It feels like just yesterday the ball dropped on 2017 and 2018 began. Yet, here we are, at the end of another year! Since I loved writing my 2017: A Year in Review post so much, I figured I would follow up with one for this year.
2018 was a breakout year for me. It was tough in ways I didn’t expect, but I grew in ways I didn’t expect, too. My mantra for this year was “You can do anything, but not everything”, and I actually think I embodied that phrase. Here are a few things that truly shaped my 2018:
2018 Highlights
January – February
- We started off the year with a celebration of my little sister’s 16th birthday! It was so much fun getting all dressed up and seeing my family in one place.
- At the end of January, I arrived in England to start my study abroad journey! It feels like just yesterday that I hopped on that plane with my dad, but it’s already been a year. I spent the rest of February traveling around England as much as possible. I explored my host city of Sheffield and also visited London, Liverpool, and York.
March – May
- March & April found me traveling constantly. Every weekend you could find me in Manchester Airport buying a caramel iced cold brew waiting to board my RyanAir flight. I visited six countries over the course of two months – France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. I was supposed to tack on Scotland to that list too, but I missed my train. (I’m still bummed @Caitlyn lol)
- Next to Ireland (which I’ve talked about endlessly on Instagram and Twitter), Amsterdam was my favorite. There, I accomplished my goal of doing a solo trip, and that memory will always be so closely tied to Amsterdam. Plus, just look at the place – it’s the stuff out of movies, people!
- April also saw the creation of #BloggerBabesAbroad when Caitlyn, Kay, and I took on Copenhagen! We had so much fun taking tons of pictures and walking all over the city.
- In May/June, I finished my junior year of college. It felt crazy that graduation was suddenly so close! I realized that I completed literally every one of my goals for my college experience, but I’ll get to that at a later date. 😉
June – August
- In the beginning of June, I came home and immediately jumped into working my dream internship. This summer I worked in Product Development for a medical device company, and it was such a rewarding experience. I loved every second of it, and I knew for sure that I wanted to keep doing that work once I graduated.
- My time abroad made me realize how much I love New York City, so I spent as much time there as humanly possible. My sister and I also attended PANORAMA music festival, and we got to see SZA perform live. In spite of working a 40-hour work week, I had such a carefree summer, and was reluctant to jump back into school.
September
- OF COURSE my 2018 recap post needs September to stand alone, because it is my birthday month! This September I turned 21, and I had the opportunity to reflect on all of the things I learned during this monumental year.
- September also marked the start of my senior year of college (and my shiny new RA position!). Senior year has been challenging thus far, but I incorporated a lot of what I learned abroad into my day-to-day. I cherish my alone time way more, and I stepped down from some of my executive board positions to focus on my mental wellbeing.
October – December
- At the beginning of October, Michael and I celebrated 3 years together! It’s hard to believe that our meeting in math class turned into this wonderful relationship, but I am so happy it did. Not to get sappy, but I’m so thankful to have him in my life.
- October was also the month that Caitlyn came to visit me in New Jersey! We took the train over to see Gabby and had a very NYC day together, complete with my first time on the Brooklyn Bridge. Caitlyn and I also traveled over into Hoboken to have some good ol’ craic and Irish-bar-hopped.
- In November, I reunited with my lovely pal Sabrina and attended the #SisterxSister meetup in NYC! I got to meet so many lovely girls in the NYC area, and I can’t wait to meet up with them again in the new year.
- Finally, in December, I revived my YouTube channel with Vlogmas to mark the end of the Fall semester. It was so much fun vlogging every day, and it reignited my interest in YouTube. Here’s to (maybe) more videos in 2019?
Final Thoughts
Overall, 2018 truly made me realize that I am capable of accomplishing anything. That might sound cocky, but hear me out! I started out 2018 having only been on one plane by myself, never stepping foot in Europe, and believing my self worth was tied to my grades. I overcame all of those things in just one year. 2018 allowed my confidence to grow a thousand times over, and that’s one thing I will always remember about this year.
With that being said…I’m ready for you, 2019. Here I come!
