Another year has come to a close. Another year to look back on with disgust, blame the steady stream of bad luck that was 2017 for not sticking to our resolutions, for not reaching our goals, for not being happy with ourselves. The stroke of midnight announcing the new year represents a clean slate, a fresh start. We can start over. We can reach those goals, this year for sure. It happens every year, and it is kind of depressing.
I am usually more than ecstatic to leave another year in the past, excited and motivated by the idea of a new year, new me. But this year was a little bit different. I stopped being angry at the world for things that I had no control over. I decided that I was going to have a great year despite all the bullshit out there trying to make sure I didn’t. And it wasn’t a great year. It was an AMAZING year. That’s right, bitches. For the first time in a long ass time I’m not here to complain. I’m here to happily reminisce and be grateful for everything I was able to see and do and everyone I was able to meet.
Here are my 17 favorite highlights of 2017. I miss it already, but I am jonesing to make 2018 even better.
1. Visited a new continent…with 1 backpack…alone.
This was something I never thought I would do. As a child I could barely even respond when someone directed a question at me. I missed out on social events because I was terrified to put myself in an uncomfortable situation. I didn’t know how to talk to anyone, regardless of who they were.
Once in kindergarten, after cutting my hair painfully short, my teacher was dismissing us to recess and let the girls go out first. I hopped up to run out to play, but was stopped by a little boy fastened around my ankle. “STOP!” he wailed angrily. “She said girls only!” Instead of correcting his error, I stood entrenched in silence and shame, the boy still holding onto my ankle until the boys were dismissed and I was finally free to go. I’m not sure if the boy ever realized I am, in fact, female. Because I sure as hell never told him.
My point here is this: I am shy. It takes me forever to open up to new people. I often keep to myself. On top of that I have no sense of direction and am not good at foreign languages. When I wasn’t able to find anyone to accompany me on a trip to Vietnam I so desperately wanted to do, I panicked a little bit. Sure, I’d read a lot about solo travel and I’d thought about it plenty, but was never sure if it was for me, shy, anxious, awkward little me.
Despite my mother’s concerns and shocked reactions from my friends, I booked my flight and started making plans on my own. I fit everything I’d need into a backpack, reassured my mother again that I wasn’t quite as flighty as she thinks, and boarded a flight heading to an entirely new continent.
It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. And I can’t wait to do it again.
2. Met new friends.
One thing that surprised me about solo traveling is that it is so damn easy to meet people who are doing the exact same thing as you. My trip to Vietnam introduced me to some of the kindest, most genuine people I have ever met. I became friends with a girl from France, a guy from Canada, a girl from Brooklyn. I met boys who lived literally one hour away from my hometown, and I met girls who lived on the other side of the world in New Zealand. Each had a unique story, his or her own reasons for traveling the world, and the most open minds I’ve ever encountered. I am obsessed with all of them.
3. Learned.
Any American (and probably anyone else in the world) can agree that 2017 had its challenges on the larger scale. Political anxiety was at an all-time high. Legislation was getting passed that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, or worse, was detrimental to our every-day lives. Natural disasters destroyed entire cities and countless lives. As much as I worked to make 2017 personally fulfilling, it did have its caveats, and those caveats were numerous.
I’ve never been big into politics, and to say that I started getting into them once our current president was elected is a cliche and a half. My bad. Better late than never right?
I made it my mission this year to learn as much as I could, not only about what was going on within the administration, but also what was going on within society, within cultures different from my own, both in the United States and outside of it. I learned what different organizations were all about and what they stood for, from ACLU to Black Lives Matter. I marched on Washington DC to stand up for what I believe in, I called into representatives to express my grievances, I donated to causes that would help people in need.
It is easy to live within a bubble, especially growing up the way that I did in small town USA. Staying inside that bubble is a choice. There is so much to learn and so many ways to grow, and everyone should feel empowered to start.
4. Tried some new and amazing food.
AH YES, THE PINNACLE OF 2017 HAPPINESS. Food. Did you expect anything different from me? Good food is my husband and my only reason for living.
It started in Myrtle Beach when I devoured hush puppies and seafood like they were going out of style, and continued when I went to Arizona and finally, FINALLY, had real, authentic Mexican food again. I had my first crawfish boil in New Orleans, plus my first cajun meal. And don’t even get me started on Vietnam. Pho is life. Hoi An’s extensive cuisine forever has my heart.
Eating is the best part of traveling, and no one will convince me otherwise.
5. Bought a house.
Believe it or not, this decision was not on my radar at the beginning on 2017. In fact, I was planning to quit my job, sell a bunch of my stuff, and travel full-time. Turns out, my anxiety and fear of instability did not allow such a crazy thing, so I decided to just go all-in on the opposite route: laying down roots. Nothing is more important to me than family, and I knew after spending a year thousands of miles away from them that I wouldn’t be moving far away again. Baltimore has been my home since I was nine years old, and it seemed like the right decision to make it my home permanently.
In a whirlwind of open houses, realtors, and e-documents, I ended up finding the perfect home for myself and my chihuahua Stella. Tons of travel plans are still in the works, but I now finally have somewhere to come home to after weeks of being on the road.
