Year in Review: It’s been a time, 2014.

“it’s been a time, hasn’t it?”

one thing i love about “girl speak” is how we all have our own little idiosyncratic phrases, and we love them because we associate them with our lovely friends. i have an adorably sweet girlfriend who likes to say “it’s been a time” when something silly/fun/awesome/worth remembering happens, and that’s exactly how i feel about 2014. (thanks, Laurbear!)

it’s been a real time, 2014. it really has.

i guess this is where i’m supposed to say something like, “i can hardly believe this year is over!”, or “where has 2014 gone!” — but i don’t think that’s quite how i feel, this year. looking back on it, although of course “life goes by so quickly” (how does that saying go? “the days are long, but the years are short?”), it doesn’t seem like it flew by, really, because i know exactly where it’s gone — and i am thankful for every golden moment upon which it flew away.

for me, 2014 has gone to some of the most memorable moments of my young adult life, and i can honestly say that i feel like i really, truly lived this year. i lived the heck out of it.

:: it’s gone to further cultivating and strengthening my amazing girl friendships, for which i’m so unbelievably grateful.

:: it’s gone to standing beside my best friend in the universe as she married the love of her life, and then becoming an auntie for the first time as they had the most adorable baby boy this fall (who has completely stolen my heart).

:: it’s gone to the most fun weekends at the beach and the lake with the girls, dancing at the Sloppy Tuna in Montauk and losing afternoons on the boat upstate to pontoon shenanigans. it’s gone to late-night fires with white wine and fireworks. it’s gone to the best kinds of silliness.

:: it’s gone to celebrating close friends’ weddings (Jess! Christine!) and engagements (Tara!) and baby’s births; to trips upstate and to Texas to do so.

:: it’s gone to so much quality family time at the lake, made even better now that my brother lives in NY again. it’s been such a blessing to see our family grow even closer year by year, and 2014 was a banner year for that.

:: it’s gone to the start of a writing reawakening for me, as i’ve definitely written more  — both personal creative writing and blogging — this past year than i had previously since i’ve been in NYC. (i’m hoping 2015 takes this even further!) shameless writing plug: what i consider to be the best thing i wrote in 2014: What It’s Like to Have a Wanderlust Soul.

:: it’s gone to so much running and working out and allllll the happiness i derive from those hours and hours of “me” time. even though i couldn’t run the marathon this year, i’m feeling so strong and happy in my running, and that’s what really matters. this was a good year for pavement pounding, with a highlight definitely being running the NYC Half in March. such an iconic, amazing race.

pre-race excited face!

:: it’s gone to reading some amazingggg novels, like Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things, Cutting for Stone and Room and Rules of Civility and so many more. hours spend in books are never wasted, for me.

:: it’s gone to finishing another year of grad school and being that much closer to the dream of a new career. to enjoying every minute of my Human Sexuality class and learning so much more about myself than i ever dreamed i needed to uncover. cheers to self-discovery, at any and every age. cheers to lifelong learning.

:: it’s gone to so many nights of early bedtimes so i could run as the sun comes up; it’s gone to balancing that with some crazysillywonderful memorable nights out dancing with the girls ’til the sun has almost come up. it’s gone to loving both of those, equally and separately.

:: it’s gone to buying alllll the fun running tights. all of them.

:: it’s gone to liking the same boy as much on this day last year as i do today, one year later. i almost can’t believe i’m writing that, and i’m so very, very glad it’s true.

:: it’s gone to falling more in love with, and more settled into, New York City, and discovering exactly who i am, in a city that tells me to be anyone, to be everyone. to Broadway shows and speakeasys; to picnics in Central Park and rarely ever wearing heels anymore; to very little make-up and more hours spent in snapbacks and headbands; to laughing too loud with friends i love too much to imagine my world without. to knowing that i could have ended up anywhere in this great big glorious mess of a world, and i landed exactly, precisely where i am supposed to be at this moment in time, no matter how many ways you spin it.

but it’s gone to loving home even more, too, and the amazing people i have there. it’s gone to recognizing that you can belong in, and be in love with, two different places on an equal scale. it’s gone to having a split heart, and finding joy in that.

and that, i believe, is what we call “living on purpose.” i’m not saying 2014 held zero challenges or hard times or tears for me — it had them all, and some i handled gracefully, and some rather badly. but looking back, i think i can honestly say that i lived this year entirely on purpose and did the best i could with what i was given — and i’m not sure i can ever ask for anything more than that.

and thanks to YOU, all my lovey readers, for being such an important and fun part of my life this year. i’m so grateful for all of you — my “real life” friends and family members who read my blog, and all of my new “blog friends” who i’ve had the opportunity and pleasure to interact with via our little virtual corners of the universe. i hope this has been an equally amazing year for all of you.

God bless us, every one.

xo

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