A More Positive Way to Review Your Year

 

Often times in December and January we review how our previous year went, thinking back to what we did and didn't achieve. I have found my mind always gets stuck thinking about all the things that didn't happen, all the goals I didn't achieve, all the negative things that happened and using those to shape the view of the year. (Why is it that the negative is always so much louder than the positive?? It's so annoying how often that happens) 

To counter act that loud, negative, internal voice, I have started making a list of all the things I did for the first time that year. There is something so rewarding about doing something for the first time and crossing that item off your life experience bucket list. Some of the things on my list aren't necessarily positive or huge and impactful, but by documenting your firsts, it shows all of the things you learned, experienced, achieved and endured in a year and how much those experiences shaped your personal development that year. 

Making my firsts list is always so fun and exciting, I love doing it. As I review my list, I'm always amazed at how long it is and I find myself thinking how full and exciting my life was that year, when before, when I was just looking back at the year as a whole, my life felt empty, pointless and unfulfilling because I didn't hit my career goals or my ideal weight or whatever it is that didn't go the way I planned. I also love celebrating the tiny wins and well as the bigger ones. Some of these things have been on my bucket list for years, others I never would had thought to even put on a bucket list.

So without further ado,

 My List of Firsts From 2024:

Saw the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C.

Kissed a Stingray

Attended a work conference

Attended the Eras Tour (twice!)

Saw Canyon Lights (Taylors Version) in Vancouver

Learned how to fly a drone

Had a full solo spa day

Met with a Cardiologist 

Did a Tilt Table Test (to test for POTS)

Saw whales up close 

Visited Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket

Got an echocardiogram 

Started a family bookclub

Practiced horse meditation

Attended a chocolate tasting class

Rode Amtrax

Rode paddle boats in the Tidal Basin

Exchanged friendship bracelets with strangers

Saw the northern lights, in Idaho

Took a llama for a walk

Heard what a baby llama sounds like (it's ADORABLE)

Saw Stevie Nicks in concert

Hiked to the Poppies in Alpine

Tried Ketamine Assisted Therapy (LOVED it!)

Floated down the Martha Brea in Jamaica

Rode in a Xrail, through a mud river in Mexico

Got stung by a jellyfish 

Visited Disney's private Island in the Bahamas 

Saw a grizzly bear up close in the wild (basically went swimming with it)

Had a seagull steal food straight out of my hands

Went to Stingray City 

Stayed in fairytale houses (in Canada), this one I HIGHLY recommend

Applied for a social media job (didn't get it)

Went kayaking at night in light up, glass bottom kayaks 

Was officially diagnosed with HEDS (literally took all year to get it)

Kept a succulent alive

Cheers to expanding our horizons and 

doing lots of new things in this new year! 

 

Hello Again

Hello dear blogging world, I have missed you. I took a two year hiatus from posting to pursue new avenues and I didn't have the mental capacity to post here as well. Looking back, I'm sad I wasn't able post about the past two years, they have been full of fun adventures, a few setbacks and lots of exciting personal growth. I have so many beautiful pictures that have sat, almost forgotten, in my digital camera roll, longing to be shared. What I have missed the most about the blogging format, is how thoroughly I can document my thoughts and adventures, I can write in my own voice and share an unlimited amount of photos, which in turn captures a memory so fully, sharing photos from every angle and of every detail. I have noticed blogging helps me document in a more dynamic way while out adventuring, I take in way more, remembering the sounds, smells, sights, feelings and energy of a place or event in order to recreate it in a blog post when I return home. I remember trips and life highlights better when I blog about them, it solidifies them more in my mind, they feel less like whirlwind fever dreams and more like real life events.

While I wish I could go back and fully document everything that happened in the last two years, time won't permit it. Life continues to happen and new exciting things are in store for this new year and I don't want to spend so much time dwelling on the past that I get behind on reporting on the present. So I will work feverishly to document the highlights of 2024 before we get too far into 2025. I traveled a lot last year and am so excited to relive each trip as I post about it. 

Cheers to returning and new beginnings.