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Your e-mails: Remembering 2005CNN.com readers offer their thoughts on the past year
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Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions. (CNN) -- As 2005 comes to an end, many people are contemplating the events, both international and personal, of the past 12 months. CNN.com asked readers how they will remember 2005. Here are a few of their responses, some of which have been edited: For my son Patrick and I, 2005 can be summed up in one word -- deployment. My wife left to serve with the Third Infantry Division in Iraq on the 20th of January 2005 and is scheduled to arrive home in the next few weeks. It's been an interesting year learning to be apart while growing closer over e-mail, letters, and Web cam sessions. As a family we learned that the Army is in our future and we can survive a yearlong deployment. As a father I learned more about my son and what it means to be a single working parent. As a husband and family readiness group leader for my wife's company I learned how vital support at home is to her mission and a unit remaining combat effective. I consider myself fortunate to learn so much despite the cost of separation. Unfortunately, I can't call it a good year until my wife walks across the parade field at Fort Stewart, sweeps her son into her arms, and is wrapped tight in my arms until the next time our country needs her service abroad. Although 2005 is passing, my problems are not. I am a high school senior from New Orleans. After the hurricane I was forced to move to New York where I could go to school and live with my brother while my parents returned home to help rebuild the city. I wish this whole thing would go away with the coming of the New Year, but I'm sorry to say that it just doesn't work that way. It has definitely been a crazy year. With Hurricane Katrina taking the lives of many and the war in Iraq constantly hovering over us, I've come to realize that there is no "perfect" year. That with all good comes the bad. But what good I do remember and always will, is how the United States has put itself on the line every day to help defend nations and other people. With my second year in the military coming up in only a few days, I am thankful for 2005 for teaching me what true patriotism is. It's not just about yourself, it's about all people and what you can do for them. We are only the small pieces of a gigantic puzzle and you must work together to make the pieces fit. And I will leave you with this quote, "Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." -Adlai E. Stevenson 2005 was the year of the roller coaster. The up and down approval rating for Bush (more down than up) and the relentless change in gas prices in Canada and the United States has made me queasy. Hopefully, 2006 will provide some relief for my stomach. Though the year 2005 seemed plagued with disasters, people playing the blame game, and complaints about President Bush, I will forever remember 2005 as the year I was most grateful for being a citizen of the United States of America. After living in Venezuela for a year and a half, I returned home to the States in March of 2005. When I got off the plane, I wanted to kiss the ground. I hadn't realized quite how much I had missed my country until I was back. In Venezuela, I learned just how much I have that I always took for granted. Even now, nine months later, seeing a U.S. flag flying almost brings me to tears. So, while we may have our problems (nobody's perfect), I can say that I am proud to be an American! I will never forget 2005. At 57, I have long learned that a good year and a bad year are very relative. If the worst is behind us, the future will be better. But, in 2001 we thought things could not get much worse and we were glad to have that behind us. For me, a bad year was 2003. I lost my job and was subsequently unemployed or underemployed for two more years. That year, my wife lost her mother and her brother to cancer; both suffered a great deal. My health took a bad turn that year, too, and it cost much of our savings. So, in 2005 I was happily employed all year but my wife lost her sister to, yes, cancer. But, compared to 2003, it was a better year, not a good year. What kind of year was it for the folks of New Orleans? I am sure they are thinking that it could not be worse. Terrible year. I live and work on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I teach at a community college in Gulfport, [Mississippi]. Hurricane Katrina has ravaged our home. We lost nearly 50 percent of our student body, piles of debris lie rotting on the sides of the streets and fill neighborhoods, families are still sleeping in tents, more people are sick than well due to the mold, mildew and rot. We lost centuries-old landmarks, industry, citizens and our beaches. It will take years to recover. This is a somber place to be. I'll forever remember the feelings and emotions well inside me as I watched the victims of Hurricane Katrina struggle for their lives. I only remember having similar emotions one other time in my life, while watching the citizens of New York cope with 9/11. I'll remember 2005 as the year of the whiners. From anti-war protesters to sports figures. One thing is for certain: President Bush did one heck of a job. Taking interference from other political figures to natural disasters, he dealt with it. For the pay he receives and the kind of bull he had to deal with I would say, "no thanks" to that job. 2005 was the year that brought out the worst in Mother Nature and in Americans. While many people dipped deep into their hearts and pockets to help the Katrina victims, many more -- including local government and organizations -- passed the blame onto others for either their misjudgment or their lack of common sense. For once, can't people just accept the fact that sometimes it is their own fault for the situations they are in? We cannot heal from tragedy if we continue to blame others for our own situations. Many people I know, including myself, had surgery and spent most of the year trying to recoup from it. Between all the hurricanes, earthquakes, war, and even some personal friends, there was also much death. I am ready to get rid of 2005 and I hope 2006 brings everyone in the world better health and happiness. I pray our world leaders find a way to work with each other and stop all this crap they seemed to have caused. The year 2005 displayed the worst our elected officials have to offer. Politicians in Washington putting their personal goals ahead of the country. I have not witnessed such self promotion in my 55 years. I was starting to get concerned that the majority of the people out there didn't care for our country or government anymore. But I took a flight out of St. Paul Minnesota and while I waited, I had the honor to watch 30-40 people stand up and clap as our soldiers came through the gate -- yes, just like the commercial. Like it or not, there are things we must do in order to keep the freedoms we have. 2005 was a year for many to speak what they felt since so much happened. I just hope they don't forget where they get that freedom to do so. 2005 was a wake up call. We learned that we were not and may never be prepared to confront nature. It was a time to reflect on our lives and how we can be better people each day, by simply looking on how we can improve as individuals and, in turn, improve our communities and eventually the world. Most importantly, it was a wake up call to us. Mr. Bush admitted that he erred. Due to his error, thousands of innocent people have died. If I am responsible for one death, I get tossed in jail. How will he pay for all the pain and suffering he has caused? Will he ever be made responsible for his mistakes. One president had sex and was impeached, this one is responsible for thousands of lives and he takes a vacation. That's what we get when we elect an incompetent to run our country. 
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