I have never been a huge fan of making formal New Year's resolutions, but I am a big proponent of reflecting on experiences and learn so much from looking at where I've been and where you want to go. I typically do lots of reflection and goal setting around my birthday. Since I turned 27 last month (and celebrated on a boat with some friends), I thought it was about time to break my 2+ year hiatus of blogging and write down some of my thoughts on the last year.
To be honest, the last year of my life has been insane in the membrane, but I wouldn't change a thing. It involved LOTS of travel. During 2014, I took over 100 flights and spent more nights than I want to admit in hotel rooms. On the flip side, I got to see about a dozen national parks in six different states. I am also proud to say I am on track to hit my goal of taking fewer than 100 flights in 2015 (I'm only at 36 right now!). It involved cutting people out of my life (which I can only hope will be positive in the long-term). Some were easy like a friend who wasn't respectful and a colleague who did nothing to support my professional goals. Others not so much like the guy I always imagined having a future with who never seemed to want to commit (but wanted me to do things like go on a business trip to Australia with him and emotionally support him). I think of all of these people often, but know having them in my life would do more harm than help, so I have to let it go and wish them the best. If they are meant to be in my life in the future, we will make amends, right? It involved unexpected "firsts" (but more on that later). It involved a new car (and mourning the loss of my adorable lime green Beetle). It involved some realizations. Experiences are great and I wouldn't change them for the world. Nothing, however, compares to being able to experience the world with people you love and adore. It involved more meditation. As a result, it involved more gratitude and patience. In fact, I am not sure how I could have dealt with some of my work pressures without the principles of mindfulness at my fingertips. It involved thinking about what I want to spend more time on in the future. Dancing, journaling, self improvement, fitness, blogging and reflecting, so here we are. I am also committing to working on a personal project each year related to something I want more of in my life (although I am still working on finalizing my project for this year).
When I was recently at a conference, I was thinking about how much I missed reflecting on my experiences with this blog, so I decided it's time to start it up again. Seems like an appropriate commitment to make right around my birthday too! I'm not sure how regularly I will get to updating this here blog, but I am thinking that rather than have it be more focused on my travels (because let's be honest, I still travel a lot), I was going to highlight more major trips or accomplishments. Look forward to an upcoming post on my "Year of the National Park" where I visited about a dozen national parks in six different states and "What I learned in 100+ flights", some random insights I have thought about during all my time on the road (and lots of up in the air photos of cool cloud patterns).
To the future! 27 is going to be great! :)
