Is it bad to say that Star Wars: The Force Awakens affected me in a profound way? Maybe not the movie itself, but the events leading up to seeing it, the purchasing of the tickets, the bonding with friends, the rekindling of my love of everything Star Wars….? Lol, if that’s not an acceptable answer I’ll say the video of the model talking about how unreal social media is.  Big eye opener, helped me get out of the fog of social media for a bit and just breathe.  

18. What was your favourite compliment that you received this year? Although this may sound odd, I’d have to say my fave compliment of this year came from one of the kitchen staff at my work. Whenever I have to take bread out of the oven it always burns my hands, so I invested in an oven mitt and brought it to work and apparently he thought that was so smart and said that I was going to be successful in life.  It may seem small and a bit like “…but you just bought an oven mit to save your hands, what common sense”… but the simplicity of it and just that comforting idea that I’m not going nowhere, I’m not forever trapped in the lows that are mood-ditches… It’s nice.

19.What little things did you most enjoy during your day-to-day life? Definitely the music blasting in the morning, the extra 20 minutes of sleep in mornings I don’t have to be at school early, hot showers, Travis sleeping on my bed at night <3.

20.What cool things did you create this year? Recently I made a customized mug for J’s dad for Christmas. I followed the DIY-sharpie-bake mug instructions the Internet and Pinterest provided me to create a mug (black) with a drawing of Vader’s head and a light-saber accompanied by the words “I like my coffee on the dark side” XD.  (This is still fresh in my brain and it took a lot of effort to do so it’s at the top of my list right now). To be honest, the majority of the “cool” things I’ve done this year have been around the house crafts, gifts for birthdays, and birthday cards. But one thing actually hits me– when I was at gov school, we had a t-shirt decorating activity and I took the opportunity to try to replicate the German soccer team’s world cup jerseys… I’ve wanted a real one for a while but I have to admit, being able to make a realistic looking one felt amazing :D.

21.What was your most common mental state this year (e.g. excited, curious, stressed)? I’m afraid I’ll have to repeat “stressed” this year… though I’m excited to say that it hasn’t been pure stress.  There’s definitely been some excitement and curiosity attached to it, especially with the whole college application and visiting thing.  It’s a whole new deal.

22.Was there anything you did for the very first time in your life this year? Yes. Yes there was! Quite a few things, actually. 

-I started waitressing! Stressful at first and still a bit stressful now… but I’m getting used to it and improving every day.  Me somehow being able to keep my cool and handle the holiday rush was… very rewarding. 

-I played a boy in a musical! I have never portrayed a male character (Jojo in Suessical!)– it was very fun to explore the mannerisms and behaviors in young boys. (….LOL does that sound creepy….?) 

23.What was your favourite moment spent with your friends? A few instances stick out in my mind.

-Homecoming– BEST. ONE. EVAR.  Went to top golf with some awesome people. 

-A middle-school Latin Certamen event. I got to see one of my old BFFs from TJ. I missed him a lot. But the commentary and the moderating he provided…. was amazing.  

-Buying a hamster and taking it to the mall!

24.What major goal did you lay the foundations for? Still saving money. I’m still setting up savings, I got a better, and now I’m slowly chipping off my college expenses. Feels better.  

25.Which worries turned out to be completely unnecessary? Getting into gov school, getting kicked out of gov school, getting accepted into college,

26. What experience would you love to do all over again? Gov school.  Hands down.

27. What was the best gift you received? I hate this question due to its material nature… at least, the initial nature… but I guess I’d say my long overdue shopping spree….? (…Where I went to stores after Christmas and bought everything for like 75% off. It was very fab.)

28. How did your overall outlook on life evolve? Again, it continues to shift.  I have more of a sense of urgency now, and while it has seemed dark, I’ve been able to see the light of the hope that my life is still unfolding and anything is possible.  And I’ve also taken off the lenses that other people have placed on me– I’ve become more comfortable with who I am and am caring less and less about what people think and more about what I want and what makes me happy, therefore making my outlook unafraid and spontaneous.

29.What was the biggest problem you solved? The communication with my parents.  I’ve gotten much better about it.

Daaaaang that’s a ton of stuff…it still amazes me the amount of shit/awesomeness that can go down in just one year….

Do you guys have any fave highlights of 2015?

xoxo