My 2010 Highlights

2010 was a crazy year. Without a doubt a tough year, but has proven to be very rewarding.Here are my highlights for the year 2010:

1. Anea - The Birth of My Daughter I have two amazing boys, but my wife blessed our lives with a beautiful little girl in July. Oh how having another girl in my life has changed everything. Besides all the pink in our house now, I'm really a lucky guy.

2. Rediscovery of Myself To say 2010 was difficult would almost be an understatement. There was a lot of stuff that went down that has seasoned me in my life. Losing trust in relationships, changing my work environment and determining my future were all a part of 2010. Through all of that though, I've really discovered more of who I am and what I can do. It's sad things went like this, but now I know myself better and what I can accomplish.

3. Winning Contests We won two video contests this year. The first with Cineplex and the second with Discovery Canada (and Dr. Bondar). After entering a number of video contests over the last few years (I think I've entered 5 before these 2) and never winning anything more than honors or a small prize, I won two BIG contests. I flew to Toronto to screen our short, met Robert Bateman and got some loot to boot. A big highlight no doubt.

4. My Photo Challenge I wanted to challenge myself to use my camera more. I decided to challenge myself to take and post a new picture everyday for 30 days. I invited anyone that might want to join in, but figured I'd be doing it myself. Little did I know that people would be so interested in joining. I enjoyed the challenge but I think I enjoyed connecting and commenting with everyone. I even met some new people through the process and thankful I did.

5. Turning 30 I hit the big 30 in 2010 and my wife surprised me with a birthday party. She got me really good, I had no idea, not to mention she made it a video scavenger hunt.

2010 overall was a good year. Some moments I would go back and live all over again, if I could just get my flux capacitor working right. And there are a lot of moments I'll leave in 2010. I'm thankful for my family, my health and my friends. Thankful for a great year and the amazing start that's to come for 2011.

To you and yours, I wish you a Happy New Year. Matthew A. Hawkins