Tag: yearly wrap up

Paros, Greece

2018 WRAP UP

1 Comment

Wow, another year nearly over! 2018 honestly went by so fast I’m struggling to write this post — my brain does not compute.

There were some pretty big things that happened this year though. For starters, the vast majority of my friends got married! I went to seven weddings this year and there was only one where either Gareth or I weren’t in the wedding party! It was such a wonderful, love filled year and I’m so grateful I was living in London (and able to get to Boston) for everything!

There were also some great trips —

I went to Paris in February to visit Faye and meet Ross, which was so lovely. FAYE I MISS YOU COME TO MADAGASCAR!

Ibiza for a hen do, where we stayed in the nicest villa and went proper clubbing. I haven’t done that since I was 21 and brand new to LA!

Egypt and South Africa, which were huge life highlights I’ll never forget.

Greece, easily one of my favourite places on earth.

Boston, to see my fam and watch some of my best friends get married.

Madagascar, where I’ve moved to work on HIV and WASH projects for the next year.

Regarding my 30 before 30, I crossed off four (and a half) items. Go to Egypt, South Africa, Greece, work in the field in Africa, and I’ve started my masters.

This year was big professionally and educationally, and moving to Mada has been pretty big personally as well. Being apart from G after having lived together is a new kind of hard, but it’s also teaching me so much about the world, myself (to be corny), and of how much I’m capable.

Also I’m quite enjoying looking back at wrap ups for 2016 and 2017 and seeing how much has/hasn’t changed. One more year to 30!

Florence, Italy

2017 WRAP UP

Well, 2017. You weren’t the best.

The year started out pretty well, actually. New Years was great, and in the first part of the year, Lee visited and we went to Belgium, Faye visited, I got placed in Granada for the coming year, spent Semana Santa in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia. It was a great Winter/Spring, and such a fantastic time in life.

Things since then haven’t been nearly so happy. I haven’t posted about it, but in June Gareth’s mom was diagnosed with cancer. I moved to the UK a few days later, and unfortunately the cancer was incredibly aggressive and she passed away at the end of June–only a few weeks after diagnosis. There aren’t really words to describe what it’s like to watch someone get sick so quickly, or watch the person you love lose their mom, so I’m not going to try. But suffice to say, it was and still is hard on a daily basis.

We moved back to London from G’s mom’s house at the end of July, and I got a full time job in a sector I love. However, the plan was never to settle down long term, and as it looked like the plan to travel was getting further and further away, I was finding it harder and harder to be content with life in London–not to mention Gareth and I finally moved in together under the most stressful circumstances imaginable. Life has been hard and sad lately, though I have hope it’s getting a bit brighter each day.

I try to keep things relatively happy on this blog, hence the lack of posts for much of this year. But the reality is, the second half of 2017 was not nice, and sometimes that’s life. Things aren’t great all the time, and there will be seasons where you just need to survive.

So, 2017 had some highs as well as lows. I’m quite ready for the year to be over, and here’s to a happier 2018!

2016 WRAP UP

I don’t really know how to begin to wrap up 2016. It was definitely a rollercoaster, but the only two things that really, really marred it were Brexit and the presidential election. Also Katie didn’t come to visit me. She is the worst.

It was a year that started rough, with a health scare, loss of health insurance, unemployment, and debt, and ended much, much better. This was the year I finally got the courage to leave the (relatively) secure life I had for myself in LA, and follow my dreams of traveling and living abroad.

Here are the 16 best things that happened to me in 2016:

