2017 Year In Review

Welp, that’s a wrap on 2017! This year flew by. A lot of monumental things happened to me this year, and I can say with confidence that this was one of the best years I’ve had in my life. In 2016, I was hit with a lot of punches. This year, I’ve learned a lot, got the opportunity to travel more this year than any other year to date, met a lot of great people, and also, consequentially, have dropped a few toxic people from my life as well.
 

2017 – A Year in Review: A Few Highlights…

• I got to travel — a lot more. This was the first full year I was able to blog full-time, and since I can work from anywhere in the world, I was able to pick up and just go places this year. From revisiting nearby cities I love like Baltimore and Richmond, to exploring out West in L.A., Colorado, and Phoenix, I covered a lot of ground this year and knocked off quite a few cities on my bucket list!
• I finally moved. I was saying that I wanted to get out of the D.C. area for a while, and I finally made it happen in 2017. Not only did I relocate out of D.C., but I also live by myself for the very first time. Not having roommates is truly a blessing. I can wholeheartedly say that I never want to live with anyone else again unless it’s a significant other! 
• I met the best partner. Probably the most exciting news for my family and friends, after being single for four years and figuring out who I was and what my career goals were, I finally found someone that was an ideal match for me. I’m delighted that I was patient and didn’t settle for a relationship because I feel that my boyfriend and I compliment each other incredibly well. I’ve had a blast traveling the country with him in 2017, and I cannot wait to see what 2018 has in store for us!

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2017 – A Year in Review: Biggest Lessons I’ve Learned…

• Save, Save, Save. Last year, I worked at a typical 9-5 and could count on a paycheck every two weeks. This year? One of the most significant downsides of being a full-time blogger is that a lot of folks take their sweet time when paying you. I had to learn the hard way that you always need to save whenever you can!
• Put Yourself Out There More. This year, I decided that I wanted to ramp up my travel collabs. Before 2017, I did a couple of staycation projects and one NYC hotel collab, but other than that, there was nothing significant on my resume. This year I just decided to go for it: pitch like crazy and put myself out there. I’m so happy with the partnerships I was able to land because of pitching, and I want to up the ante a lot more next year.
• Getting Out of your Comfort Zone. I think a move out of D.C. was necessary because it forced me to break out of my shell and meet new people. A week after I moved to Philly, a major PR firm was hosting an event in Center City. It was open to the public, and I saw that other local bloggers planned on attending, so I just decided to go…all by myself. I left that event with new friends, and a contact at this fabulous PR firm and that scary decision to put myself out there helped me out so much in the long run.

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2018 Goals…

• Travel Goals. Ok, so I fell flat on my goal to travel internationally this year, for an embarrassing reason: my passport expired in July, and I completely forgot to renew it. I’m in the process of renewing it right now and should have it back in the next few weeks. As for where I want to visit next year? Nashville and San Francisco are still on my list, I’d love to plan a road trip from NYC to Portland, ME (and make an overnight stop in Boston along the way!), and I plan on searching for the best airfare deals to take me to a fabulous international destination.
• Invest and Save. I’m turning 28 next year, and as I inch closer to 30, I want to be smarter about my finances. I would love to learn how to invest in *something* (any tips and tricks on how to get started would be fab!), and I want to start saving up big time so that one day, I can own my own home. I’m starting to get tired of renting, so it would be awesome to have the opportunity to own property in the next few years!
• Be More Present. I have to admit: I’ve been a little MIA as a friend the second half of 2017. I would be on the road so much, that once I got back home to my apartment, I would just isolate myself and work like crazy. I want to get back in the habit of being around my friends/family more and to achieve better work/life balance in 2018.

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What are your 2017 highlights and 2018 goals?