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Farewell, 2018

January 1, 2019



It's here, it's here! It's officially 2019!

Although I don't have many complaints for 2018, it just feels like a new year is coming at the perfect time. I'm ready for a clean slate and a fresh start! How about you?

As always, I am doing my annual new year reflection on the blog; checking in on 2018's resolutions and writing new resolutions for 2019! Let's do it.

My 2018 resolutions were:

1 | ACCEPT YOUR PATH
This was a difficult resolution- all about accepting the path I was on and the timing of my life. I feel like I wasn't always consciously working toward this resolution, but was forced into it. A lot of major change happened at the beginning of 2018 for me, so I had no choice but to accept my path and find the good in it. I'm still struggling with this resolution to this day, especially because I will be turning 25 this year and everyone around me "appears" to have it all figured out. But nonetheless, I am where I am; and I am working toward finding peace within myself and feeling content with where I am headed. I find a lot of comfort and inspiration in accepting my path through writing the weekly Monday Motivator posts.

2 | COME BACK TO THE MAT
"So, here's the thing," she says as she tries to write the proper excuse. I really DID come back to my yoga mat in 2018, but only for a short time. I practiced consistently for about two months, but the app I was using updated and began charging a monthly fee to use it. I'm being dramatic because the fee is actually super minimal, but it frustrated me because I fell into a pattern of not having to pay, so I stopped. A REALLY stupid reason, I know. And I felt really happy when I was back in my yoga routine, too. I kept telling myself to buy the subscription, but time slipped away and here we are. A resolution FAIL.

3 | TAKE IT EASY
I've gotten MUCH better about taking it easy. Throughout the year, I did have times when my to-do list felt overwhelming and I had to break down occasionally. But overall, I've become much better at saying no to things that stress me out. What I am still struggling with is feeling guilty when saying no, but I'm working on it. I've also been better about listening to my body when it needs rest. Instead of coming home from a rough day at work and doing more, I will usually relax by watching some TV or taking a nap.

4 | SAY YES TO ADVENTURES
My most successful resolution from 2018! I did A LOT of traveling this year and I have ZERO regrets about it. In fact, I traveled to almost all of the places I mentioned in my resolution. The year started with a road trip to Milwaukee in February and I took my first trip to Disneyland in May! It was my first time in California AND my first time traveling alone! (I will be going back this year, for sure!) I also traveled to Nashville with one of my best friend's and she showed me around the whole beautiful city. In June, I road tripped to Indianapolis with my mom for the LM|DC Tour. We had front row seats and meet and greet passes for Lea Michele. I was in HEAVEN. I got to experience New Buffalo, Michigan in July with two of my friends and fell in love with the adorable beach town. My mom and I took our annual mother-daughter trip to Shipshewana in July, as well. I was living my best life this year through all of my adventures!

Now that I've reflected on 2018's resolution successes and setbacks, it's time to talk about THIS year.

My 2019 resolutions are:

1 | READ MORE
One of my resolutions back in 2016 was to watch more TV and read more books. Seems kinda silly to make this a resolution, but I was truly in a place where I didn’t make time for any of those things. I would work, come home, work some more and that’s it. I’ve gotten a lot better about watching different TV shows during my downtime, but I’ve shied away (a lot!) from reading. I have so many great books sitting on my shelves waiting to be opened, so one of my resolutions is to take the time to read more often. I can even share what I’ve read with you! In a perfect world, I would read one book per month, but I'm not going to set that in stone. I HOPE to do it, but won't beat myself up if I can't.

2 | START A REAL BUDGET
One of my BIGGEST goals of 2019 is to buy my own home. But with that comes a whole new level of financial responsibility. When it comes to saving money, I don't have a consistent practice I've been following; I just save different amounts wherever I can. For 2019, I need to create a budget tracker. That way, I can become more consistent with saving money and also cut back in areas where I spend too much. (*cough cough* clothes) I bought a budget tracker that fits into my planner, which I personally think will be a great way to help me keep track of it all. If you have any budget/savings tips that work for you, feel free to share!

3 | BRAIN & BODY HEALTH
When writing my resolutions for this year, I thought: "how can I improve my mental health and how can I improve my physical health?" When it comes to physical health, toward the end of 2018, I was considering joining the gym at my local park district. But now that I am thinking of moving into my own house this year, I figured I could save some money by not paying for a yearly membership that may not get used once I move away. Instead, I've decided to find ways to work on my physical health at home. In the spring and summer, I love to walk and ride my bike. But during these dreaded winter months, I'm stuck. I'm very much a classroom setting kind of girl, so apps with instructional videos and online challenges are where I'm headed. I would like to start working on the monthly workout calendars from Blogilates and I hope to find another yoga app that will be helpful and motivating.

In terms of mental health, here's where I KNOW I need to improve. I need to PUT MY PHONE AWAY. I am really good at not checking my phone when I am out to dinner with friends or spending time with my family. BUT, when I'm by myself, I am checking it way too often. I could be so much more productive after work and on the weekends if I wasn't so attached to it. My goal is to become more organized about scheduling social media posts for the blog; that way, I will have more time to unplug and focus on other things, WITHOUT my phone.

4 | LET IT GO
I'll give it to you plain and simple: I let a lot of things bother me. Not hearing from friends in a while. Thinking about past relationships. Feeling like I'm not working hard enough on the blog. Something as silly as picking out which color sweater to buy bothers me! (Hi Laura, please just pick one color and move on, thank youuu.) It's time for me to let this all go in 2019.

At a recent blogging workshop I attended, one of the hosts said "What you think is 65%, others see as 125%." AKA, you need to chill out and know you are enough.

The blog is going to be fine. People who want to be in your life will be in it and everyone else is just missing out. And for the love of God, just PICK ONE COLOR SWEATER ALREADY!

In all seriousness, I want to be more conscious in pinpointing what exactly is bothering me, and when I figure it out, I want to let it go. Life is too short, after all. 

*****

What a year 2018 has been! I think it's safe to say I've experienced a little bit of everything; what started out as a bunch of lows turned into an explosion of adventure and I feel very grateful. I'm starting 2019 with a new job promotion, big blog ideas, new goals and a lot of hope for what's to come.

Happy New Year!

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