Two Thousand Heaven-teen

Politically: 2017 was a doozy.

Personally: it was actually pretty great.

And I say that in retrospect, because while it was good in the overall sense, it was also one of the most difficult and challenging years for me. It was a year of newness, of learning to accept change, of stretching outside my comfort zone, and trying lots and lots of new things.

But hey, that builds character, right?

I learned to be more adventurous, creative, spontaneous, and bold.

My three biggest accomplishments were:
1. Going back to grad school
2. Moving across the country by myself
3. Learning to embrace my independence

That third one is really just code for me really growing up and learning how to better be an adult, to live on my own, and to come to terms that I'm no longer a flighty co-ed in her early 20's.

I rented cars for the first time.

I bought my own plane tickets.

I went to Ireland, Canada, Mexico, and Ecuador, all without having to receive permission from my parents!

I quit my job, moved out of my apartment, and left my Arizona support system of five years.

I drove across the entire United States by myself, effectively from Southern California to Pennsylvania (though not all at the same time).

I secured my own independent health insurance.

I moved into an apartment, sight-unseen, in a brand new city to go to a brand new college, and have been exceptionally content to live by myself for the first time.

I jumped out of a freaking airplane!

I went to the gynecologist for the first time.

I learned how to drive in the snow.

I stood up to scummy guys who treated me poorly and took back my sense of female empowerment after unwisely giving it to them.

I went to a circus, met Clinton Kelley, and won a sewing contest on Instagram.

And I sewed 37 garments, made 19 cakes, read 33 books, and made 194 recipes.

So while it definitely wasn't the easiest year, it was one of discernible growth, change, and adaptation. I started out the year not knowing where I would be at the end of it, and here I am once again, starting 2018 in the same way.

Let's all give a hearty toast to the books we have yet to read, the boys we have yet to kiss, and the pizza we have yet to eat this year. Hear, hear!