Tag: year of growth

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2020 Resolutions and Goal Recap

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday! Can you believe that we are almost to new year. I always like to take some time to reflect on the past year and my goals and accomplishments and do a little recap. A full 2020 recap will be coming soon, so be sure to stay tuned. But today, I wanted to break down my goals from 2020 and do a little check in to see how far I have come. To see my goals for this year. You can see them here.

My main goal this year was to learn and love. Since I started a new job a year ago, I wanted to learn as much as I could this first year, from the job itself, to learning from the people I work with, to learning about myself as a reporter, and learning about establishing new routines in my life. Overall, I’m very, very happy with how this year has gone.

Granted, 2020, has been quite a challenging and unpredictable year, but I personally have learned a lot and grown a lot too. I’ve worked hard to establish good routines, both on days I work and on my weekends. I’ve learned to give myself grace, find balance, put myself first and make sure my priorities are in order. I’ve learned how to be flexible and adapt to change. I’ve learned to make time for my family and friends, but also put myself first when it comes to my health and wellness. Having a sense of balance and purpose in my life helps so much when I have busy work days.

Also, I live by my planner, every appointment, story I do, to-do list, or note goes in there and that helps me stay in control and have a sense of order too. I love my simplified planner and I can’t wait to use it again next year, there is a space to write down your bucket list for the year, I jotted some ideas down and stood by them this year. 

Here is what was on my bucket list this year: 

  • See Old Friends (although, this year was far from normal, I was glad I could still see some of my friends from high school, safe and socially distant)
  • Stay Close with College friends (Again, I wish I could have seen more friends but I’m super thankful for maintaining college friendships despite not being able to see each other, plus, thank goodness for facetime!!!)
  • Travel some place new ( I wanted to travel more places, but hello pandemic!!!, my family and I did take a road trip which was fun and we created many family memories!)
  • Learn a lot at work (Yes, based on everything I’ve said above, I learned a lot at work and I’m still learning too!! That’s what I love about my job. I’m always, always learning)
  • Get involved with the community ( Thanks to my job, I am always learning about things going on around the community and I’m so lucky I get to really highlight my hometown with my job every day)
  • Make New Friends (I have made some of the best friends at my job and I learned from some incredible mentors too. It’s a wonderful feeling to be learning every day and love where you are doing it, is a wonderful feeling.)

2020, has been a year, but I’ve learned a lot from myself and I have grown a lot too. Here’s to new beginnings, goals, and bucket lists for 2021!!

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Fabulous living

What I’m Thankful For #3

Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday!

Wow, what a weekend. I went into the city on Friday night which was so much fun! I will have a full recap of a tradition that I have carried out the last several years next Tuesday to kick off the month of December. Also, just a little blog update, there will be no look of the day on Thursday, it’s Thanksgiving and I am going to be spending the day with family and disconnecting for the day.

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday and as part of my college series I’m going to do a bit of a reflection post for everything that I am thankful for this last semester of college. I have done this for the past few years. Here’s mine from my first year and here’s mine from last year. I always think it’s important to reflect on all the blessings that I have in my life especially as I begin a new chapter soon. Let’s begin:

–My incredible and supportive family.

I don’t know where I would be without my family. They are my biggest supporters. I know I can count on them for advice, laughs, love, and through the good times and bad. Some of my favorite memories are made at home with my parents, brothers, and dogs. 

Love my boys

-My consistent friends who are always there when I need them

I am so lucky I have great friends both at home and at school. The biggest thing that I have learned this past semester is that it’s never to late to make friends. Always be open to meeting new people because you never know if they will become one of your closest friends. I’m so thankful to have good friends that support me, take me as I am, and I can be myself with. I am also thankful to have them to push me out of my comfort zone, want to try new things with, and always just have a good conversation with. I’m so grateful for all the friends that I have made in college and for the ones who have become like family to me. 

High school bestie
College bestie

-My unwavering faith

I wouldn’t be here or be able to do half the things if it weren’t for my faith. When I am struggling, I always turn to God for his guidance. One of the biggest things I have learned this past year is that God has a plan for everything even if it doesn’t always make sense in the moment and when you finally surrender yourself to him and let him do his work, then that’s when the big things start to happen. I make time every day for my faith and it is so important that I make it a priority for me. I can truly do all things through God.

-Good Health

I couldn’t be more thankful for good health not only for me but also my family and friends. In a world with so much sickness and suffering I am happy I am healthy and I can do everything I want. I hope this next year brings more research to so many harmful illnesses. 

–Good Education

This is my last year in school and learning, in fact I only have so many classes left. It is so crazy to think in a few weeks, for the first time in my life I won’t be a student any more. I can’t believe it. Although, college can be stressful and challenging especially at this time of year, I am so lucky to be able to go to such a good school that is a perfect fit for me. I have truly come into my own at school. I have gotten involved with my academics and found wonderful mentors in my professors and faculty. Most importantly, I have learned so much out of the classroom too.  

Early morning at school

–Good Job

I am so thankful that I have a good job at school. Although, it is stressful, I have learned so much not only about others but also myself. I can easily say that this has been of the best things that has happened to me in college. I have become more confident in this role and I have made some of my best friends through this job. I have learned so much and I will take everything what I learned and use it through my life. I am going to be deeply sad when I leave this job and friends behind. 

Last year on staff

 –My School

College has been on crazy ride. But I am so grateful for it all. I have made lifelong friends, gotten so involved, taken on leadership roles, joined Honor Societies and made countless memories. I learned so much about myself and the person I want to be. It wasn’t always easy but I’m so happy where I am today. I have a long post about my college experience coming soon so be on the look out for that. 

