I really had no idea what 2009 would be like for me when it started, and it's gone faster than any year yet for me. But it turned out to be one of my best years ever.

I went from being a freelancer who was fairly miserable and making just enough money to get by, to working at Sunlight I moved from New York to DC, and then moved within DC from a bad house to a great house. I've traveled all over the place, including a 2-week jaunt through eastern Europe. I've met tons of amazing people, especially my terrific coworkers and their friends, and I have one of my best roommates in years.

I also made a bunch of mobile apps, which has been a lot of fun. I somehow have two Android apps on the Market, with a 3rd to drop imminently, and I managed to get an iPhone app on the Store with some help After doing primarily web development for years, Android has been a huge breath of fresh air. I feel much more motivated to work on side projects than ever since graduating college.

I also took the LSAT this year, and applied to 16 law schools. I'm waiting to hear back, but I have high hopes. I waver by the day on whether to actually go, but it's been an arduous and illuminating experience just to get this far.

Obama's winning of the Iowa caucuses in 2008, and his trip through the primaries, was a seminal experience for me. Though I've always been somewhat politically engaged, never on the daily, microscopic level that I was in 2008. In 2009, I was surprised to find that this continued well after the thrill of the election season was over. I read the news and FiveThirtyEight every day, and I think it's a really healthy thing for me.

My main hope for 2010 is that my future starts to materialize. I have a pattern of seeing my future and making decisions a year at a time. Even if I continue to wing it, I want to have something more specific that I'm winging my way towards. And you know, with the law school application process, and all the books I've read lately, I feel this sense of momentum and burgeoning clarity that may just get me there.