This is the 4th year I am doing a year end review on the blog and I absolutely love being able to look back at what I did and who I was with and to see my self grow. You can check out 2014, 2015, and 2016 if you care to take a trip down memory lane with me.
Although I say it each year, and this time I really really really mean it, 2017 was huge. With travel, and graduation, and starting my career, there is a lot to recap, so let’s jump in!
At the very start of 2017 I traveled to California with my best friend Ally. We spent a week driving (in a Mustang convertible!) and exploring and it was my first experience of the West Coast. I learned a lot about my travel preferences and had a lovely time with my favorite person.
For some live action of California you can check out this video.
As you all know, I am a proponent of minimalism and giving gifts that are experiences rather than things. I gave my family a group gift of going to Escape the Room and it was one of the most fun challenges we’ve done together!
Another experience gift was taking Joe to see his first broadway show, Wicked! It was fantastic and even better than I remembered.
Joe’s experience gift to me for my birthday was visiting D.C. and it could not have been more perfect.
Annnnnd another experience gift was going out for dinner in the city with my brother and to see the Metropolitan Opera. Admittedly, I did fall asleep for part of the show, but he loved it and that’s what mattered.
Some more travel came surprisingly when I found myself alone at Disney world. I was in Orlando for work and there was a series of delays that left me stranded in the happiest place on earth, so you can bet I made the most of it.
Travel continued when I headed off to Cancun for spring break. My favorite day of the trip was going to see Chichen Itza and getting to stop and swim in a massive sink hole along the way. From beautiful beaches to fun nights out, it was a great way to celebrate nearly being done with senior year.
I love nothing more than a live performance (except maybe being on the water…or history…or Bollywood) and this year was full of them. Joe and I went to see Father John Misty, Andrew Belle (to celebrate our anniversary!), and Ke$ha and I had a fantastic time at each.
Speaking of being on the water, since I missed crew so much, I figured participating in a cardboard boat regatta would be a great way to relive the glory days. Although it was a far different experience, it was such a blast to work with my team to build and race the boat (and to win first place too!). Joe is also the best and brought me to a restaurant on a boat so I’m never too far away from my favorite place.
The biggest event/life change of this year was graduating from college. Over the last four years I got to experience so many ups and downs, made wonderful friends, had my heart broken and fell in love, and learned more than I could have hoped. TCNJ was the best place I could have gone and I made my mark while I was there. Being the commencement speaker for the School of Business and ranking second in my class was the best way to finish up my career at TCNJ (and jumping in the fountain with Joe was a highlight of the day). Sorry for so many pictures, but this was such a big deal and I couldn’t resist sharing, especially because I never posted about the event.
You can check out more live action of the spring in this video.
Right after graduation, the travel continued when I headed off to Florida to visit my grandmother and to Busch Gardens with Joe and his family.
Aside from college graduation, the biggest change of this year was starting full time with IBM in the Summit Program. I won’t go into much detail because my blog series on the program covers it thoroughly, but entering the professional world has been phenomenal. Closing out the year by graduating first in my sales program and landing a role on my dream team (Watson Financial Services) has made me even more excited to continue to learn and work in the new year.
A last round of travel at the end of the year with Joe to Chicago was awesome. Exploring cities is by far my favorite type of travel and Joe is the perfect person to go with. We had such fun on the architecture river cruise and checking out museums and eating dessert to our hearts’ content.
There you have it, another year in the books!
What were the highlights of 2017 for you?
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