2012; without a doubt, a year to remember.

A year of smiles and a year of tears, a year of surprises and a year of disappointments. A year filled with good days and bad days, busy days and lazy days. A year of taking one step forward followed by two steps back; on more than one occassion. A year of doctors appointments, specialist appointments and unexpected hospital visits. A year of illness and a year of recovery. A year of family holidays and spur of the moment overseas adventures. A year of countless realisations; of those who matter and those who don’t, those who were always there and those who weren’t, those who are worth your time and those who aren’t. A year to remember old memories and a year to create new ones. A year spent with family, friends and those people who mean the most. A year of appreciation and a year of struggles that have proven a strength beyond words. A year of falling apart and a year of coming together. A year of laughter, happiness and moments both good and bad, that without a doubt, won’t ever be forgotten.

At the very least, I can honestly say that although the past three hundred and sixty-five days were not at all what I was expecting them to be, after the year that I’ve just had, I’ve come to the realisation that perhaps that was the point; just because it wasn’t quite what I was expecting it to be, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t everything I’ve been waiting for. Just because it wasn’t quite what I may have wanted, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t everything that I needed.

So after the past three hundred and sixty-five days, if 2012 has taught me anything, it’s that despite the plans that we make and the expectations that we have, it’s the unexpected moments that make the greatest memories; the ones that catch us off guard, the ones that take us by surprise.

After three hundred and sixty-five days on the 2012 Rollercoaster of Life, I am pleased to say that I am heading into 2013 with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Healthier, stronger, braver and so much happier than the year before, ready for the next stage of this big adventure called life.

From the very first moment I walked through that door, I was in absolute awe. There it was, the most beautiful, elegant, breathtaking hotel in what could quite possibly be the whole of Australia. There it was, right there in front of me; a bedroom fit for a queen.

A bedroom with rooftops reaching as high as the stars, beds that were like sleeping on a sky filled with clouds, a bathroom that was almost too beautiful to leave, marble sinks and complimentary robes, timeless decor and a hallway that was longer than the one in my very own home. Right there in front of me was my very own piece of paradise; a paradise that I can honestly say took my breath away.

All of those years spent visiting The Treasury Casino and not once had we stopped by to visit the hotel. After all of this time and still, there it was; so beautiful, so elegant and so hidden. There it was, hiding right underneath our noses, this whole entire time.

It was like uncovering a box of hidden treasure; a treasure that I never even knew existed, a treasure that left me wondering.

Along with the beautiful Treasury Hotel, just what other hidden treasures could be out there?

Just what else could be hiding right underneath my nose, silently waiting for it’s chance to take my breath away?

To be perfectly honest, I know absolutely nothing at all about this ‘end of the world’ concept, nor do I wish to know anything about it. I don’t understand the theory behind a zombie apocalypse, I don’t know what time the world is apparently going to end and I don’t know how or why this is all suppose to happen, but there are a few things that I do know.

1. Life is short, regardless of possible zombie attacks.

2. I have lived twenty-one years of a life more amazing than I ever could have dreamed.

3. Despite being afraid, I have loved with my whole entire heart.

4. A family truly is a love beyond words.

5. Soulmates aren’t just for fairytales.

6. Superheroes really do exist, I happen to have one as my big brother.

7. Happiness is a choice; it’s a state of mind.

8. True friends don’t need to speak daily, true friends can go months without speaking and yet still pick up right where it was that they left off.

9. Just one single hug can make anything and everything better, especially when it comes from your Dadda.

10. Laughter really is the best medicine.

11. Life is beautiful.

12. Christmas will always be a time of magic, regardess of how ‘grown up’ you may consider yourself to be.

13. Despite what society leads us to believe, a Mumma and her Daughter can in fact be the very vest of friends.

14. We all make mistakes, it’s a natural part of life. The hard part is learning how to forgive ourselves.

15. If in doubt, follow your instincts.

16. Change is inevitable, embrace it.

17. Bad things happen to good people and there is not a single thing that we can do about it.

18. Making other people happy is actually far less important than making ourselves happy.

19. Nothing is ever as bad as it first seems.

20. Everything happens for a reason, even if we may not know what that reason is just yet.

So really, if the world truly is going to end tonight, then let’s face it; at the end of the day, there really is nothing at all we can do to change it. At one stage or another, each of our worlds are going to end. It may not be at the very same time and it may not be caused by a zombie apocalypse, but eventually, life as we know it is going to come to an end. What we choose to do between now and then though, is completely up to us.