  1. I got a job! After months of unemployment, I was hired on an amazing show run by amazing people. Teenage Kristen would never have believed she’d go to work every day with Damon Lindelof, and yet, that was my life for nine months.
  2. I got out of debt. Not only did I get out of debt, but I managed to save enough that a RTW trip is looking entirely possible, which would be another dream come true.
  3. I got promoted at my job. No longer was I a writers PA, instead I was an assistant and suddenly I worked for someone who cared about my notes, talked out story ideas, and trusted my opinion. It was a great accomplishment, and one that made leaving all the more difficult.
  4. I didn’t take my last months in LA for granted. When I first arrived in LA in January of 2012, no part of me thought I’d stay long term. I didn’t like the city, and couldn’t imagine ever feeling good living in it. Cut to nearly five years later, and wow do I love LA. I love my friends, I loved my apartment, the weather, the passion and drive. The landscape. I sincerely hope I end up back in California one day. And I’m proud I built a life there that was so hard to leave.
  5. I went to Vegas to see Kesha with some amazing people. And the Hoover Dam. It was really hot, I lost $20 gambling, ate (and drank) way too much at a buffet, and had the time of my life.
  6. I got Gareth to like LA. The first time he came to visit, I was unemployed, broke, and not super happy with my life there. I don’t think I showed him the best side of LA, though I did get him to love Santa Barbara. This time, I was in full on appreciation mode, and I think that really shined through. Also he brought a skateboard and was able to see more than just the main roads which I can admit are not the most attractive of sights.
  7. I went back to the Pacific Northwest! Seattle had been on my list for years, and I realized I was leaving the west coast with no sure timeline of when I would be back. So the morning after Gareth arrived, we hopped on a plane at LAX and checked out Portland and Seattle. I love Seattle. (Portland was okay but also kind of terrifying!)
  8. I MOVED TO SPAIN. That´s the big one. I can’t explain to you guys enough–for years I spent all my free time planning trips I had no time or ability to take. I obsessively read travel blogs and died of jealousy. I basically figured out my ideal life and then refused to live it. Until now! It was super scary and hard and I barely knew Spanish but here I am!
  9. I road a tandem bike!
  10. I voted for Hillary Clinton. Because I am a good person who did not want a racist, sexist, homophobic, islamophobic, predator in the White House.
  11. I prioritized travel. In my first month here I booked tickets to Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, Wroclaw, London x2, and Belgium. Finally making up for my lack of travel while studying abroad!
  12. I found my favorite city. I haven’t written about it yet, but it’s Amsterdam. I love that place so much and seriously hope to live there one day. I have a lot more to say, but that’ll be in a separate post.
  13. I improved my Spanish. It’s not nearly where I want it to be, but hopefully I won’t be leaving Spain for a while yet, and I am committed to continuing to improve until it is.
  14. I introduced my mom to Europe! This was one of the highlights of my year, and something I’ll treasure forever. She wants to start learning Spanish. She wants to come back in the spring. I’ll make a world traveler out of her yet! Also she got to meet Gareth’s family and it wasn’t horrible… I might even say it went well. So, that’s a real relief.
  15. I ended 2016 right–with friends and (some) family, and we went back to the Priory, aka heaven, for New Year’s, which was spent in a tiny house in the middle of nowhere with some of my closest friends.
  16. I moved to the same continent as Gareth. Wow. Can I fully explain how amazing it is to go from a 12 hour flight and 8 hour time difference to a 2 hour flight and a time difference that levels out the fact that he goes to bed stupidly early? I can’t. But trust me, it’s amazing.

A lot happened in 2016. Let’s see what 2017 has in store!

Glacier National Park

2015 Wrap Up

I can’t believe 2015 is over. Done. Gone forever. It was a big year for me, quite a bit happened, some other stuff failed to happen, but looking back I’m not sure I’d change a single second. It was the first full year I spent spent with my boyfriend (with as in with, not physically together–though I can’t wait for the December 31st I get to say that!). We spoke every day in 2015, there wasn’t a thing that happened, big or small, that he wasn’t by my metaphorical side through. We also got to experience living together, building a home (or at least bedroom) together, and the joys of an Ikea trip as a couple.

I traveled more than I did the year before, which I always want to be able to say. I went to Idylwild, London, Cornwall, Turkey, Iceland, Morocco, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Boston, and New Hampshire. I took 21 flights, went to three new countries and three new states. I showed my boyfriend around, Boston, Martha’s Vineyard, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara for the first time–his first (and second!) trip to the states. I checked seven things off my 30 Before 30 list, and am well on the way to finishing a few more.

I also struggled with finding employment and the stress inherent in that. I’m still chugging away, applying for jobs, and have hope the new year will bring new opportunities. I’m currently temping for a few weeks on the show Switched at Birth which is REALLY cool as it’s one of my favorites.

I spent the holidays in Boston/New Hampshire/Martha’s Vineyard with my family and Gareth. It was so nice having everyone together–and I think next year my mom and sister are going to come to Cornwall and spend the holidays with Gareth’s family.