in some way. For me personally, 2011 changed the way that I think about technology as a whole.  Yes, I have always been into technology. And by always I mean since I was a kid. But this past year or more has changed the way I DO technology. 🙂 Computers, smartphones, tablets… instead of all of that just being a shiny toy to play with, it all now has a much bigger purpose in my life. It is becoming my livelihood. There is a huge market for those that know tech. And I am lucky enough to be one of those in the know.

2011 was the year of travel: I went a lot of places. Indeed I did. I visited Vegas, Detroit, Holland, MI, Asheville, NC, Orlando, Austin, San Diego, and Foster City, CA. And there could have been a couple more, but I chose to sit out of a couple of events that required travel to hang at home with my kids.

2011 was the year of connections: I connected with so many awesome people, brands, companies, friends, and acquaintances in 2011. I still love what social media does for us. I have many IRL friends that I met through some form of social media. I always love the atmosphere of conferences when you finally get to meet face to face. You hear that lovely squeal that so many of us make.

2011 was the year of events: I turned down attending just as many events in 2011 that I attended. This was usually do to work, the kids, and other prior commitments. 2011 was very busy! There was a lot of great stuff going on. Some more notable events that allowed me to travel to the awesome places mentioned above include CES, NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show), the Chicago Auto Show, the eBay Parent Panel Kick-Off, AMD Tech Mom’s Summit, and the Sony PlayStation Parent kick-off. Then there were many events her at home including my 2nd annual ChiTown Mom’s Nite out, BlogaDelicious to celebrate the Blogalicious conference, and an awesome Holiday Blogger party that I co-hosted with Kim Moldofsky.

2011 was the year of reflections:  I have so many ideas of things that I want to accomplish. And once again I am at the end of the year and thinking back on things that I would now do differently. I don’t want this to turn into a whole paragraph about resolutions, so I will just say that some things have happened very recently that for lack of a better word made me realize that I need to stop being afraid and get up off my a$$ and make things happen for myself.  I am 37 years old and thinking ahead to when I am 40. When that time comes I want to have a list of accomplishments that I am proud to recite. Of course my children will remain at the top of this list. But honestly? Almost anyone can have children and many do every day. But what you do after that makes all the difference in the world. How do you children see you? If asked to describe you to others, how would they? And when you are asked to describe the past year of your own life would you be proud to do it? I want to make sure that in 2012 I will have many, many things that I will be proud to talk about. Not saying that 2011 was bad. But, I know that there is room for improvement.

What did 2011 mean for you?