And with that, another year comes to a close. I'm going to skip the whole, "I can't believe how fast this year flew by!" stuff, because I prefer to write this column with complete honesty.
And to be completely honest, this year did not fly by. This year dragged on like watching time tick by on an analog clock, or waiting for the movie "Titanic" to get to the point. I mean, really. After 3½ hours, just sink already.
There's been a lot of hurry-up-and-wait to 2011.
In fact, if I could sum up the year in one word, it would be "anticipation." Anticipating graduating high school. Anticipating turning 18. Anticipating going to college. Anticipating coming home from college. I would imagine that I spent the majority of the year in an anxious sweat -- a lot of tapping of feet and pencils on desks, staring at that taunting analog clock.
And now the year is completely over. Finito. Through. And I can't help but feel as though I missed out on all of the good parts of 2011, and all of the amazing things that happened while I was watching the little hand tick by.
So, to quell my fears, I did a quick search of all of the "Best of 2011" lists that every website ever seems to put out at this time of year.
I will admit, I'm a sucker for pop culture lists. I've probably seen every one of VH1's "Best Week Ever" episodes, and I will give my college savings to someone who can find me an E! "15 Most Shocking (Hollywood murders, breakups, plastic surgery nightmares etc.)" I haven't seen. Twice.
But there's something about Best of 2011 lists that never fail to irk me, confuse me, or both.
For instance, why would I need to count down Demi Lovato's best hair styles/colors of 2011? Is there any reason why I should compare and rate the Top 10 best moments of the British royals in 2011? What is 2011's new best YouTube sensation? Lady Gaga's wackiest outfit? Which new celebrity couple of 2011 is your favorite?!
These "Best of 2011" lists do absolutely nothing to display the amazing feats that took place in 2011.
At the very least, they're just an annoying tradition, brought on by writers who are feeling the time crunch, and need to fill 600 words with something the public cares about.
In other words, they are exactly what I'm doing right now.
So without further ado, I give you Adrian Adamo's Personal Compilation of Best of 2011 Lists That Somehow Made the News.
1. Demi Lovato's best hairstyle: Anything except for when she tries to go red. Us gingers stick together, girl. We know you're faking.
2. Best Royal Moment of 2011: When Prince Harry turned around at the royal wedding and was laughing and whispering in his brother's ear. Either that or when that little flower girl freaked out and wouldn't smile for the pictures. My unnecessarily large hat is off to you.
3. Best new YouTube Sensation: Rebecca Black with her nauseatingly catchy "Friday." How else would we know that "tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes after?" You laugh, but she was doing us all a personal service.
4. Lady Gaga's Wackiest Outfit: Grammy's 2011, when she arrived in an egg. Besides that time I got food poisoning at that one diner, this is the second most important reason I don't eat eggs.
5. Best new celebrity couple of 2011: Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Love happens, people. Get over it.
So, with that out of the way, you can stop fretting about making those decisions for yourself and focus on what's ahead for us in 2012.
So many wonders await us, the arrival of Beyoncé's baby being the No. 1 most important, of course.
As for me, all fretting aside, 2011 was a great year.
I managed a number of personal triumphs over the course of the year, including (but not limited to) graduating high school, turning 18, going to college, making some of the best friends I've ever had, coming home from college, and learning the actual lyrics to "Bust a Move."
You have no idea how satisfying it is to actually know the words and stop just doing that sad humming along thing.
And with that, I leave you with a wish for a happy and safe New Year, and with the hope that all your New Year's resolutions come true.
As for me, I'm making it a personal goal to switch to digital clocks.
Adrian Adamo, a 2011 graduate of Oneonta High School, is a freshman at Emerson College in Boston. 'Teen Talk' columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/teentalk.
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