Personally, given that my lovely big brother has already informed me that I will be a first waver, whatever that means, I’m chooing to enjoy it while it lasts; however long that may be.

I’m choosing to continue to love, with my whole entire heart. To smile until my cheeks are sore and my heart is happy. To laugh uncontrollably, at anything and everything and to live as though every single day counts, because regardless of whether we have one day, one hundred days or one hundred years, each of those days is just as important as the next. Each of those days has the potential to be great, to be wonderful, to be momentous. Each of those days has the potential to spark a moment that changes our lives, we just have to be courageous enough to light that spark.

Considering today is December 20th; just five short days before Christmas, most people would assume that by this stage, all Christmas Tree’s would well and truly be decorated. I am pleased to inform you however, that my family and I are not like most people; especially when it comes to Christmas.

You see, most people like to decorate their tree on December 1st; allowing them the whole of December to admire it’s beauty before tearing it down for yet another year. Our family however, tend to do things a little differently, we prefer to admire the beauty of our Christmas Tree for just that little bit longer.

Every year, somewhere between December 15th and December 23rd, we finally decide that it’s time to decorate our Christmas Tree and every year, we wait until atleast mid-April before we tear it all back down again.

Every year, we take out an entire box full of decorations that we have collected for a little over a century and we do our best to fit every single one of them onto our already full Christmas Tree.

Every year, we have tinsel that doesn’t match, decorations of all shapes, sizes and colours and a train heading for the North Pole that sadly, no longer ‘choo-choo’s’, but every year, our Christmas Tree always looks beautiful.

Sure, it may be a little busier than most and it may take a little longer to climb out of it’s box, but every year it always shines bright, it always looks happy and it is always, always filled with presents; just the way we like it.

I’m going to be honest, Christmas has well and truly snuck up on me this year. Believe it or not, despite the twelve month warning and the sea of red and green, I didn’t quite see it coming.

It wasn’t until early this afternoon while I was busily searching online for a few last minute gift idea’s, that I realised just how close Christmas truly was. Sadly though, the realisation that soon followed wasn’t quite as exciting; given that Christmas was now just seven days away, the chances of ordering something online and having it arrive in time for Christmas were fairly slim and so just like that, it appeared that perhaps I wasn’t quite as organised as I had previously thought.

Regardless of my recent realisation however, I decided to continue on with my last minute search. After all, what was Christmas without a few Christmas miracles?

Tonight though, as I removed the million and one safari animals that were covering my bed, I noticed an overload of butterflies floating around in my tummy. Butterflies that had a distinct Christmas spirit about them and despite my best efforts to control the excitement, hours later, I was still wide awake, smiling from ear to ear.

Christmas has always, always been a favourite, for as far back as I can remember; a trait that I undoubtedly inherited from my Mumma. Ever since I was old enough to understand numbers, I found myself counting down the days. I would begin in January and I would count all the way through to December 25th, because along with my overly excited Mumma and probably the rest of the world, I really just couldn’t wait for Santa to arrive.

Now though, given that most people would consider my life to be somewhat of a ‘holiday’ all year round, I seem to have lost track of the days a little bit, causing December 25th to come around slightly quicker than usual and my Christmas excitement to come all at once.

Perhaps it was the million and one Christmas presents filling our house; finally all wrapped up.

Perhaps it was because I had finally finished ordering the very last of my surprise Christmas gifts; gifts that just like every other year, I couldn’t wait to hand out.

Perhaps it was because my little mind had wandered off to the thought of just what it was that Santa would be leaving out under that Christmas Tree this year, my favourite part of all.

Perhaps it was the thought of a Christmas a little more exciting than the last; a Christmas where I would be happier, healthier even.

Perhaps it was all of those things and much, much more.

Whatever the reasons behind it were though, it certainly made me smile. So much so, that even at 11:55pm, the sheer amount of excitement was making it almost impssible for me to fall asleep. Considering that this happens every year though, I suppose I shouldn’t really be surprised.

