My Year in Photos: December

As I look back on the previous year, the best way I can describe 2014 was that it was the year that I found my voice.

When I finished college, I found myself feeling very lost. For most of my life, my dream was to go to college, but once the whole college experience ended, I found myself without any job offers and most of my friends were getting engaged or married or having children. It didn’t help that I lost a dear friend who was with me from the beginning of my college years. He was a retired teacher, a pastor that I often had lunch with, and he passed away of old age. Losing him around the same time I graduated college made me feel like I was completely losing everything I knew about myself. When 2013 started, I also lost another friend who turned out to be a toxic influence and most of the year was spent making new friends outside of the safety of a college campus and the internet.

When 2014 came around, I started taking more positive risks. I started this blog and took pictures of what I was grateful for everyday. I participated in a poetry-a-day-challenge. I volunteered at an Awakening retreat in March and taught Sunday School at my local church. I had the opportunity to travel. I won’t sugarcoat it and say that 2014 was perfect, but it was definitely of the good, at least on a personal level for me.

When I think about what it meant for me to find my voice in 2014, I think of 2 events: the first was Comicpalooza, where I met the cast of Buffy and got to ask them questions at the panel. It wasn’t a picture-perfect moment, but it was pretty close to it because I spoke with confidence, even amidst my girlish giggling.

The second event was me giving testimony at the September Awakening retreat. I gave my speech with just my voice, no microphone necessary. I talked about how the friends I made during Awakening became the community I needed to have after finishing college. Keep in mind, by the way, that during both moments, I stood in a large room in front of a lot of people. The days of me taking anxiety medication are long gone now.

So with reflections out of the way for now, here are my 10 New Year’s Resolutions

1. Visit some convents. I’m currently interested in meeting the Daughters of St. Pal.
2. Travel to more places outside of Texas. I especially hope to go to Philadelphia for Pope Francis’s first visit to America.
3. Write 700 words a day for 50 days to finally finish the 2nd (or was it 3rd) draft of my novel.
4. Read at least 12 new books by reading at least 1 book every 2 weeks.
5. Lose 5lbs every week by snacking less and going to the gym and/or taking a 30 minute walk at least 3x a week.
6. Keep updating my gratitude journal by listing at least 3 things I’m grateful for every day.
7. Update this blog at least once a week.
8. Learn how to drive by taking classes in the next few months.
9. Increase my prayer life by praying the Rosary and Examen daily and the Liturgy of the Hours at least once a week.
10. Finish 3 new knitting projects and, if possible, be able to knit presents for everyone for Christmas 2015.

Here’s to the new year, y’all!