New Year

Now that the New Year has started, I thought about making a recap of 2018. To do so I decided to take part on the Taking Inventory Exercise from SavvyMiss, go check their post out! 

Taking Inventory Exercise

What major life changes occurred this year? (Did you move, make a career change, change your lifestyle, get married, start a family, fall in love, end a bad relationship, start a business, close a business, etc.?)

The biggest life change that occurred in 2018 was starting this blog. While, I don’t consider myself to be the most popular blog—or popular at all—I decided that now was better than later. 

Another life change was getting a pet. Some of you might already know that I got a gecko, named Edd, for my birthday. Getting a pet is a lot of responsibility but it is also a lot of joy. BJ and I take care of him, and he is now my emotional support animal. 

Did you travel? Where did you go? What did you see?

As basis I travel at least twice from Guatemala to The United States and back. That’s because I study in a different country that I am from. However, the most exciting trips aren’t those; during summer, my family and I traveled to New York, and you can read all about it in my previous posts A Break from Our Long-Distance Love and New York City. Not only did I get to travel with my family, but they also got to meet BJ, which turned out to be a great experience. 

As of right now I am neither in Iowa nor in Guatemala, I am spending the first days of this year in Italy. I arrived at Italy on December 28, after spending Christmas in England with my sister and her in-laws. I will have a full post about this trip once the holidays are over, I am going back to Iowa in a few days. 

Who came into your life this year? Who left? (Friends, partners, lovers, clients, pets …)

In 2018, I had two little princesses enter my life; my little niece Cat who was born at the end of June and my little cousin who was born two weeks prior. 

On the fall semester of 2018, I moved in to a new dorm with two amazing roommates, whom I had met on the previous semester. I am very fortunate to have them, and sadden because they will be graduating this May, while I still have another semester to go. 

Lastly, as I already mentioned before, Edd came into my life the very same day of my birthday. 

What was your absolute high of 2018?

It is hard to choose one precise moment as the best moment of 2018 because I have too many to choose from. However, getting to celebrate one year with BJ on the same weekend that I got Edd and celebrated my birthday, is probably on top of the list.

What was your low?

A low moment that easily comes to mind was around late May, when I realized my original blog had already died and was getting no engagement at all. It was mostly due to my inconsistency in posting and branding, but at the moment it felt like I had failed to accomplish my life -long dream of being a blogger. 

What life lessons, trades and skills did you learn this year?

If I talked about all the things I’ve learned, this list would never end. So, I am just going to mention the two biggest lessons I’ve learned. 

The first one is that you always have to try again. It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed, you always try again. With each try you learn something new, you better yourself, and you get closer to where you are trying to get. When my original blog died, I decided that was it. I thought that I had failed because I wasn’t meant to be a blogger. Luckily, I decided to do some research to see what other bloggers where doing that I wasn’t. During my research I found out that a lot of the bloggers I admired had started just like me—and had failed too— some of them had two or three blogs before having one that actually saw light of day. If you stop trying, you’ll never know what you are capable of doing. 

The second biggest lesson I learned is the importance of loving myself. I have a lot of people around me that love me so much, but I was unable to feel that love because of all the negative and hateful things I was telling myself. Learning to love yourself is a long and hard process, but it is literally life changing! We are wonderful human beings who deserve love and happiness, but it is our responsibility to work for them. 

What growth can you notice in yourself compared to this time last year?

This time last year, I had just finished my first year as a writing major. In my head that meant I was ready to be the most famous writer, little did I know that takes a lot of time, not to mention there is still a lot I’ve got to learn. In 2018 I grew in both patience and perseverance. 

What do your income, savings and overall finances look like compared to last year? What would you like them to look like a year from now?

My financial situation has not changed much since last year, my goal for 2019 is to start creating profit through this blog, which I know won’t be an easy task. 

What health or physical improvements did you make to your body or lifestyle?

During 2018, I decided to focus more on eating healthy rather than losing weight, I also decided to cut down on my caffeine intake and move around more during the day. 

Did you make any big purchases? (Car, home, furniture, etc.)

Not really. 

What was the most romantic moment you experienced in 2018?

There are so many romantic moments, but my favorite was going to watch the new Grinch movie with BJ. 

What was the most fun you had?

Overall, 2018 was a year where I had a lot more fun that previous years. There have been nights when I cry out of laughter with both my roommates. Going to Walmart in the middle of the night or out the nowhere deciding to get ice cream, are some of my favorite memories. 

What are you most proud of from 2018?

At the beginning of fall semester, I was afraid to take my creative writing class because I felt like the result of that class would determine whether I was meant to be a writer or not. I also knew how harsh that professor can be, however I took the risk—I had to—and I am proud to have finish that class with an A, and a note from my professor saying how good of I writer he thinks I am. 

If you had to describe 2018 in only one word what would it be?

Amazing!

Finally, choose a word for 2019 to keep at the forefront of your mind. (Examples: love, abundance, health, wealth, joy, ease, focus, flow, generosity.)

Happiness. 

What now?

I invite you to answer these questions as well, to reflect on your year and think about what you want for 2019!

Don’t forget to share your comments down below, and if you haven’t yet, subscribe to get weekly emails with my posts. Let me know how your year was, what goals you have for next year, what’s on your bucket list, or simply say hi to let me know you are reading the blog.