6. Overcame a 2-year long injury.
Anyone who has been following my story the past two years knows just how horrific my body has treated me. As a runner, nothing is more difficult than being told you can’t run, or being in pain every time you try to trot a mile. I first became injured in December of 2015, gained two new, increasingly worse injuries in 2016, and cried myself to sleep on more than one occasion over it. I ran about 50 miles in all of 2016. I lost all my muscle and got shockingly out of shape and wanted to die.
INJURIES ARE A GODDAMN BITCH.
For the first time in a long time, I was able to start running again relatively consistently in 2017. I ran 5 races and finished all of them, ran almost 300 miles over the course of the year, and learned to take things in stride a little bit more (pun intended). Injuries are not the end of the world, even if running is your world, and patience will get you back to healthy better than anything else.
7. Ran a race in a foreign country.
Okay, so it was only a 5k, but it was my first race in an entire year and it was in Reykjavik, Iceland, one of my favorite cities in the world.
8. Ran my first half marathon.
After five full marathons, and then four full marathon deferrals due to injury, I decided it was time to run my first 13.1. I decided on a small local marathon in my hometown, the NCR Trail Marathon, and managed to finish without joint pain.
9. Did Mardi Gras right.
Lots of food, drink, and beads to go around. This was an absolutely crazy weekend. So glad that I was able to experience this festival first-hand with my best friend at my side.
10. Crossed items off my bucket list.
Two of the most exciting things that appealed to me about Southeast Asia as I was planning my trip there were its beautiful limestone bays and its streets crowded with motorbikes. Both Halong Bay and riding around on a motorbike through treacherous traffic were on my bucket list, and I got to experience both in Vietnam.
11. Was a tourist in my own backyard.
People make fun of me for this, but one of my favorite things is doing the most touristy things in cities that I’m super familiar with. In the spring in DC I went down to the Mall and took photos of the cherry blossoms. I visited the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. I wandered around Time Square in New York City. These things are touristy for a reason, and it is a fun reminder of what makes your favorite cities so great (plus makes for some good Instagrams, and what is life about if not Instagram?).
12. Visited paradise with my favorite person.
Punta Cana’s white sand beaches, clear blue waters, endless supply of alcohol, and unwanted advances from men working at our beautiful resort were all part of one of the best experiences with my little sister I’ve ever had. Just don’t ever, ever offer us mamajuana again, please.
13. Overcame fears.
Skydiving, unfortunately, was something that I didn’t get to repeat in 2017, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get a good dose of adrenaline. I’ve always been afraid of heights, but challenging that fear has always been one of my favorite things to do. Ziplining for kilometers way up over the canopies of the Costa Rican cloud forest? I was close to shitting myself. But woo baby, what an amazing morning.
14. Watched my brother graduate high school.
This was definitely one of those moments mothers must feel where they are overcome with pride but also dread about how old they’re getting. My child brother, the biggest brat in the world, graduated high school this year and headed to university in the fall. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? I swear he was a fetus 10 seconds ago!
15. Performed in a play.
THIS was definitely the most random part of my year. Like I am still laughing embarrassedly over this. For a while my mother was dating a guy who is an addictions counselor by day, mediocre playwright by night (apparently). His play, Anyone Want to Go Camping, was selected by Baltimore’s Artscape, its annual arts festival, and he was tasked with finding actors to fill the play’s roles and getting them to put on a halfway-decent performance on July 21st.
This guy was having trouble finding anyone willing to act in his play. My mother, thoughtful as she is, remembered my insistence, at age 8, that I would be a famous starlet, and my demands for multiple theater camps to prepare myself for my rise to glory. Before I knew it, I was cast as Sally, the naive and desperate little wife who doesn’t realize that her husband is gay and tries to pressure him into having a baby with her while he squirms uncomfortably in his homosexuality. RIVETING STUFF.
Not that I would ever admit it to anyone, but performing on stage was SUCH A RUSH, and it reminded me again of why I was so drawn to the acting world as a kid (even if my shy demeanor would have never allowed me to be successful at that age). Thanks to my mother for landing me a role in this hot new show, and thank you to my friends for coming to watch me embarrass myself.
16. Fell in love.
By far the greatest thing to come out of that play was my Travis. I met my last boyfriend on my month-long trip to Europe after graduating college and had stayed away from men, for the most part, since our breakup. I’ve never been big into relationships, and I’ve always cherished my independence more than anything. Everything changed when I met Travis, and it changed for the better.
This boy is kind, sweet, insightful, and beautiful, and I feel lucky to have him in my life.
17. Remembered how small I am in this great big world.
Perhaps the most important thing to come out of 2017 was this: I was reminded, again and again, just how big the world is. So many places and cultures have been around for thousands of years before I was ever born, and they’ll be around for thousands of years after I’m gone. I’m really nothing but a blip on the radar of this gigantic earth.
Even the most hopeless of situations are temporary, even the most DASTARDLY of administrations won’t be around for long. Everything is only as bad as you make it. And you only have a limited number of days. I learned that I have to go on that trip I’ve been wanting to go on now, I have to let myself fall in love now, I have to speak out for what I believe now. Because you never know when you won’t get another chance at a clean slate.
What was your favorite part of 2017? What are you most looking forward to in 2018?