Perhaps I should use this as practice, because really, we all know that come Christmas Eve, this little girl is going to be laying in bed wide-eyed and unable to sleep. She’ll have the biggest smile spread across her face and the craziest butterflies floating around in her tummy. She’ll be more excited than any other day of the year and she’ll be counting down the hours until morning, just so she can reach down and peek into that fat little overflowing stocking of hers, because even at twenty-one, Christmas is still as wonderful as ever.

The people, the food, the presents, the smiles and the promise of enjoying it all over again, in a matter of just 365 days; what more could a girl ask for?

Today we added yet another name to my long list of doctors attempting to aid in my recovery, only today, things were a little bit different. Today, for quite possibly the first time in history, my doctor made me smile.

I’m going to be honest though, walking into a store that had shelves and shelves of countless jars, filled with things that I’m certain belonged in a horror movie, had me feeling less than impressed. Just in case that wasn’t strange enough though, as it turns out, this particular doctor didn’t take appointments as such. Apparently he preferred to take walk-in patients by writing their name on a piece of paper; something that in all of my countless medical visits, I had never seen before. I was beginning to question just what I had managed to get myself into.

However, once the jolly little Chinese man smiled at me and said hello, all of those nerves seemed to disappear, as if almost like magic. Magic in the sense that despite the fact that we were now sitting in a tiny little room no bigger than our bathroom, in the middle of a Chinese grocery store with the door left wide open, somehow, I still had a smile on my face.

It was then that I decided; regardless of whether or not this lovely man became another addition to the list of failed attempts or one of our very first success stories, he had made me chuckle and as far as my endless experiences with doctors go, that was more than enough.

Our appointment soon began and after pulling out a paper and a pen, the lovely little Chinese man smiled. Then, for around the fifth time in what seemed to be less than two minutes, he said hello. Yet another hello, to which I of course smiled and again, politey said hello back. He then went on to ask me how I was, only it wasn’t in the usual manner that most doctors ask; for the first time in history, this man genuinely seemed to care.

“What has happened to you, what wrong?” he asked.

“I can’t promise things get better right away, but I promise to try my best fix you” he said, smiling yet again.

Despite the slight language barrier, seeing the look in his eyes, I couldn’t help but have faith; something that I had lost somewhere along this never ending medical journey.

I went on to tell him about my Chronic Fatigue, along with numerous other things I was hoping he could help me with and again, he smiled, asking if he could take my pulse. A few moments had passed with his hand resting on my right wrist, until eventually, he changed to my left wrist, asked me to poke out my tongue, checked my eyes and that was it, we were done.

He told me a few things that I struggled to understand, before writing down three things on his piece of paper that I wasn’t able to translate with my simple grade seven level of Chinese knowledge. So considering I had absolutely no idea what was on this piece of paper in front of me or just what this lovely little Chinese man would be sending me home with, I suppose it was quite lucky that I trusted him.

I was told to stay away from coffee, cold water, lettuce and bean sprouts, which given the circumstances, seemed rather strange to me. Coffee seemed to be fair enough and cold water even made a little bit of sense to me, but what could possibly be bad about lettuce and bean sprouts?

I told him that coffee was not a part of my staple diet, nor had it ever been, so giving that a miss would not at all be a problem and although water is all that I ever drink, I much prefer it to be room temperature than cold. The lettuce and bean sprouts however, that had me slightly puzzled. With a curious look on my face, I found myself questioning his reasons and it was what happened next that made me chuckle the most.

Just in case he hadn’t already made me smile enough, after asking him his reasoning behind limiting my lettuce and bean sprout intake, he jumped from his seat in excitement, shouting “Good question! Good question! I tell you, I tell you!”

What followed however, had absolutely no link to the question I had asked, nor did it in anyway link back to lettuce or bean sprouts.

He began to tell me about Yin and Yang and that they were like woman and man, like water and fire. He then proceeded to smile, as though his explanation was complete and asked me if I had understood. However, given that I was now even more confused than before, I tried my best to hold in my laughter and again, I asked him how lettuce and bean sprouts fitted into all of this.

Again, with more enthusiam than I have ever heard from a small Chinese man, he shouted “Good question! Good question! I tell you, I tell you”

Only this time, he did.

Although they are indeed a healthy part of any diet, it seems that too much lettuce and bean sprouts are not good for my Yin and Yang. Apparently, they have the ability to cool my liver at a faster rate than we would like, something that given my bodies lack of ability to keep a stable temperature, is not a good thing.

