2017 was a mess. There was a lot of good, but there was a lot of bad - globally, nationally, and personally. I lost loved ones - to death, to addiction, to a simple drifting apart. I allowed mental illness (and the ultimate stabilization of it) to dig myself into a hole I'll be spending 2018 climbing back out of.
Nonetheless, some wonderful things also happened in 2017. As my sister, Emily, sarcastically reminded me just last night: "It's almost as if things aren't always black & white." (Eh, it's paraphrased.) In spite of intellectually arguing that almost everything is gray, I tend to stomp my feet when I can't pigeon hole something into a one-dimensional category. Here's to attempting to leave that in 2017, I guess.
2017 Highlights
+ Started the year off at Disney World with my family
+ I got to see a lot of plays! My grandmother (my Mimi!) instilled a love for theater in me at a long age, and it was nice to get to experience so many in 2017.
+ I saw The Decemberists & Kesha in concert! It was a light year for me for music compared to plays, but those were two great ones I'm glad I didn't miss - both at the Ryman.
+ I had a pretty good year professionally. I learned a lot, I grew a lot, and I had a great team around me.
+ I became a semi-responsible adult and finally scheduled doctor's appointments here in Nashville & got medicated for my ~*~debilitating~*~ anxiety.
+ I moved into a beautiful place in East Nashville that has a backyard for my giant pup and my little sister moved right across the street.
+ James & I went to Quebec! We stayed in Montreal and took a day trip to Quebec City. One of my major goals for 2017 was to take a trip outside of the U.S. I'm so glad I was able to fulfill it, and really affordably, too.
2017's "Currentlies"
+ Thanks to Moviepass (which I cannot recommend enough) I was able to see quite a few movies in theaters, but my favorite was probably Lady Bird, and the one I'm looking forward to most is The Shape of Water.
+ I watched a pretty ungodly amount of netflix this year. The two shows I enjoyed binge-ing most were Shameless and Sense8. I also finished Dark last night, and it was extremely engaging and different and ended on a terrible cliff-hanger!!
+ Though I unfortunately let James use my Spotify account for most of the year, and therefore don't have an accurate end-of-year playlist, I am 100% sure that my most listened to artist were Lana del Rey's Lust for Life, Lorde's Melodrama, and Troye Sivan's Blue Neighborhood.
+ I actually read this year! I was a voracious reader throughout my childhood and then I went to college and suddenly stopped. I suppose I had so much obligatory reading that I stopped taking joy in reading recreationally. I only finished 8 books this year, but it's a start. My favorites were Call Me By Your Name, Behind Her Eyes, and The Widow.
2018 Goals
Moving forward, I do have some year-long goals for 2018. I want to be more consistent with my skincare routine. I want to tremendously limit my makeup purchases, horrifically having hit both Sephora Rouge and Ulta Platinum this year; I intend to not purchase anything new unless I have used up something from the same category in my current collection. I want to be mindful of my eating - I won't say I'm going to become a full-on vegetarian overnight, but I want to deliberately make choices that don't contribute to factory farming. I will only purchase cruelty-free beauty & bath products this year and hopefully forevermore! More technically, I want to learn how to use manual mode on my camera. I also want to practice my French or German every single day. As I mentioned previously, I want to read 12 books this year - I've already started on a couple!
I was more than ready for a new year. I know it's arbitrary, just a day like any other day, but I appreciate the feeling of renewal that each New Year's Day brings. Happy 2018!
xo,
dina
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