2018 Year in Review

For the past two years (read 2016 and 2017‘s!), I’ve shared a recap of my year here on the blog. Not only to keep you guys in the loop of my life, but to also save for myself to look back on in the future. I can say that 2018 was a decent year, I finished my first year of grad school, traveled to some new places, and hit my reading goal. It was also a year of growth for me mentally & physically.  But we’ll get to that. Let’s take it month-by-month, shall we?

January

I kicked off 2018 asleep next to Ryan in our tiny Airbnb nestled in the hills of Los Angeles. We woke up early and headed to Pasadena to the Rose Bowl to watch Oklahoma play Georgia. They lost, we were bummed, and we flew home the next day. We got home at 2:30 in the morning and I had to wake up at 6 the next day to do an evaluation with a supervisor I had never worked with before. That was lovely!

los angeles

zuma beach malibu

A few days later, I celebrated my 6 year anniversary with Ryan! We went to our favorite place for brunch, Green Eggs Cafe in Philly. Now that the holidays were over, I looked at my goals for the year and decided to knock a few off the list early. I decided to start working out more consistently. I tried BBG and, ultimately, failed but was okay with it. It just wasn’t for me.

On January 27th, I went to my first spin class with my friend Gabby. We were friends, but I wouldn’t say we were very close. Her boyfriend and my boyfriend were friends and we had seen each other at various get-togethers over the past few years. When I stepped into that first spin class, I had really high hopes. I pulled the trigger on going because I was trying to knock something off of my bucket list early and I felt eager to try something new after feeling frustrated with BBG. After one class, I was absolutely hooked. I’ve been going every single week since that day (unless I was on a trip, but I even tried a different spin studio near where my brother went to college because I didn’t feel like missing a week!)

 

I don’t want to get too sappy, but I’ve gone to over 100 classes this year and after each one I feel stronger not only physically, but mentally as well. This studio got me out of my comfort zone, and encouraged me in ways I didn’t know it possibly could. As my fellow SLP students know, this field can be extremely challenging and, at times, it can feel almost impossible. I felt like my mental health throughout grad school was pretty ok, but after finding this place where I could be myself and truly release my mind from all the sh*t that was going on in class or in the clinic, I felt this new sense of peace.

For so long I let school and SLP define me. I was a college student, SLP student, graduate clinician, etc. I felt like I was always striving toward something else, and I didn’t always feel content with the “right here, right now”. Spin put me in that place and made me sit in it. I realized that there is SO MUCH to be thankful for in the “right here, right now”. As dumb as it sounds, it made me realize that there is more to life than going to school, seeing clients, coming home, and doing homework/studying. There is a whole extra part of me that was needing some love. I gave her ALL the love this year, and I’m so happy about it. /endrant lol.

February

The Eagles won their first Super Bowl! I watched it at my parents house and it was so special to be there as my dad freaked out and ran around the house banging pots and pans.

March

galveston texas postcard mural

 

Right before my spring break, Ryan texted me to tell me that he was taking me on a vacation somewhere, but that he wasn’t going to tell me where. He was going to tell me when he got home from work that day, but I decided that I wanted to be surprised up until the last possible moment. I totally thought we were going to Florida, but it ended up being somewhere we had never been before! Galveston, TX.

I loved that trip, it was really refreshing and I got to read a bunch of books which is always nice.

April

davenport field university of virginia

At the end of April, Ryan and I took our first trip to UVA together to see my brother play! Ryan hadn’t been to campus before this so it was nice to be able to see grounds a little bit between games. Ryan also took me to see Lorde for my birthday which was amazingggg. 

May

Right after my finals, Ryan and I went to two concerts back-to-back. We went to see Post Malone and Maggie Rogers in Philly which were both very different, but great concerts. If you haven’t listened to Maggie Rogers’ music yet, you have to! She has a new album coming out in mid-January that I’m super excited about.

June

In the middle of June, my mom and I spontaneously drove to Ocean City, NJ for the day to spend some time at the beach together! We had never done this before but I really loved it. We brought home some ~essential~ Johnson’s popcorn for my dad and had some boardwalk pizza, fries, and ice cream! We both brought books with us and enjoyed the sunshine.

Note to self: do more spontaneous day trips in 2019.

July

At the beginning of July, Ryan and I traveled to Rehoboth Beach, DE to enjoy a long weekend after the 4th of July. It was honestly a pretty chilly weekend but we made it work! We got some beach time in and walked around the boardwalk.

August

south beach miami

Lots and lots of spin classes over the summer and trips to get smoothies with my friends! At the end of August, Ryan and I went to Miami to close out the summer together.

September

elementary school slp placement

I went to my 100th spin class at SoulBeat! I brought some friends and family to the studio over the course of the year and they started to enjoy spin too! I started my fall semester placement at an elementary school in Delaware and I really enjoyed the students and that setting in particular. I can definitely see myself in the schools after graduation but I’m trying to keep an open mind.

October

Went to our town’s Halloween parade but we didn’t dress up for Halloween. I haven’t dressed up for the holiday since college and I kind of miss it! Maybe we’ll get to do something for Halloween 2019.

November

Went to see the Sixers play with some friends! Ryan and I spent Thanksgiving with my family and relaxed over fall break! Started wrapping up my fall internship and classes.

December

Finished up my internship and got my required 275 hours! I finished up classes and ended the semester with all A’s and B’s. Hit my reading goal of 25 books! Went to Punta Cana with my family to celebrate my dad’s 50th birthday.

2018 was a year of growth for me both physically and mentally. I feel so much stronger now than I did at the beginning of the year. I’m so excited for what 2019 has in store: I’ll be graduating with my master’s degree, starting my first job and hopefully making more memories and traveling to even more places. Tonight I’m going out in West Chester with my friends and Ryan to ring in the New Year. I hope you all have a fun and safe night tonight whether you’re going out or staying in!

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