Luckily, this time I understood.

He then went on to tell me that he would be on holidays for a few weeks, but that he would love for me to come back and see him once he was back, as long as I was fine with the idea and surprisingly, for quite possibly the first time in my life, I was. So much so, that the thought of another visit to this jolly little man, already had me smiling.

After sending me home with a limit on my lettuce and bean sprouts, a promise to only drink room temperature water and three bottles of tablets; one marked A, one marked B and one marked C, he quietly whispered that I needed to try and limit the stress in my life. Something that up until now, I wasn’t overly sure how too. Today though, I think I finally found the answer.

Perhaps all I had ever needed was a few less careless doctors and a few more Chinese Herbalists. Perhaps all I had ever needed was a doctor with a contagious smile and a genuine desire to help; someone who would explain to me the concept of the Yin and Yang, whilst making me chuckle uncontrollably. Perhaps after all of this time, it really was just that simple.

Reece Mastin; what an experience.

Firstly, I have never seen so many teenage girls in one place at one time in my whole entire life. Secondly, I have never heard so many teenage girls screaming that loudly in my whole entire life and thirdly, teenage girls are officially growing up way, way too fast.

For the purpose of the story though, it’s probably best if we go back to where it all began; The Janoskians.

Personally, I have absolutely no idea who they are and after tonights experiences, I have absolutely no desire to ever find out. However, if the screams that were coming from the rest of the crowd were anything to go by, it would seem that the rest of the room obviously felt differently about the idea. Given that they really weren’t all that impressive though, I can’t quite see what all the fuss was about. Although, considering I almost lost my use of hearing from the constant high pitched screams, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that it must be a teenage thing.

Next up; Justice Crew. Someone who in theory, I was quite excited to be watching. The crowd full of people however, made that nearly impossible. Even on the off chance that I could’ve made it past the screaming and shouting, it was almost impossible to see the stage through the rows of people who had decided to stand in their seats in front of me.

Mind you, I don’t think I lasted a single song before walking out and even then I was almost certain my poor little head was going to explode.

So there I was; sitting outside waiting for Reece to come on stage, on the opposite side of closed doors, hundreds of metres from a room filled with teenage girls and yet the constant screams were still enough to warrant ear plugs and panadol. It was safe to say that by this stage, I was well and truly regretting my decision.

However, fast forward half an hour to the moment that the cute little Reece Mastin finally walks himself out onto the stage and all of the doubt that I had once held, instantly melted away. There he was, standing out there on that stage; the cutest little rockstar that I had ever seen, singing his heart out. I was officially impressed, as were the thousands of teenage girls around me, still screaming their little lungs out.

The life of a rockstar, right?

How a person can go through life without a pet by their side, absolutely amazes me. Regardless of whether it is a goldfish or a goat, a cockatiel or a cat, a duck or a dog, the specifics of the species don’t really matter. How a person can come home to an empty house though, without any sign of a loving animal there to greet them as they walk through the door, that is something that I don’t think I will ever understand.

Personally, I can’t even imagine walking through my front door and not having my baby girl waiting out the back for me. Luckily though, just a few shorts step and there she is; wagging her tail so fast that she might just fly away, patiently waiting for that door to slide open so she can race in for a head scratch, a belly rub and sometimes if she’s really lucky, both.

Story time and cuddles with my Matilda are by far my favourite part of the day. In fact, anything to do with my beautiful German Shepherd is my favourite part of every day. So much so, that she only has to be gone from the house for just a few hours and suddenly, I have absolutely no idea what to do with myself. The second my favourite little mat of fur is no longer spread out in the middle of the hallway floor, I am completely lost.

Regardless of how many people may be at home for company, life without animals is overwhelmingly lonely and despite the fact that they cannot actually talk, even a single day without them is far too quiet for my liking.

Among with an endless list of other wonderful things, animals have a way of making a house happy. They have a magical presence that automatically fills a room with love. They’re infectious and they’re uplifting and the unconditional love that they have for every single person that they meet, is unlike anything I have ever known. They’re trusting in a way that no human could ever compare too and their loyalty is something to be admired.

