A year in review...
I'm the queen of starting journals on the first of a new year, and it seems that 2017 is no different. But I thought a little month-by-month breakdown would be appropriate because the only way I can digest my life is in smaller segments. When I think back on 2016, each month boasts a unique feeling, a season of my life. Writing this was an exercise in being thankful as much as it was recording my year, it's easy to forget and forge forward. The end of December taps me on the shoulder and tells me to slow down, sift through, and settle in for a new month.
JANUARY // The biggest and best part of the first month of 2016 was the thick white snow that kept us snowed in for four days. Cabin fever set in early because it didn’t actually stop coming down for two days and all we had to eat was grilled cheese sandwiches. Luckily my parents rescued Eric and I and we ate fondue and watched As Good As It Gets about 12 times in a row. A few days later I took my first calligraphy class in Charlottesville, and my pen’s put many miles on it since!
FEBRUARY // February felt like an entire month of just killing time. My biggest trip yet was slowly coming, but I made the most of the month by having a reunion with high school girlfriends in DC, visiting the Renwick Gallery (it was beautiful, again), and the National Gallery of Art (I die for all the marble and textbook famous works in here), and a V-day trip with Eric to the Baltimore Aquarium.
MARCH // Oh, March. What an unforgettable month of 2016. We suffered through the 14+ hour flight to Thailand!! And boy was it worth it. As someone who’s seen much of Europe, and a lot of the U.S., I thought I knew every in and out about travelling. But Asia is otherworldly, the mosaic patterned temples every 14 steps, the intense smells from every street cart, the lines of orange cloaked monks in the airports, and the beaches that put any American shoreline to shame. I’ll never forget what it felt like to be clinging to the back of an overloaded tour truck, winding our way up a Himalayan peak, the wind freeing my ponytail from my drenched neck, the road passing beneath my feet, free.
APRIL // I spent April roadtripping up and down the east coast, visiting friends, and welcoming warmer days back into my life. I zipped up to Philly and New York City, then headed south to Atlanta at the very end of the month. Highlights included: those insanely buttery Amish soft pretzels at Reading Terminal Market and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (the unsung hero of Art Museums), visiting the Glossier Showroom in NYC, and that feeling you get seeing a best friend for the first time in 6 months.
MAY // May was a very professional foot forward kind of month for me. We hosted an Editor Conference at my job which called for loads of prep work, logging long hours and sleepovers in Charlottesville, and several gorgeous cocktail parties and dinners. It was also the first strawberry pick of the season, a welcome symbol of the summer to come
JUNE // Birthday month! And, as a rule, my birthday month is my favorite month of the year. A month of firsts -- first beach trip of the summer...and first sunburn, first official day of summer, and first trip to NYC this year. 23 was an uneventful birthday, but June was a happy month overall.
JULY // It’s my ultimate dream to have one of those kick ass, patriotic, dazzling firework display, hot dog induced coma Fourth of July’s. This year was maybe ¼ of that dream, I think I need my own Hamptons beach house for that to happen. The most important part of July 2016 was that I finally moved to my own place in the Fan! I was immediately broke, but happy nonetheless to be settling into my space with hardwood floors, a mantle in every room, and of course, the clawfoot tub.
AUGUST // My favorite part of August, and maybe the second half of the whole year was my trip to San Francisco. I saw zillions of things I loved -- from the pastel candy colored row houses, to the turquoise Pacific ocean, and of course my best friend Meredyth. I think I was laughing every second I was there, and took about 10,000 photos. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to the summer.
SEPTEMBER // More pastel architecture adventures this month...Eric and I stole away to Charleston, SC for Labor Day Weekend and it was so worth it. We laughed at the creepy hotel we stayed in, burned on the pristine Sullivan’s Island beach, and ate our way through a beautiful southern town. I’ll be the first to admit we had Jeni’s ice cream two times every day we were there. September was also when I started returning to my art. Forever a low-key artist, I am my best when I’m creating, and I felt at peace with a paintbrush in my hand at my still-new apartment.
OCTOBER // I took my little brother to his first concert, Leon Bridges (Melt. My. HEART!), Eric and I went apple picking, and my roommate and I hosted our first shindig for Halloween -- all three a great success. Not to mention, my team won the high stakes office Halloween costume competition. Spooky!
NOVEMBER // So many brave moments this month. I voted in an election I was proud to participate in. After listening to NPR for 17 months straight every single day on my two hour commute, I thought I knew everything there was to know about America and our candidates for president. I was crushed and confused and ultimately just sad, but I actively chose not to dwell in that oh so tempting pool of hatred and have been seeking out ways to make a difference with my actions to contribute to what I think is right. I had my first art show! It was scary and thrilling and only made me want to create more. I learned that being an artist means being yourself and that strangers are ultimately more important than friends.
DECEMBER // The sunset of 2016. I waited and waited and waited for this month all year. I was a tight ball of stress for the majority of it, but I got to participate in another art show, spend Christmas with Eric and my family, finally reveal to him that I planned a trip to Iceland and Amsterdam for us, create lots of festive art, and revel in one miraculous day where all my best pals from high school were in one city at one time for one whole outing. Heaven.