2019 was a roller coaster of a year
There were several ups and downs when it comes to 2019. When I first think of 2019, i think of loss, but when I reflect on all I did this year, there were also several accomplishments as well.
Let’s start reflecting on 2019.
What I wanted in 2019 as reflected by my vision board
To be a confident and innovative entrepreneur
An avid reader with a list of 21 books to read
To feel stylish and “beyond the ordinary”
To be a digital influencer
To continue developing myself personally
To participate in NaNoWriMo
To become more of a minimalist
To develop and keep routines
To go and start my own meetup group
To have a theme for each month of the year
To be a social media icon and YouTube sensation
To work on 15 Minutes of Creativity
To go to the Arts Festival
To go to a Broadway Musical
To go to New York Comic Conn
To go to Philadelphia
To move and ideally to a warmer climate
What actually happened in 2019
I read 8 out of the 21 books that I listed on my vision board. My favorites being “Spark Joy” and “Getting Things Done”.
I went to Broadway with my boyfriend to watch Anastasia. It was a great play though I wish they had the song, “In the Dark of the Night” in it since that’s the song my boyfriend and I helped a friend with in college. We were the starring actors of her music video (it’s cringy but give it a watch!)
I wrote one of my best performing blog articles, “How Do You Create a Digital Library for your Life? | Notion Overview” which was about one of my favorite digital productivity tools.
I felt more beautiful and confident than I had in a while. So confident and stylish that there were several instances of me ‘flexing my style’ on the gram
I spent a lot more time with my friends. We would either see each other during our weekly Friday board gaming nights, they’d randomly stop by my house to hang out, or we’d go on adventures together to PetCos, burger joints, and malls.
I worked at New York Comic Con as a “spare board”. It was fun having a different job everyday and the only downside of this event was catching the infamous ‘con-crud’ (i.e a cold).
I started my Hot Chocolate adventure and began to share my thoughts (and hot chocolates) on Instagram for my friends, family, and followers to see. I have a running list of suggestions and plan to continue this in 2020.
I went to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival with my significant other and friends. I bought myself an early Christmas present there, a cute pair of earrings, and look forward to going back next year.
I planted 2 trees with the Forest app
I spent quality time with my group of friends from college during our annual Secret Santa event. It was emotional, but very much needed.
Unexpected Events in 2019:
My year started off with the death of a dear friend of mine. It was unexpected and came from left-field. This left me and my close-knit group of friends devastated. It reminded me of the importance of time, relationships, and the importance of leaving a legacy behind.
I went to the West Coast for the first time of my life! Granted, it was a work-related trip and there wasn’t a lot of sight seeing, but I certainly loved going there regardless. The result of that trip was a free 3 day course that we created to help entrepreneurs grow their business (check out the Webinar).
My precious kitty, Princess Natsu, passed away after 19 years of loving her. While it still hurts not having her by my side anymore, I do appreciate all the moments that I had with her. It was certainly one of the lows of the year.
I became a “Mother of Dragons” with my bearded dragon Solaris and my green anole Fiona.
I began to work less in the city and more from home. Thus giving me more time to be with my grandmother and mother during the winter.
What I did not do in 2019:
I did not become the powerful and influential social media icon I strived to be in the beginning of the year. While I did lay the groundwork in the beginning of the year, my fear of being in the spotlight kicked in and I was paralyzed with fear.
I didn’t read all the books I strived to read, though granted the list grew as the year passed, so I’m not surprised that this approach didn’t work well.
Participate in NaNoWriMo. I had planned on doing a ‘NaNoBlogMo’ which was to write 50K worth of words for my blogs, but that didn’t work out so well.
I did not go to Philly, but I did end up going to Tahoe so that was kinda better in a way.
Final Notes about 2019
Initially when I looked at my vision board for 2019. I felt that my complex vision board of yellows, pinks, and greens were too complex and simply made for aesthetics.
However as I listed what I accomplished, I can say that I made improvements in terms of my confidence and style. I also managed to give back to “Mother Earth” by planting two trees passively and spreading the word about “#TeamTrees”.
It is amazing how much we as individuals grow and accomplish without realizing it. I initially started writing this blog with an intention to share that I ‘failed’ 2019, but in fact I feel quite proud fo what I have been able to do and the groundwork that I’ve been paving for Future Carla in 2020.
I plan on creating a second blog post to share my ‘2019 Favorites’, but for now I’d love to know how you felt about 2019. Did you have a year that was both great and heartbreaking? Let me know!