They’re comforting, they’re good listeners, they never judge and despite being unable to talk back as such, somehow, they always know just what to say. Sure they may smell, they may lose their feathers or their fur and they may even cause their fair share of trouble from time to time, but even with all of those things included, animals are good for the soul.

Although they may not last on this earth for as long as we may like them too, the impact that they have during the short time that they are here is exponential. The happiness that they fill our lives with is priceless and the love that they fill our hearts with is a love that goes beyond words.

To animals, the act of loving someone unconditionally is an instinct, an instinct that they are born with. To us humans however, we are often hesitant to share that same level of trust and vulnerability. Amazingly enough though, once we open up our homes along with our hearts to the love of an animal, given enough time, our instincts begin to change. Given enough time, animals don’t just teach us to smile unconrollably, they too teach us to love unconditionally.

Unlike the bond that is shared between two people however, the bond that is shared between an animal and a human is unbreakable. A bond that deep, that lasting and that strong is a bond that will stand the test of time.

Be it a day, a month, a year or even a decade, regardless of how long they may have been in our lives for, they have a way of leaving pawprints on our hearts that like their memories, will stay with us forever.

After a conversation that I had last night with a beautiful, amazing, strong young lady, who like many of us, has been struggling to see all of those wonderful things in herself, I became inspired.

Why is it that we find it so easy to give compliments to others, to point out their better qualities and to ignore their faults and yet when it comes to doing that very same thing for ourselves, it becomes seemingly impossible.

We look in the mirror and we almost instantly pick ourselves apart. We find anything and everything that we dislike about ourselves and we highlight it. So much so, that eventually, it’s all we ever see. Eventually, without even realising, all of those beautiful things that make us who we are, are torn down and replaced with negative comments and terrible thoughts. Eventually, without even realising it, we lose sight of our own beauty because we’ve been picking apart our flaws for so long. Flaws that more often than not, the rest of the world can’t even see.

We tear ourselves down and at the very same time, we place the rest of the world so high up on a pedestal that it becomes almost impossible to reach them. We compare ourselves to others on a daily basis and we value our own self worth by how worthy perceive others to be, when quite often that perception could not be further from the truth.

On any given day, we could walk down the street and see a million girls with a million and one traits that we would kill to have. Girls with perfect legs, gorgeous hair, amazing skin, that beautiful summer glow, clothes that we could only dream of and a quiet confidence that somehow pulls it all together and yet chances are, if we stopped to compliment them on any one of those things, our compliment wouldn’t be heard because they too are just like us. Although they may appear in our eyes to be pure perfection, they too have their downfalls and their insecurities. Believe it or not, they too are just as self conscious as we are.

Although we may not admit it to ourselves, the odds are that we’ve all been there. We’ve all been that girl who doubts herself on more than one occassion and unless this issue is something that we’ve previously addressed and consciously changed, then I would take a wild guess and say that most of us are probably still there. Still struggling to see our own beauty, because we’re constantly clouded by our own negative judgements.

So why is it that we continue to tear ourselves down, day in and day out?

Why is it that we insist on comparing ourselves to others, who we know are doing that very same thing with us?

Why is it that we feel the need to base our own self worth on how worthy we believe others to be?

When did treating ourselves in such a negative way become something so accepted, something so universal?

When did beauty become more about the girl standing next to us than the girl staring back at us in the mirror?

When did beauty become skin deep?

That daily battle; the battle of self worth, it starts with us and it ends with us and if we can be strong enough to stand up and fight back, then maybe, if we’re really lucky, that battle can end right now. Maybe if we’re really lucky, we can turn things around and finally start to appreciate our own beauty.

We need to stop tearing ourselves down and we need to start lifting ourselves back up. We need to stop telling ourselves horrible things and we need to start reminding ourselves of the things that make us beautiful, the things that make us unique. We need to stop putting the rest of the world so high up on a pedestal, only to make ourselves feel inadequate. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and we need to start giving ourselves permission to be completely ourselves, flaws and all. We need to stop convincing ourselves that we are worthless and start reminding ourselves that we are in fact worth nothing less than the world.

Love starts with us; it starts within ourselves. Love starts in the mirror, with that person staring back at us. If we can learn to accept that person, then we can begin to accept anyone or anything. If we can learn to appreciate that person, then people can begin to appreciate us. If we can learn to love that person, then love can finally have a chance at finding us.

