The old saying goes that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. I like to say that when life throws pomegranates at you, you make sure you know how to cut, peel, seed and eat that blood red fruit, because life isn’t as simple as lemonade. Life throws you heavy pomegranates more than it does puny lemons any day and 2009 was definitely a year of hard hitting fruit.

After a year of dilly dallying with the idea of finally launching myself as a bona fide journalist, I decided in the wee hours of 2009 that I was going to make it happen this year. Writing was my drug and I felt soulless and empty, not to mention deathly afraid that the journalism infused dreams I carried with me so long were going to wither away and disappear. I made up my mind – the economy wasn’t going to stop me, the tanking journalism industry wasn’t going to stop me and neither was a full-time job. After sitting through almost four hours of traffic before and after an eight hour day of editing, I would come home, research, pitch and email into the dead of the night. Something else took over me. I didn’t know what being tired was anymore because I had surpassed it. You know when you start to feel sleepy at 11 p.m. and if you somehow fight it and get to 12 a.m., you suddenly recharge and you feel like you have the entire world in your hands? That’s how I got through it.

The long hours paid off and I soon found myself writing and fact-checking for Edible Los Angeles, contributing frequent feature stories and reviews to the Glendale News Press and Burbank Leader, as well as having my pitches accepted by two publications that I love and adore oh so much – Bitch and Paste. I finally felt worthy of the “journalist” title. I finally felt like my soul was slowly creeping back into my body. And then, in the midst of it all, I got this crazy idea to start an online magazine that has been my pride and joy for more than half of the year. It has allowed me to explore my past, write about what I love and participate in the type of journalism I believe in, the type that I felt was stolen away from me when too many people made bad choices that ultimately ended up collapsing the entire industry, the type that moved people and made a difference .

A strange kind of happiness glazed over me and boy it was wonderful.

When I wasn’t enthralled in my writing, I got a chance to spend some time in London, take a trip to San Francisco and exploring Los Angeles more thoroughly than ever before.

I survived the Station Fire that engulfed Los Angeles earlier this year, watched as the country my parents and I were born in erupted in protests and bloodshed and made so many new friends on Twitter.

Of course, the year had to go out with a bang – earlier this month I got into my first accident which has still left me car-less – not something I particularly mind but this is L.A. after all and not having a car is the equivalent of saying you don’t have any oxygen.

I’m looking forward to 2010, my theme for the new year is “change.” This year was one of transition for me, one of getting my feet wet and finally having the courage to take a few steps in the direction that I wanted my professional and personal life to go in. For the next 365 days however, the plan is to double or even triple the rate that I was going at. This means more writing, more pitching, more creativity, more devotion and confidence and strength and guts, more love, respect, trust and peace. Watch out world, I’m coming for you.