The following quote from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities captures the way I characterize 2009; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness...”

Perhaps the Dickens quote is a little dramatic, but it best describes how I feel about this past year and what I went through. Here’s a brief look in order:

Lowlight of 2009:

• Being laid off – Yup, this tops the list as the lowlight of the year. I can now say the phrase, “I was laid off” to family, friends  and sometimes to complete strangers without flinching, feeling embarrassment, shame or inadequacy.

Highlights of 2009:

• Volunteering at Luminato
• Rediscovering my love for fashion
• Starting this blog
• Reconnecting with old friends
• Working at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
• Welcoming my nephew into the world and into the family (he is now three-months old)
• Attending and covering LG Fashion Week’s S/S 2010 shows and events
• Meeting and establishing a whole new network of supporters and friends

I mention these personal events in my life openly on The Souls of My Shoes (and in previous entries) not looking for sympathy, but to share with you what fuelled me to start this blog, maintain it and how it initially served as a life raft and is now a vehicle for my ideas, love of fashion and writing. Funnily enough, the good outweighs the bad exponentially in the above list. I’m very thankful for the opportunities and people I’ve met along the way, as well as the support received from my family, friends and readers which has and continues to be uplifting and heart warming.

Here’s a working list of what I look forward to in 2010:

• Finding and landing a full-time job
• Attending and covering LG Fashion Week’s fall/winter 2010 collections in March
• Continuing to create interesting and thoughtful content for The Souls of My Shoes

Like Karl Lagerfeld wrote in the pictured tweet, I look forward to setting ablaze the past and creating positive change and fresh starts for 2010. Happy New Year.