My 2017 Year In Review and Why You Need One Too

2017 was quite the year for me. I encountered a lot of changes, growths, and setbacks but I wouldn't change anything. I was in a bit of a funk one night, just feeling really unmotivated and stuck. I finally decided that I needed to snap out of it and take a look at all the things that I accomplished this year! I didn't want to just stop at thinking about the good things, but I also wanted to think about all the lessons I learned and reflect on how I am going to move Forward and change in 2018.

So lets get into it!

2017 Was Great

I brainstormed and thought about all the great things that happened in 2017. Here is my quick list:

1. GRADUATED COLLEGE

2. Won the Chicago Blackhawks grad cap contest.

3. Celebrated 1 year with Clayton

4. Started my blog

5. Purchased my official domain name

6. Interviewed with the Chicago Blackhawks

7. Landed a full time job (sadly not with the Hawks, but I'll get there one day)

8. Moved in with Clayton

9. Vacationed in Florida with Clayton's family

10. Went parasailing for the 1st time

11. Began paying down my Student Loans

12. Launched my 1st t-shirt line

13. Removed toxic people from my life

14. Began interning for the Peoria Mustangs

15. Planned an epic trip with friends

16. Found a planner system that actually works for me

17. Got really organized with my blog

18. Saw Nick Jonas with some of my favorite people

19. Saw my FAVE musical, Hamilton, live in Chicago

20. Threw a rad grad party with my sister

21. Passed down my college dance team to the next generation of leaders

22. Traveled to Nashville for New Years to see the Titans clinch playoffs

2017 Taught Me A Ton

While I am so thankful for all the great things I accomplished, I think it is so important to take time to look at some of the negative things that happened during the year, and learn from them! Here are some things that sucked at the time, but I 100% learned from:

1. Didn't get my dream job

2. Lost some friends

3. Got my 1st student loan bill

4. Had to take care of 2 major issues with my car

5. Had some push back from colleagues at my jobs

6. Struggled financially at times

7. Battled with staying positive about my body

8. Struggled in my realtionships with people

9. Stressed WAY to much

Some of these things were very big challenges for me, while other might seem minor. And yes, there are probably other small things that happened throughout the year that were challenging, but these were the first few off the top of my head. I'm someone that is always planning and thinking about the future so I tend to let things stress me out more than they should! Going through all those things in the list put a lot of things in perspective for me. I'm always ready to take the next step and move up the ladder, but I've really realized that I need to slow down and be patient. I need to stop being so hard on myself and focusing on what I am doing right now that is working and improving my life. I'm still focused on working hard and bettering myself and my life, but in 2018, I'm not going to be so critical of myself. The world is hard enough on us all as it is!

Why You Need to Review

Doing this review shows me some of the best moments in 2017 as well as some of my trying moments. While it might not have been the best year ever or the year I wanted, I learned a lot and was able to do some pretty awesome stuff! Looking at these lists allows me to reflect on what meant the most to me and how I am going to incorporate more of that into my 2018!

If you want to start 2018 off right, I highly suggest you take a look at how 2017 impacted your life! Take a moment to celebrate all your accomplishments, no matter how big or small, learn from your mistakes, and make a plan to grow in the new year!

Let me know how your 2017 went! What are you most looking forward to in 2018?