2015 in Review

Happy almost 2016! It’s a tradition every year to do a year-end recap of things that happened from month to month in my life and with my blog. I love looking back on year-in-review posts to see all the memories (if you want to check out previous years here are 2013 in Review and 2014 in Review).

2015 was a crazy year! It was full of great adventures, celebrations, changes, hard times and discovery. While I really enjoyed this year, I think I’m ready for 2016 and to see where God takes me. It’s so strange to look back on 2015 and realize that these things happened almost a year ago! Let’s start from the beginning. I like to detail certain things by months, from big changes to small accomplishments. I hope you enjoy this 2015 in review!

January

• I started off the year with my friends for a weekend stay in DC! We were excited to catch up, go ice skating, visit museums, eat some delicious food and explore Georgetown to kickstart the new year!
• When I went back to school in North Carolina, I had a fabulous blogging meet-up in Greensboro, NC with two Her Campus bloggers, Annaliese and Cara. We explored Greensboro, had a wonderful lunch, took blog photos and ate amazing cupcakes. I also met up with other bloggers from The Peony Project in Charlotte, NC for a nice lunch. January was a month for blog meet-ups!
• I took a personal finance class over winter term and learned too many real-world adult things, that are proving to be very useful now that the real world is here!
• I switched from Blogger to WordPress and got used to the new blogging platform!
• I began to take yoga classes and started to find yoga workout videos I love.

February

• I launched a blog design at Southern Belle in Training!
• I started my last semester in college, taking two classes–my senior capstone and an upper level seminar about the impact of study abroad.
• I began to work on an interactive magazine for my school’s yearbook.
• I had my last recruitment for my sorority, Sigma Alpha Omega, and teamed up with my roommate and best friend to be a candidate mentor!

March

• I visited a food truck rodeo in Durham, NC.
• My friends and I had an incredible and relaxing spring break in Hilton Head, SC!
• I started to eat vegan for a week, and besides spring break, have never looked back.
• I went to a Mat Kearney concert in Raleigh, and loved hearing him perform live as well as the other bands who opened for him!

April

• My sorority participated in Elonthon, a 24-hour dance marathon, for Duke Children’s Hospital. We did a 6-hour shift, because I’m a strong supporter of sleep!
• I went paddleboarding to Jordan Lake in NC – and could barely stand up! It was a semi-fail, but an adventure!
• I launched my first WordPress site design for the student-run communications agency on campus.

May

• I was coming to the end of the semester, before Senior Week and graduation. That means finishing two large projects–my paper for my upper level seminar and my senior capstone. I finished both presentations mid-May.
• I finished the interactive yearbook magazine, my first digital publishing adventure.
• I completed my second WordPress site for a client.
• My friends and I graduated college! Done with all four years at Elon University. It was a great day spent with all my family and friends, with so many memories made!

June

• I wrote my first travel series for my blog, all about traveling in Sevilla, Spain.
• Daisy from Simplicity Relished and I created Wanderlust Stories, a group Pinterest page for bloggers who love to travel!
• I started my first real-world job working at a local nonprofit in mid-June.
• I finally went to a Spanish tapas restaurant (it had been a long time since tapas) with a very good friend of mine.

July

• I traveled a little bit – going to Knoebels Amusement Park in Pennsylvania and up to the mountains for berry picking.
• I started to juggle working 9-5, blogging, freelancing and post-grad life, while soaking up all of summer.

August

• I shared a regular day-in-the-life blog post for my post-grad season.
• I traveled to Williamsburg & Richmond, visiting one of my best friends in college.
• I continued planning a big 5K fundraiser for work and getting used to my job.

September

• I visited several locations in Pennsylvania, learning about my family history over Labor Day weekend.
• I started helping out with a small group at my church.
• I turned 22, having a birthday complete with vegan cupcakes!

October

• We had our 5K fundraiser event in mid-October! That took up the majority of my month (and the months previous, too). It all was a major success and a lot of fun to plan! Although a lot of work, it was a great feeling of accomplishment. Plus, it was really cool learning how to plan a race, instead of usually running 5Ks!

November

• My small group and I went to Harper’s Ferry for camping and hiking–It turned out to be the warmest day in November, almost 80 degrees!
• I finished reading Born to Run, a very inspiring book for runners or travelers or both!
• I had my first vegan Thanksgiving and made my first vegan pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving was a fun time with family this year.

December

• I spent the end of 2015 with a simple Christmas at home with family and visiting with family friends over the weekends in December.
• I’m spending the rest of 2015 with my friends in the area and by making plans for the new year. I hope to work on some more things blog-related as we jump into 2016.
• I teamed up with some blogging friends for Be Bold 2016—an intentional linkup community all about building our goals for the new year. Come join?!

And that’s a wrap for 2015! I hope you have a fabulous rest of the year and continue to pursue creative adventures into the new year. Cheers to 2016!

How was your 2015? What were some of the main highlights for you?