This Blog

I am also super thankful for all of you who read my blog every week. This has been a passion project that I started during my freshmen year of college when I was looking for something different to do with my free time who would have thought I would still be writing today.  I love sharing parts of my life with you and I am so thankful you are all on this journey with me. This has been such a creative outlet for me through college and I love being able to have this community with all of you.

This last semester and year has been filled with so many blessings, lessons, love, and memories. I have grown so much this year and I am so happy of the person I have become and the person I will be when I graduate in a few weeks. I hope you have a wonderful holiday week celebrating with your family. Be thankful for the time spent with family and friends, it’s truly a special time to be with loved ones.

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Fabulous living

My College Career in Four Journals

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday. I hope you all had a great and restful weekend. With only a few weekends left in college, I am trying to soak up all the time I have left being with my friends, I have been taking advantage of going out to brunch with my buddies, having good conversations with friends, and always being down to do something. 

That brings me to my new series of blog posts. I started this blog when I was in my freshmen year of college and a lot has happened since I started it. The next several weeks, my posts will be dedicated to reflecting on my time in college, my favorite memories, what I learned, a final semester recap, and a thank you to a place that I have truly grown in so many ways. 

Four years of memories, moments, and happiness

Today’s post is something that I have talked about through the years, but I am ready to really talk about it more. Let’s talk about journaling! I can successfully say that I have journaled through my entire college career. Yes, every single day of college, is documented and written about. I can tell you what I was doing on November 29, 2016, or April 16, 2017, or January 25, 2018, and even on August 26, 2019. I can tell you how I was feeling, what I was struggling with, what sparked joy that day because I wrote it all down. Looking back, this was one of the best decisions I made while I was in college. Writing about my feelings, what I was going through, what things caused me stressed and what things made me happy was such a good way to unwind and reflect. It also put things in perspective for me. I never had a full day where I complained, I always found something positive or good about the day, whether it was getting a good grade on an exam or catching up with an old friend. Journaling every day made me realize how good life is, and all the things I have to be grateful for. Every year, I had a different theme for my journaling.

Freshmen year, my mom gifted me this journal when I moved into my first day of college. I journaled about every single thing that happened, what I ate for breakfast, how my classes went, what I did for fun and when I went to bed. I was so detailed with my journaling. It was a great way to unwind at the end of the day and reflect of everything I got done. This method really worked during a year of adjusting to a new place and new people. It was a form of comfort to me. 

Sophomore year-my year of YES

Sophomore year came and it was all about yes saying to everything. I started a new job, met new friends, tried new things and stepped out of my comfort zone. I had read Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes and I made my sophomore year my year of yes. I started every day with my Years of Yes journal. The journal was set up with a topic each month to say yes to things. There was a goals section where you can map out where you want to see yourself by the end of the month. Each day is split up into three sections where you can write about the things you said yes to. Inspirational quotes by Rhimes are spread throughout the book to give you motivation if you need it. I spent 5 minutes a day on this and it was such a positive way to start the day. I loved seeing all the things I tried and said yes to through the year. 

Junior Year JOY

Junior year brought JOY. I decided to journal about all the joy in my life. I found myself getting negative about the small things in life, whether it was a long day or friendship troubles. I decided to find joy in every day. I would write down three good things or three things that brought me joy. After doing this for a full year I got to change my mindset and see all the good things in my life. It also made the small annoying things in life seem nonexistent. I’m so glad I found the good in every day. 

Finding Grace in my Senior Year

For senior year, I wanted to try something new. I have always been very involved and balancing a lot of things in life, which I do very well at. For senior year, I decided to give myself the gift of grace. I was inspired by Emily Ley’s Grace Not Perfection and, journaled every day from prompts in the book, A Standard of Grace as well sharing the highlights of my day. It really made me focus on what was important in life. 

Four years later

Although, my college career is winding down, I will continue to journal, it has been a great stress reliever, and a beautiful way to reflect on my time in college and see the beauty and good in every day. Journaling has brought me so much joy and happiness and I am so glad I have four journals full of thoughts, memories, and happiness from my time in college. 

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Fabulous living

One Year Reflection

1 year, 365 days, 52 weeks, and 104 blog posts later…what a year it has been.

This has been a year of joy, happiness, learning, love, and new experiences.

The idea to start a blog came to me over a year ago. After a long first year of college, I wanted to do something for myself through the summer. That came in the form of the birth of Elspeth’s Day by Day. I spent the first few weeks of my summer vacation researching how to start a blog and reading lots of blogs. I decided to give it a try for the summer AND I LOVED IT. I loved the idea of not only practicing my writing by blogging every week, but I loved the idea of sharing things that I have learned through life. Whether it was fashion, organizing, fitness or even the difficult things in life like battling homesickness or being independent. It is a great feeling to be open with your struggles and have others say they my post helped them through something. It is a very humbling experience. I have loved it all. This blog has been a great creative outlet for me especially during the school year, whenever I needed a break from the stressers of college, this was the perfect channel.

A huge thank you to all of you for reading and sharing and commenting on my blog. I appreciate your support so much. Whether you have been an avid reader since Day 1 or you are reading this for the first time today, thank you for your time and attention. It means so much to me. I never thought I would make it a year, but I did it and it has been a joy the whole time. I can’t wait to see what the new year holds, new ideas, new posts and new content. Season 2 is coming soon!!!

Thank you again for all the love and support this year! If there is anything you want to see on here during this next year of blogging, please let me know in the comments below!

XOXO