As 2012 draws to its conclusion so too does the last year of my 20s. You’d be forgiven for thinking I would be downhearted about this, but I have to admit I’m not; on the contrary in fact, I’m rather looking forward to my 30s.

To be able to put those last 29 years behind me feels good, it fills me with a renewed hope and enthusiasm for getting to where I want to be in life; school, college and university, all miserable times for me at one point or another, now just little more than distant, hazy memories of the past. One thing remains constant; I am still the ambitious and idealistic dreamer I was in my teens, but now much wiser, a little bit smarter (I hope!) and more importantly I feel free, and it is my freedom that is most important to me now and for the future, more important than any possession or amount of money I could possibly own.

Time for a cup of cranberry and sanguinello, I think.