Looking Back on 2014

I sort of hate these posts. They all seem so... the same. So... earnest. Reflective. Barf. And yet, here I am, just the same, trying earnestly to reflect on my year. Ugh, sorry.

THE BEST

In JANUARY of 2014, I booked one of my first commercial jobs as lead editor, and even got to travel and be on set for the shoot. This is pretty uncommon in the world of commercial editing, mostly because it doesn't make a ton of sense logistically or financially, but I was so excited and grateful for the opportunity. The hours were long and it was exhausting, but I got to go to L.A., stay in the fantastic Shutters Hotel in Santa Monica (and relax in the jacuzzi tub every night), run on the beach on my day off, and log a substantial amount of time driving in famous L.A. traffic.

In APRIL, I went to Charleston, SC with my family and stayed in an amazing rented home near the beach in Isle of Palms. It even had an elevator! Although the weather was pretty disappointing, the scenery was lovely and the shrimp and grits unparalleled.

In MAY, I took a very long, kind of unintentional road trip from Brooklyn, to Woodstock, New York (for Mysteryland), back to Brooklyn, to Baltimore, Maryland, to Friendsville, Western Maryland (for a wedding), and back to Brooklyn. I logged over 1,000 miles in a 4-day weekend, and drove most of it alone with Igby as my co-pilot. He was unenthusiastic. But I got to see a lot of easily overlooked scenery, my 12-year old VW Golf didn't crumble under the pressure, and I felt very accomplished upon returning home and collapsing on my bed, laughing manically at the ceiling.

In JUNE I took a nearly week-long trip to Aarhus, Denmark, to attend the Northside Music Festival. I booked the trip in February while dealing with a major breakup, as a way of focusing on something positive in the future and getting out of my rut. I traveled for about 20+ hours to Aarhus - from JFK to Copenhagen with a layover in Paris, then a 3-hour train ride across Denmark. The train ride was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip, which was, overall, amazing.

AUGUST marked 10 years in New York City, since coming here for college at NYU in 2004. I'm putting this in the "best of" category because that's a long damn time to survive (and thrive!) here, and it reminded me that some of my best friends have now been in my life for 10 years already. (Single beautiful tear.) I also turned 28 in August, which is like totally whatevs, but I guess can qualify as good because I didn't die.

In NOVEMBER I tagged along with my friends Betty & Tim and we hiked 12 miles on the Appalachian Trail! It was just a day trip, but still so amazingly beautiful and weirdly fun, considering we mostly just walked single file for several hours. Good company really can improve any situation.

THE WORST

There was a breakup in JANUARY!
There was a breakup in JULY!
In AUGUST, I just had a really horrible commute home one day. I think it rained a lot that month.
In SEPTEMBER, I stepped in dog shit! Ah not really, just needed to fill up the "worst of" section.

Tallying it all up, I think 2014 was prettyyy prettyyy good, and 2015 stands to be even better.
I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions, since they're almost always a set up for failure and disappointment, but I do believe in goals, so here are a few ways I'm hoping to improve in 2015:

Consume less. In all aspects of life - be it processed food, products, electricity, etc. I want to reduce my dependence on things and live as minimally as possible.
Create more. Specifically, make more videos.
Overcome fears. Obviously this is a life goal, but specifically I want to stop being shy, feel confident being on-camera, and worry less (or not at all!) about what other people will think about my work.
Spend more time outside & take advantage of nature. And try/do more outdoor activities, like scuba diving, hiking, surfing, etc.
Drink more water. This one is so stupid but still something I need to remind myself of on a daily basis.