Good morning from 2017!
I think I speak for everyone when I say 2017 is a much needed change. 2016 was all around a horrible year for the world and I am excited to put it behind us. However, on a personal level 2016 taught me a lot about myself. 2016 was a year of rediscovery, travel, and change. It's been awhile since I did a life update, so I thought I would go through and recap the major events of 2016!
I fell in love with places and out of love with people.
I wasted no time in jumping into travel in 2016. I visited New Orleans, Chicago, Nashville, Austin, Charleston, Seattle, Costa Rica, Ireland, England, and Wales. I fell in love with the places I visited, while simultaneously falling out of love in the relationship I was in. We ended our relationship almost half a year ago and I spent the second half of 2016 enjoying the beauty the world has to offer. Yes, I enter 2017 single and excited for a future of possibilities!
I took a leap of faith in Houston.
When I moved back to Houston almost two years ago I was miserable. I hated the city I grew up in and was constantly looking for a way out in the form of a job. Well that job opportunity never came, and I as I progressed both professionally and socially in Houston I began to realize it really wasn't such a horrible place after all. I took a huge leap of faith and signed a lease on an apartment here in Houston. I officially move out of my parents house at the end of this month! I'm excited to be living on my own (no family, no roommates) for the FIRST time in my life!
I became healthier.
Over the last year and a half I started going to a boutique spin studio based out of Sugar Land (the suburb I currently live in). I fell in LOVE with this routine and now find myself spinning 4-5 times a week. My energy has skyrocketed and I now find myself making healthier choices in my life in general. I am the happiest I have ever been with my body, but I am still willing to try new things to make improvements!
I stopped treating this blog like a job.
Many of you have probably noticed the lack of routine Of Golden Roses has. I'm still traveling, and I still have so much to share, but my personal life has become increasingly busy making it difficult to sit down and write! I felt bad at first, abandoning the "3 posts a week" routine, but I soon came to realize that blogging isn't my job. It's my hobby. And I want to continue to enjoy it for as long as possible.
I rediscovered the power of amazing friends.
Being in a long distance relationship is isolating. I realized towards the end of my relationship that I had been isolating myself from my friends because I spent the majority of my time trying to coordinate Skype schedules and trips to visit each other. It wasn't until I realized how much my relationship was holding me back that I truly began opening myself back up to my friends. This year was centered around trips with some of my dearest friends, which is really what made 2016 so special.
So here's to 2017! A year full of possibilities!
xoxo
