It’s that time! All of my monthly recaps are culminating in a review of 2022. I get a lot of joy out of reminiscing on the year that has past, including writing this post, journaling, and printing photos. I’ve been writing this annual post since 2014 and you can check out all of the previous years: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Last year I divided the review up into a few themes/categories rather than going in chronological order like in years past. I really liked thinking a bit harder about what stood out to me from the year, so I’m using that approach again!
Travel!!!
This year I finally got to start traveling again since the start of the pandemic (and I have high hopes that travel will feel even more normal in 2023). There were international trips, work trips, family trips and I am so grateful that I got to spend time with people I love in new and familiar places.
In February I went to the Dominican Republic for Chrystalla’s bachelorette party.
In March we went to Boston to see Bleachers in concert and I got to visit with Tina.
In April we headed back up to Massachusetts to visit with family.
In July we FINALLY got to go on our European honeymoon to London and Portugal. It was a dream and I loved getting to document it in blog posts and videos.
In August we headed to Busch Gardens for the annual Cori family trip and my mother joined us this year!
In October I visited Google’s headquarters in California for the first time. While it was so fun to see where it all began, I’ll also be biased to thinking the NYC office is best (you’ll see more on that below).
In November I headed down to Philly for a quick trip to facilitate sales trainings and I got to spend a little time with Casey, which is always the best 🙂
Back to the office
Last year I had a lot of career developments and wins to highlight. While this was another solid year of growth and learning, the biggest thing that stands out about work this year is where I was doing it: namely, in the office! I love being around people and am most energized when I get to interact with others, so I found myself feeling fulfilled in a way that I missed during 2020 and 2021. I also loved getting to bring family and friends to the office. That’s a major Google perk.
Celebrating life events and live performance
Along with getting to travel and coming back to the office, we also got to celebrate life events in person in a much more normal way and got to see so many live performances (mostly concerts, but theater too).
We got to attend three weddings, plus showers, and I was so happy to boogie the nights away and celebrate the people we love!
For concerts I got to see Bleachers, BADBADNOTGOOD, Aly & AJ, Harry Styles, Ginger Root, the Google Orchestra, The Piano Guys, jazz shows, and a disco show, and for plays I got to see Come From Away and Straight Line Crazy. There is nothing like a live performance.
All of the NYC activities
This always needs to get its own category because I am just as crazy about living here as I dreamed I would be.
I explored new museums, like the City of the Museum of New York and The Transit Museum, and found myself back at the Met countless times.
I also embraced seasonal NYC fun, like Bryant Park’s Winter Village, the Orchid show at the NY Botanical Garden, the US Open, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Another fun activity this year (that I’m looking forward to continuing in 2023) was taking walking tours in the city. Sheetal and I did a broadway themed tour, Joe and I did a sandwich tour, and my coworkers and I did a progressive meal tour. Tours are not just for vacation or for tourists, especially in a city like New York!
Speaking of food, I ate so much delicious food in the city this year (this was more true this year than others because for 3/4ths of the year we did not have a working oven and stove in our apartment…). Whether it was pizza or fine dining, I ate well this year 🙂
Creating
Last year I revamped my blog and this year I added a podcast to my creating hobby. I have enjoyed stretching myself with a new medium and learning how to research, record, edit, and tell compelling stories in a new way.
It’s also worth mentioned that I’ve continued to appreciate what others create, like the art in my beloved Met and all of the books I’ve read this year. I’m not sure if I’ll write a dedicated post on my top books from this year, but you can check out my review on Goodreads and Instagram.
Thank you for following along this year! What was the highlight of your year?
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