I sitting here, reflecting over the past year and I am surprised with how much my direction changed in 2018. I initially started my blog as a way to keep my family informed with everything going on in my life, but this year I decided I wanted to pursue blogging a little more seriously and set in my mind that I was going to focus more of my time and energy on the blog. I started following some great bloggers on Instagram and I quickly started comparing myself to these bloggers that had been building their brands for many years. The struggle of I don't look like that, I could never pull off that outfit or even, why am I doing this, I will never have that many followers. All of these thoughts added more to my anxiety until one day I had to realize that there is a place out there for all of us! Every blogger has something different to offer!
The beginning of 2018 had me posting my first ever Outfit of the Day, sharing my tips and tricks for Run Disney and adventuring out to see more of my beautiful state. I came back from an injury and ran my first race in April of 2018. I found myself running with the Dark Side and sometimes I believe that can make it a little more fun. I started becoming more comfortable with the blog around mid-year and began sharing issues I had been having with anxiety and what I was doing to help me get through it. This is something that is very important to me, because I had some people message me saying they had started the same thing and it was helping them get through some difficult times.
In 2018 I fell in love with a city that I had never been too. I saw pictures of Banff National Park, but decided that I needed to go for my 35th birthday. I have never been to a place that took my breath away the way Banff did. From the moment we arrived, to the moment we left, I was constantly saying wow or imagining what life would be like if I could live there. I had experiences in Banff that I never imagined and I saw sights that I thought were only in books and paintings. Banff has my heart and will be a place I will always return to.
In the last part of 2018, I found myself trying to fit in as many experiences as I could. I celebrated my 35th birthday at the Happiest Place on Earth. I had the opportunity to visit with some princesses, enjoy food from around the world and drink amazing champagne...all while having a blast at Walt Disney World! In November I became a godmother to one of the sweetest baby boys I know. I'm sure I won't have kids of my own, so if this is going to be the closest I come, I'll take it! I continued exploring North Georgia and even made a checklist of things I wanted to accomplish over the holidays. I wasn't able to check off all of the items, but I just simply ran out of time. I even had the honor of spending New Year's Eve with my grandparents where we treated them to a delicious dinner and had a Champagne toast at midnight.
After reminiscing about 2018, I sit here and think about what I want for 2019. I posted a list of "resolutions" on here last year, but I didn't really stick with a lot of them. I want 2019 to be a year where I focus on myself and doing what is needed to grow myself. I want to grow my brand, focus on healing my anxiety and focus on being the healthiest and happiest version of me. I want to get back into running and training in 2019, because there are some races I want to run and I want to be ready. I want to travel more and experience more of the world. I want to make memories and take in new sights! Another thing I want to do, I want to explore my faith more than I have before. This is something I have been thinking about over the past few months, and a new year is the perfect time to start. I believe I took some big personal steps to becoming the woman I want to be, and this year I want to keep taking those steps, I just want them to be bigger and better.
Happy 2019, friends! I'm so excited to see what is in store for us all!