Real Talk – New Year New Start

I’ve been doing some reflecting on last year, as most people do around the New Year, and I feel as sad as I do optimistic. Feeling motivated or optimistic is sort of synonymous with the first of anything, really – Mondays, the first of the month, the day after a birthday, and New Year’s Day. Obviously, this is a great time to set new goals or make changes and improvements for goals not yet realized. Most resolution-setters create career and/or health goals. What is it about these two topics that suck us in? What other types of goals could we be setting?

Anyway

What makes me sad? 2016 was filled with so many amazing moments and I’m scared (there, I said it) that I won’t be able to match or exceed it’s greatness in 2017. It’s hard to think through the year without happy and humble tears. Some of my best memories were:

Working with brands like Galeries Lafayette Paris (that’s right, PARIS!), Inspired Living magazine, Village Pointe and more.
Seeing more of my writing and photography published – pinch me!
Launching Girls Night Events and hosting some seriously cool events while making new and amazing friends.
Taking really cool photos, with really cool people, and growing as a photographer.
Spending 10 days between London and Paris with my mom and best friend.
Spending a week in an eco-lodge with Ben and snorkeling off the coast of Mexico where we got to see Blue Footed Boobies (the only other place you can see them is in the Galapagos)!
Traveling to Arizona and seeing the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Antelope Canyons for the first time, with Ben.
Going to Oregon for the first time with my big brother’s family.
Celebrating my 29^th birthday and best friend’s bachelorette in Las Vegas.
Road trips to see family and good-ole friends in Dallas and Houston, Texas.
Helping my in-laws move into their “forever” home on the lake.
Going to concerts with my parents around Omaha and at my favorite venue – Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.
Celebrating the birthdays and milestones of my niece and nephew, and two of my best girlfriends’ daughters.
Officially having NO car payments.
Going to conferences and fashion events with my girlfriend, watching her pursue her passion and seriously smash it as her own boss.
Seeing that same girlfriend get married to her perfect match on New Year’s Eve.

[I’m not even mentioning the private moments we’ve shared with our family and friends that will change our hearts and lives forever.]

There are so many things that could have gone differently in 2016. My strength is not my own, that’s for sure. There were many moments when my weaknesses could have gotten the better of me in 2016 – sometimes it did. But, God’s strength has helped me to be resilient. I could not have stayed on the right path, or made necessary changes, if I didn’t have complete faith in His love and plan for me. I have no idea what’s going to happen this year. Not a dang clue.

I have high hopes (really high hopes) that I will continue to travel the world, see new places, try new things, and return to some of the places I love most. I hope that my marriage and relationships continue to grow deeper and stronger. I hope that I will continue to work with amazing brands to deliver messages and photographs that inspire and encourage those who see them. I guess…I just hope to be an honorable tool for God. I hope to be an example of the abundance of His favor, and that it’s Christ in us (not our own works) that is the hope of glory. I can never forget this. This is the only thing that will make today greater than yesterday, and each year greater than the one before.

So there it is. I’ll close this entry feeling grateful and hopeful. #journaltherapy