2019 Recap

As I’ve gotten older, I have come to enjoy having a birthday near the end of the year. On December 23rd I ring in a new year of life and eight days later the world rings in a new calendar year. It always turns into a little week-long reflection period which means that you all get a cliché end of the year post.

Although I haven’t (and do not plan to) made any New Year’s Resolutions, what I do have to share today is some reflections on 2019 and my 22nd year of life, and some photographs from the fall + holidays because would it really be my blog if there weren’t pictures included?

2019 began with a lot of uncertainty and to be perfectly honest is ending with uncertainty as well for me. I came into 2019 having made a dreaded D in Organic Chemistry and feeling extremely uncertain about what that meant for my medical school journey and timeline. Life went on, though, and the rest of the year has been a whirlwind. In short:

I graduated with a B.A. in Psychology in May.
After graduation, my grandmother took Trent and me on an amazing Alaskan cruise (those photos are still to come as promised).
I retook organic and ten weeks + two semesters of organic later, I came out with “A”s across the board. I truly do not share that to brag but to encourage anyone else out there facing a difficult class: comebacks are possible. And, not gonna lie, they feel pretty dang good.
I took the MCAT and surprised myself (in a really good way) with my score.
I applied to a few medical schools. Not expecting much to come of that this cycle due to a number of different circumstances, but still, the application process is no joke and not for the faint of heart so just getting through it felt somewhat significant.
I got what I thought was going to be a great gap year/first adult job and moved back to Georgia for said job. Ultimately, it didn’t end up being a good situation and plans very unexpectedly and abruptly changed. But after a few weeks of temporary holiday work…
I got another new job at a local hospital where I will be a patient care tech after the first of the year. I wish I was less nervous/stressed about something falling through with this job & more excited, but all in due time.
I am also in the process of getting my EMT license.

2019 + 22 also saw my first year of life spent in a relationship rather than doin’ my own independent-single thing.

Let me be clear though, this list is my highlight reel. The year was not 100% good. The unexpected twists in my employment situation certainly seemed like they would end the year on a low note.

But when I write it all out and look back, this year really held a lot of good, and I often need that reminder. In the day-in and day-out of all of these things, it often didn’t feel as though much progress was being made or like certain things would ever end. Yet, here we are, at the end of the year and I’m sure all of you could write similar lists of accomplishments 2019 held for you. Even if your list consists of things like, “I said ‘no’ more and simplified life,” or “I survived,” that is a-okay. Those accomplishments are every bit as valid. I just wanted to throw that out there.

So that was 2019. I’m not even going to think about the fact that it’s not only the end of another year but of an entire decade.