2017

2017

*got permit and then license!
*first car
*turned 16
*first date
*first blind date
*got my braces off
*first year as a ycl! (plus i got to go to high adventure because of it)
*first ap classes and tests
*went to nauvoo, carthage, st.louis, and st. augustine
*spent pretty much every weekend this summer at our cabin in cumberland
*graduated sophomore year and became a junior (one year closer!!!)
*went to prom
*went to nashville without parents twice (once with emma and once with nate)
*first paid photoshoots!
*officially signed up for hefy
*first job! (i work at a preschool now and the kids are the cutest)
*got a passport (i've had one before but it expired a few years ago)
*got 2 cats, a few fish, and a puppy
*got to do some graphic design work for 2 companies

(pic from my instagram story)

2017 wasn't my hottest year for blogging but it also wasn't on the top of my priority list. one thing i really enjoyed that i actually did post was my new year resolutions. i spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year thinking about the past year and i have a feeling that 2018 is going to be pretty awesome. i decided since 2017 has been the only year that i've actually known where to find my goal list and check it at the end of the year I should probably continue the tradition and add a little recap. my 2018 goals will be going up in the next few days.

how i did: 

*keeping track of my goals: i probably should have checked in on them more throughout the year but I did know where to find them and i kept up with them better than i have before so i'm calling it a win.
*finish the Book of Mormon before my birthday: win! i may or may not have been reading the night before my birthday but it was done!
*write 3 happy things down each day: fail. i went through some phases of being good at this but was never really consistent.
*personal progress: made some definite progress here but maybe should have done a little more? i feel good about where i am though.
*get my license: DONE! seriously the. best. thing. ever
*sign up for HEFY: also DONE! i CANNOT wait!! #brazilbound
*craft camp: another thing done! we hosted a christmas craft camp this year and it was a blast!
*run a color run: still on my bucket list...
*photography: i'm not exactly where i hoped i would be at this time but 2017 was definitely the funnest photography year i've had yet! i was able to finally do some paid shoots and get the word out a little more about my business, plus just take some of my very favorite pictures yet. the year ended on a high of getting to take pictures of an event for our local performing art center with press passes and everything.
*patience: this was one of those goals that i knew would be hard to measure, but i feel like i became at least a little more patient. i definitely still have a loooong way to go, but i think i became more patient in areas that were driving me crazy at the beginning of last year.
* journal more: kind of draw here. i journaled a good amount but in chunks. but between all the photos i have, quite a few journal entries, social media, and the few blog posts i posted this year i feel okay about how my life is being documented.
*spending time more meaningfully : also not sure how to measure this. now that i have a job + school + seminary + trying to spend time with friends and family i'm forced to use my time a little better but i still think i could improve on cutting back on checking social media.
*taking risks: there weren't a ton of risks i had to take this year but i did grow some in the fact that i tried to work on things that made me happy and just go for life instead of worrying a ton. there were several fundraisers that could have tanked (and some didn't end up being the most profitable), getting a job made me nervous at first, signing up for hefy was a risk because i didn't have all the money raised, posting my weekly #sundaythoughts, etc. all these were little things but i'm not sure i would have done them the year before last. there's always room to grow in this category but overall i think i did okay?
*blog 2 times a month: 4 months is better than nothing right? this was one of the first times i felt totally okay about that though. i just decided that blogging wasn't my highest priority right now.

all in all, 2017 was a pretty rad year but it also had some pretty hard times too. its easy to look back on the highlights and see it as a huge stream of success and fun memories one after another, but i think its really important to remember that there were hard things as well as awesome things. i just choose to write about those kinds of things in my journal more than online. 

2017 was a year of learning, growing, and creating a life closer to what i want mine to be. i feel like 2018 is going to be a culmination of a lot of things that happened in 2017 coming together, but also pretty unexpected too. i can't wait to see what it holds!