Eight days into 2019 and I’m just now getting around to my 2018 reflections… am I #killingit or what? Honestly I was debating even doing this post since it’s pretty late, but I just read through last year’s Peaks & Valleys post and it just doesn’t feel right starting off 2019 without doing another one! So here we are. I hope you aren’t too over all the New Year’s posts yet, because today I want to reflect on my peaks (high points) and valleys (low points) from the last year and look ahead a little bit, to share what I’m hoping 2019 brings for me and PLH. Let’s do this.

Peaks of 2018

Ahh 2018, you were a good year for me. I’m not sure it was as transformative as I hoped it would be, but it was definitely a solidly positive year. One major highlight was that it was a really big traveling year for me, which was super exciting because I’ve always wanted to travel but never really did much of it before I moved away to college. I’m hoping this year I travel even MORE. Some of my favorite moments/memories from last year were:

• Going to New Orleans for a second time to celebrate my sorority sister’s Bachelorette!
• Celebrating my 25th birthday in NYC with my best friends, eating all the good food and just honestly being surrounded by so much love.
• Traveling to Atlanta (love that city!) for the first of two weddings last year, and securing my first travel collaboration with the Loews Atlanta!
• Going to NYFW in February for the first time! Being at actual runway shows was such a surreal experience
• Watching my Philadelphia Eagles win the Superbowl!!! This was another surreal one— still kinda can’t believe it lol
• Worked with some awesome brands like Smile Brilliant, The Bouqs Co, Grace & Stella, Dunkin Donuts, Three Musketeers, and so many more!
• Serving as a bridesmaid and celebrating another sorority sister’s bridal shower in North Carolina, her bachelorette in Mexico (aka my FIRST stamp in my brand new passport!!), and finally her beautiful wedding day in Buffalo, NY
• Seeing Niagara Falls while in Buffalo. It was breathtaking
• Accepting a full-time job offer at a fashion and lifestyle brand, which was my #1 goal upon moving to NYC three years ago
• Seeing the On the Run II tour with Beyonce and Jay-Z. I’ve now seen her perform four times and she’s amazing every single time
• Went to a hilarious drag brunch to celebrate my friend’s 25th and had the best time! So many laughs
• Went to D.C. and shot a full-day photoshoot for my friend’s instagram blog!
• Saw Harry Potter & the Cursed Child on Broadway and it was INCREDIBLE
• Celebrated me and Craig’s five year anniversary in Fire Island
• Saw Mean Girls on Broadway
• Apple picking upstate was the best again

*Ok stopping here because clearly I could go on FOREVER. But that’s why I love exercises like this because it’s easy to forget just how great the last year or month or whatever, has been to you. But when you sit down and make lists like this, you see truly how amazing life has been. I knew 2018 was a good year ?

Valleys of 2018

Moving onto the valleys of last year. I’m sure if I had actually written them down as they were happening I would have quite the list, haha, but luckily I don’t do that. Honestly I don’t think 2018 had as many valleys (or as hard-hitting ones) as 2017 did, which I am so thankful for. One valley that I definitely can recall was the beginning of the year. I started last year unemployed, and ended up staying unemployed for much longer than I was comfortable with. I was going on interviews but nothing was sticking, and it was a huge blow to my confidence. Eventually I had to learn to let go and let God, and keep things in perspective which was huge for me.

Another valley of last year was the fact that I completely fell off the healthy lifestyle that I had created in 2017. I’d worked so hard that year to lose 25 lbs. and somehow let myself completely go in 2018. I’m now back at my starting weight which sucks, but I’m working to get back on the horse and take charge of my health in 2019. I really do want to live a healthier lifestyle overall, not just for physical appearance reasons, so I want to learn to really commit to that until it’s second nature.

Final valley of last year: I mentioned last year that my oldest dog died right after Christmas. Well six months later my second oldest dog died so that was devastating for my mom and I. We now have two dogs instead of four and it’s been an adjustment but I just make sure that I love on them a little extra when I visit them in Tampa throughout the year. Nothing can ever replace the dogs we’ve lost, but I am hoping we get a new puppy sometime this year ?Hey! We’ve gotta keep the gang strong!

Looking Ahead to 2019

Now admittedly I haven’t sat down and written out all of my goals or resolutions like I wanted to for this year. I’ll definitely do it sometime this month but until then, the overarching goal that I have this year is to flourish in all areas of my life. I want to flourish in my health journey, and push myself to new limits in the gym and at home with yoga and meditation. I want to flourish in my personal life, by being the best possible girlfriend to Craig, daughter to my parents, cousin and friend to all the amazing people in my life; and really do better with keeping in contact with them. I want to flourish at work, and hopefully secure more responsibilities and a pay raise. And most of all, I want to flourish with my blog. I want to take PLH to new levels this year, and I have so many new endeavors that I want to expand into. I’m not comfortable announcing any of those quite yet, but just know that they are coming.

These may sound like a lot of lofty goals but I’ve always been an ambitious person who strives for the stars. They say not to set the bar low and meet it; set the bar high and surpass it. That’s always how I’ve chosen to live and that’s what I hope 2019 has in store for me. Fingers crossed for an amazing year for all of us and specifically, lots of love, light and laughter.

Come share your goals with me in the comments, or over on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook! Thank you so much for reading.

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