2015: A Review

Here it is – the last week of the year. Now is the time to revive those old new year resolutions and try to cram them in during the next few days and become a better person than you were last year [and throughout this year]. Or, maybe it is the time to look back on all of the changes you made, and commend yourself for adding more happiness and satisfaction to your life. Or, maybe you’re fully ready to say f*** it to the past three-hundred sixty some-odd days and plow full speed ahead into 2016. I fall under the umbrella of each of these, and as many others like me are doing, I want to take some time to reflect upon what 2015 has been like before I have to decide how to set off the bang for the start of the new year.

The Beginning

Aahh, a fresh beginning: 2015. I had been working at my first post-college adult-life job for only a couple of weeks. I still feel fortunate to have successfully landed a position in Maine for which I use the skills acquired during my four years as an undergraduate, and during a time I was feeling the most disappointed and frustrated with myself. Oh yeah, and I was broke. Sure, it would not have been too terrible finding a job in Vacationland so I could pay bills, but one I could actually flex my Technical Writing muscles for? I am one of the lucky ones. Anyway, my biggest issues were figuring out which healthcare plan to sign up for and finding an apartment that I liked but could afford (I needed to extinguish my boomerang generation label from my identity). Well, I did find an apartment after about a month and a half of searching, and soon after decided to plunge deeper into those carnivorously friendly waters of debt and purchase a car. On my own(ish). From a dealership. A check off my becoming an adult to-do list. I also must briefly mention seeing Garth Brooks in Boston – an indescribably beautiful and wild experience.

The Middle

The summer was happily spent in Maine. From lone day trips to the ocean and a week of travelling and camping in Acadia National Park and Old Orchard Beach, as well as frequent visits to my favorite lake and mountains in Weld, the summer was full of small adventures with a handful of my favorite people. My sister celebrated a monumental birthday and I was happy to be apart of it – regardless of my sudden lack of tolerance for anyone under the age of 22 after 9pm. Seeing Taylor Swift at Gillette Stadium was a definite highlight, as well as seeing Kenny Chesney in Bangor. I also kicked off my Summer Reading Challenge here on the blog, and tried developing my entire blog into a more attractive and pleasurable platform for sharing my experiences and thoughts.

The End

Besides continuing my Reading Challenge and developing a more involved social media presence for my blog, this fall met me with another birthday (my own), took me on trips to my Alma Mater, and thrust me into winter with a new hope that, although dashed, has left me longing for more. I am not going to say much more than that, as this is a public space and any hopes are still just hopes, not cemented plans. I will say that 2015 was a year of growth and realization – of course, isn’t this what every year should be? I [sort of] moved past the severe disappointment that the end of 2014 left me with and have discovered I am actually an efficiently functioning adult, or at least I have really started becoming one. Biting the bullet and thinking about myself are two behaviors I’ve always desired to be more confident about, so they are really the only two resolutionary promises I’m making for myself as the world heads into 2016.

As far as last year’s resolutions go, I am satisfied to say I addressed each one, some more intensely than others, and while I will focus mainly on the above two resolutions, 2015’s will accompany them into the new year.

I have not mentioned any world or national events that have occurred during 2015, although many have that are worth talking about, so here is an extremely short and choppy summary of my thoughts on the state of the world:

• While I feel like I have made progress in my life this year, I feel like our world has not. With the exception of national and global events like the US Supreme Court ruling over same-sex marriage, the United Nations climate talks in Paris, the viral stories covering actions of good samaritans and togetherness, and some others, we still have a [too] long way to go (if acquiring is even possible?) before problems of equality, climate change hindrance, political relation issues, and world peace are even minutely solved. It is true my outlook on the future is very much clouded by the bigger issues humanity faces.

This post is not meant to be disheartening (although the world can be) or all-encompassing; it would be tedious for myself and for you to include activities from each day of the year. I have experienced personal loss and other gains throughout this year, and this is by no means an indication that I have forgotten about those. Those unmentioned memories are for my mind and my journals. This post is, however, a way for me to look at what I’ve done and what I need to do next; both in pursuit of personal happiness and to keep my blog relevant and interesting. I have sort of figured out what I need to do for myself, and have big ideas for my blog.

Surprise! I will be changing my blog once again. I did in April, and although it’s only been about 8 months since then, I’m ready to move on. I’ve thoroughly researched online presence rules and etiquette, and break all of their bullet points frequently. My hope is that this will be the final and most satisfactory change, and that I will be able to stifle my tendency of getting bored through newer, more continual adventures.

So for the last days of December I will be reading, writing, and working, and the beginning of January will be dedicated to forming and carrying out a solid plan. Follow my blog on Twitter and Instagram for updates through the end of the first week of January, and I wish you a very merry start to the new year.