It’s really hard to summarize my 2018, but I’m going to try anyways. This year, some of my wildest dreams came true, but also this year, things happened in my life that took courage, strength, and lot of good cries to get through.
In 2018, I rang in the year watching the ball drop from my office in Times Square, I signed my first lease in New York City, saw my name in a Broadway Playbill for the first time, attended 6 Broadway Opening Nights, sat in on Hamilton auditions in Puerto Rico, rode in a car with Glen Close, watched a few friends make their Broadway debuts, took a spontaneous trip to London, filmed and photographed countless celebrities, celebrated 2 weddings, and grew relationships with incredible people that I know will be in my life for a very long time.
Also in 2018, I got cavities filled, read too many heartbreaking and frustrating news stories, grieved with the OCU community through the loss of our friend Tevyn, spent a few months unemployed, lost my grandpa, let some people down, didn’t fulfill promises to myself, and began to accept that I really don’t know what I want to do with my life.
So real talk, yeah I had a lot of really amazing things happen in 2018, but I also spent a lot of time sitting on my butt with absolutely nothing to do wondering how I got to this place and when I would feel passionate about something again. (Which, side note, I think a lot of my young adult peers feel the same way. We’re not pretending to have it all together, but we’re not necessarily letting the whole world see the many moments we don’t have it all together.)
I’ve encountered so many conversations over the past few weeks about how horribly awful 2018 was. Most of the people in these conversations agree, and frankly, I think I do too. But I also recognize that many things started in 2018 that make me so freaking excited for 2019; I started new relationships, new traditions, began pursuing new opportunities, and started embracing a new outlook on my life. All of these things I started with the hope of continuing in the years to come. There’s no guarantee that 2019 will be better, but what I can do for myself is reflect on the things that made me excited, embrace the things I started, and hope for the future of what those things will become.
As cliche as it seems to look back at the end of the year, it’s so important to help us move forward. It’s a chance to take stock of the good, the bad, and the ugly, and begin a plan for what we individually can do to make sure the next year is a little better than the one we’re leaving behind. I’m looking at 2019 with an excitement for the unknown. This year, I vow to jump bravely into new experiences, go on spontaneous adventures, make more time for valued relationships, and explore new parts of New York City. I hope you too enter 2019 with excitement for whatever you started, and the things yet to come.
I know 2018 wasn’t ideal for many of us, but when does life ever give you exactly what you want? This December, I’m choosing to both reflect on the hard times that came my way, and also celebrate the good things, the milestones, the dreams achieved, and the great relationships that made the hard times a little easier to bear. One day a few years from now, I know I will look back at this year and see that good or bad, 2018 was a very important chapter of my story, whatever that story may be.
It's A Wonderly Life 