By By Lindsey Sherrill
Staff Writer
Wow. Can you believe it's January 1 again? I don't know about you, but this seemed like a very short year to me. It feels like only yesterday that I was sitting on the floor (we were remodeling and all the furniture was outside), freezing my poor toes off, watching bowl games in the dark.
This past year, though it has gone quickly, has been one of change and progress, not only for me personally, but also for this paper and community.
When I look back to this time a year ago in my own life, I wonder how that life could belong to the same person. Since January 2002 I have grown and changed in so many ways! I have been in two community theatre productions, both of which taught me so much outside of acting. In only a few short months I've gone from writing only occasionally for myself or for school to writing for a newspaper. Before this year I'd only been to one basketball game in my life – now I write about them every week! I've changed schools this year. I've gained friends and lost friends. I've grown stronger, more confident. I don't even look like I did last year!
In our community we have seen so many changes for good in this past year. New businesses have arrived. Storefronts and lots that were vacant are now clean and full of life. There is a sense of unity and purpose that didn't exist before. New organizations have sprung up and old ones have new life.
Here at the Advance, 2002 was full of changes. We have seen staff come and go. We have seen new looks and improvements. As we look forward to 2003, we hope to continue the improvements of the past few months as we strive to be your community newspaper. You may have noticed some new features in the Pages from the Past this week. Let me know what you think about these and anything else I do. I always love to hear feedback or suggestions.
In closing, I just want to say Happy 2003. May 2003 be the best year yet for you, your family, and our community. Happy New Year, everybody!
Lindsey Sherrill is a staff writer for The Atmore Advance. She can be reached at lindsey_sherrill@hotmail.com.