Indira Pranabudi is an Indonesian student studying computer science at Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington. Another year has passed and we have now welcomed the year 2013. 2012 was personally a very memorable year for me; I started a new life in a place i've never been before, met new and wonderful friends, learnt new things and adapted to a completely different culture. It was sad to part with 2012, but since 2012 was such a wonderful year, 2013 will definitely be better.

"Cheers to the New Year!"

Like any other seventeen year old, I felt that I just had to celebrate the New Year with something special. My mother, father, little sister and brother happen to be in town, so my New Year celebration was an exceptionally memorable event. We have been visiting cities around the west coast for the past two weeks—from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, then to Grand Canyon, then to Phoenix, and lots of other places—and since the Space Needle is known to have one of the best fireworks in town, we planned our ‘road trip’ especially so that we would make it back in Seattle just in time for the fireworks.

We left our hotel at about 11pm, and already the streets were packed with people from all around Washington. There were moms and dads cradling their babies, old men and women with blankets ready just in case they feel too cold, young adults in suits and dresses, photographers with their cameras and tripods ready, and not to forget the adolescents with a bottle of beer in their hand. Everybody had a wide grin on their faces and we were all in good spirits. This will sound cliché, but it truly felt like one massive family; it was as if everyone had the same thing in mind, “Let’s just forget about the fiscal cliff, the bills, the university applications, personal statements, or the fact that the temperature is in the mid-30s and just celebrate the New Year!”

"It brought a warm and fuzzy feeling to my heart, celebrating the New Year with my family and seeing everyone happy." Just before the clock struck 12, the countdown began. “Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!” everyone shouted. Then the show began. I remember seeing them shoot out of the Space Needle, yellow, red, green, orange and blue. My favorite part were the yellow rings, I thought they were different from the ordinary. I mean, after years and years of watching the same type of fireworks (you know, the ones that just shoot straight up in the air and burst into tiny pieces), things can get a bit mundane. I also loved how they shot some of the fireworks from the body of the Space Needle, and they made it look like a rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green and then blue.

I’m not an expert on fireworks, so don’t take my words for granted, but I thought this year’s fireworks were definitely better than last year’s, even though I felt it was rather short. I felt that it sort of just stopped rather abruptly—suddenly there were no more fireworks and everyone just stood there waiting for more. It took like 15 seconds for everyone to realize that that’s it folks, no more fireworks! I was determined to wait for another minute, just in case they throw a surprise, but that was it. Or I guess it might be just me. I was busy snapping shots of other people gaping at the fireworks with their cameras and phones held high up in the air that time passed by really fast. But all in all, it was a great New Year celebration.

As I am writing this post, it still feels odd to look at my phone and see that it’s actually ‘2013’ instead of ‘2012’. It feels as if it was just yesterday that I arrived in Washington State, and now it’s been a year. Time does fly fast. Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year, and all the best. Cheers!