Goodbye 2013! A Yearlong Wrap-Up

It’s almost New Years, and I love this time of year. I love the idea of new beginnings and reflecting on your life up to this point. Starting a new year opens up so many possibilities for a new start, and I think it is important to evaluate your life to see your progress and your struggles. 2014 is fast approaching, and I have been thinking about all of the events of 2013 that has made it a year that I’ll remember.

Major Events that Happened in 2013:

My Aunt Jo passed away. It’s been hard to see my family coping with the loss of her, but it has brought us so close as a family.
My little brother got engaged! Looks like I’ll have to practice dancing in a bucket…
The Boyfriend started his career. His move to New Orleans has been tough on our relationship, but we have grown stronger and learned to have even better communication. I’m so proud of how hard he has been working and how dedicated he is to passing the CPA exam.
My career at REACH ended. I worked with REACH for 6 years, and this is the first semester since 2008 that I’ve been in school and not worked at REACH. It’s such an amazing program, and I miss it far too much, but my schooling had to come first.
I travelled coast to coast! In January, my cousin Allie and I went to NYC on our first real vacation without our parents, and it was pretty amazing (as evidenced by the pictures above!). Then, in May, I travelled to California with my family to see my cousin Laura graduate from high school.
I attended my first music festival! For my birthday, Jer bought tickets to JazzFest, and I got to see John Mayer, Gary Clark Junior, John Michael Rouchell, and many other amazing artists perform.
I went skydiving! And I survived!

Things in 2013 I Am Most Proud Of:

This blog! I am a chronic starter. I start projects and get really excited about them, but I end up losing focus or moving on to something else (ahem, like that time I decided to become a runner…). This blog has been going for five months, and I don’t see it slowing down.
Working hard and getting a 4.0 in the Spring and Fall semesters! Graduate school is HARD. But both semesters, I worked my booty off and earned those A’s. I’m pretty proud of myself for committing myself to hard work and dedication, even if it meant missing a few fun things.
Starting Book Club! Book club is seriously one of the best parts of my month. The girls in that group are intelligent and thoughtful and seriously love to read. I’m so happy to be a part of such a great group of individuals and have such great book (and life!) discussions.