After all, it’s not the clothes we wear or how we do our make up, it’s not the car we drive or how we style our hair, it’s not how much money we make or how smart we are, it’s not how tanned or how pale our skin may be and it’s not how big or how small we are that defines us. None of that is what makes a person truly beautiful.

What makes a person beautiful is their heart and their soul, their personality and their uniqueness, their zest for life and the confidence that they have in themselves. A confident girl with a smile on her face, happy within herself and completely comfortable in her own skin; that’s the type of girl who is beautiful. That’s the type of girl who we should all aspire to be.

So the next time you find yourself standing there, tearing down that beautiful person staring back at you, please stop. Stop breaking apart that perfect little smile and instead, start doing everything in your power to slowly put it back together again.

Beginning today, start believing that you are the most beautiful, wonderful, precious gift that God could have possibly given to this world, because although you may not believe that right now, eventually, you will.

Eventually you’ll begin to believe in yourself again, eventually you’ll begin to love yourself again and eventually, you’ll begin to see the beauty in yourself again. Eventually you will win this battle of the mind, because at the end of the day, you’re far too beautiful not too.

Today is the first day of December; the first day of my favourite month of the whole entire year and I could not be more excited.

Just in case the rest of the world isn’t quite as excited though, here are a few reasons why they should be. Here are just a few of the million and one reasons why December always makes me smile.

1. The sweet smell of Summer.

2. The colours of Christmas.

3. The endless boxes filled with decorations that magically transform our house into our own little Santa’s Workshop.

4. Trying to fit every single one of the million and one decorations we’ve saved over the years onto just one single tree.

5. My lack of talent in regards to tinsel decorating.

6. Saving the star for last, just so Brother can place it on top.

7. The countless presents overflowing from beneath our Christmas tree, every single year.

8. Christmas lights; the good and the bad.

9. Advent calendars.

10. Childhood memories.

11. Counting down the days until Santa visits.

12. The fact that even at twenty-one, Santa still visits.

13. Waking up Christmas morning to find my cute little Snowman basket, full of my all time favourite lollies and chocolates.

14. Opening the fridge to find a whole leg of ham, just waiting to be eaten.

15. Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies.

16. Christmas baking.

17. Christmas fruit.

18. Any and all Christmas food, despite the fact that for the past few years I’ve been unable to eat it.

19. The countless bargains that Mumma and I always seem to find, shopping through the Christmas sales.

20. Fighting the crowds at the Boxing Day sales.

21. The story of The crooked little Christmas Tree.

22. Christmas Eve butterflies.

23. Christmas morning surprises.

24. Waking up, realising it’s morning and racing to the end of my bed to check my Santa stocking.

25. Sneaking into Brothers room to check his stocking too.

26. The fact that even at twenty-one, Santa still fills our stocking.

27. Closing my eyes all the way down the hallway, just to make our Santa present an even bigger surprise.

28. Giving Matilda her annual Rudolph teddy bear.

29. Opening the wrong presents because Mumma got the wrapping papers mixed up.

30. Unwrapping Dadda’s present and finding his pick of perfume for the year, which might I just add, is always amazing. I’m actually starting to think it’s a hidden talent of his.

31. Stopping between each unwrapped present, just to say thank you; at least twice.

32. Cooking pancakes for breakfast.

33. Placing every single perfect present out on my bed, while smiling uncontrollably.

34. Playing Mumma’s game of ‘Three Favourites’.

35. Changing into my Christmas Day outfit.

36. Sending my million and one ‘Merry Christmas’ texts while I wait for the rest of the family to arrive.

37. Beginning our lunch time feast.

38. Scratchie time.

39. Afternoon naps.

40. Knowing that in just 365 days, we get to do it all over again.

More than all of those things though, I love the way that somehow, Christmas always brings out the best in us. I love that for a whole entire month, everyone just seems to be that little bit happier and somehow, even the sun seems to shine just that little bit brighter, almost as if he’s smiling too.

Then almost magically, come Christmas morning, it’s as though all of the problems of the world just seem to slip away. For an entire twenty-four hours, all that matters is the people you’re with, the memories you’re making and just how you’re going to fit that last little bit of Christmas food into an already full belly. For an entire twenty-four hours, the magic of Christmas fills the air and somehow, all of our wildest dreams come true.