It’s sometimes easy to forget all that has happened in a year until you sit down, scroll through your camera roll or Instagram stories and reflect on all that you did.
Every year I do a recap of the year which includes: Taking stock of my goals and how I did, moments that mattered both globally and to me personally, recurring themes, things that I was obsessed with (actual physical items, ideas, music, podcasts, TV shows, etc.), what went well and what didn’t go so well, and things I’d like to start, continue or stop in the new year.
So, let me go through some of those things with you today as we reflect on the past year together.
Global Moments that Mattered:
- Artificial Intelligence coming to the forefront
- War in Palestine and Israel
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and NFL moment with Travis Kelce
- Twitter changes to X
- ‘Barbenheimer’
- OceanGate submarine
- Turkey-Syria Earthquake
- Canadian and Hawaiian wildfires
Personal Life Moments that Mattered:
- Getting engaged!
- Moving to State College
- Started my blog and completed blogmas!
- Patrick’s cat, Skippy and my family dog, Ozzie both passing away 🙁
- My family getting a new kitty…Luka!
- Started working out consistently at OrangeTheory
- Completing a 30 Day Yoga Challenge
- Completing 60 Days Caffeine Free
- Going to Washington State, visiting the National Parks there, Seattle and Forks! (Interested in our itinerary? Check the blog post out!)
- Went viral on TikTok and Instagram…and Julia Fox liked one of my posts, woohoo!
- Patrick completed his Master’s Degree and started his PhD!
- Went to some great concerts: Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and the Sound on Sound music festival!
- Cut my hair and got bangs for the first time in years
Items that Mattered:
- Madewell jeans…finally found denim I enjoy wearing
- Drying rack and taking better care of my clothes
- Gold jewelry and stacking necklaces. Also…my engagement ring!
- Ring light from Amazon for my vanity – game changer!
- Lip gloss
Favorite Foods:
- Homemade gnocchi
- Oysters
- Chukar Candied Cherries and Rainier Cherries
- Birria tacos
- Good Culture brand cottage cheese
- Goat cheese, vegan sausage, egg and arugula bagel sandwiches – deelish!
TV and Movies:
- The Tudors
- Breaking Bad
- House of the Dragon
- Saltburn
- Love Has Won
- The Green Knight
- Buffalo 66
- Grizzly Man (a documentary about Timothy Treadwell. Researching bear attacks consumed me for about a month after watching)
Favorite Books:
- “Down the Drain” by Julia Fox
- “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
- “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh
- “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson
- “The Guest” by Emma Cline
- “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling
- “A Guide to the Good Life” by William B. Irvine
- “All-Night Pharmacy” by Ruth Madievsky
Ideas that Mattered:
- Shadow work
- I can do hard things
- Stoic practices (particularly negative visualization)
- I can create whatever I put my mind to
- Perfect is the enemy of good enough
- Get all the cuddles, hugs and kisses that you can. They’re finite.
Songs & Artists that Mattered:
- Phoebe Bridgers
- Hozier
- Lana Del Rey
- Taylor Swift (my top artist this year)
- Ed Sheeran
- “Freddy Crabs” by Sticky Fingers (my top song this year)
- “Them Changes” by Thundercat
- “Dark Red” by Steve Lacy
Podcasts that Mattered:
- Emergency Intercom
- This Past Weekend with Theo Von
- Tana Mongeau’s Canceled Podcast
- H3 Podcast
- O.C. Swingers
- Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi
What I want to Start in the New Year:
- Save more money
- Meet new people
- A podcast
What I want to Continue:
- Exercising and eating at home more
- Reading
- Content creation
What I want to Stop:
- Imposter syndrome
- Being messy…clean up after myself more! I’m a messy lil gremlin
- Comparing myself to others
Overall, looking back at all the great things that happened this year, I’m happy with how my year went and I’m excited for all that the new year will bring. Thank you for sticking with me for my first year blogging consistently and reading my blogmas posts this year! I’ll be back in January with my 2024 goals and more exciting things underway.
What mattered to you this year? What happened? Let me know in the comments below!
Love,
Amber
Instagram: @soulsticedreams
Amber Mirrelle 