The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty of 2018

The title of this post is inspired by a song from my favorite band, Panic! At the Disco. I found it very fitting to give a recap of my year. I hope you find this post inspiring and gives you a little glimpse into my not so perfect, but perfectly imperfect, life.

The Dirty

I want to end on a high note, so I’m going backwards from the song. In all honesty, the dirty isn’t even a low note, but they sure did take a lot out of me.

1. I ran my first (and second) half marathon : My first half was terrible. I trained for a collective of about 4 weeks, and this is after not running for a couple months. Running a half marathon doesn’t really take too much training, but it sure does help you reach your goals and feel less like crap. Looking back, my time for my first half marathon wasn’t terrible. But I sure did feel awful running it and the following days after it. It pushed me to actually train for my second half marathon which went according to plan (and maybe even a little bit better). These half marathons fall under “the dirty” category because sweat isn’t exactly clean.

The Bad

In order to not be too much of a Debbie Downer, I’ll just touch on a few things very lightly.

1. As I mentioned in a recent post, my grandmother passed away early in the year very unexpectedly (to us). It’s made me more aware of those around me and their motivations and feelings. I wish I had more time with her but I know she’s watching over me every day.
2. I quit my job : I know I’m not alone in quitting this year. For the record, I absolutely was unprepared in every aspect I could have been when I quit. But, when “work” makes up the majority of your life there is no reason to keep doing something that makes you so profoundly unhappy. So as Ariana would say, Thank You, Next.

The Good

Luckily, even with a few bad and dirty things happening in 2018, the good vastly outweigh both. In no particular order:

1. I got a new job : Sure it may have taken me way longer than expected to find something new, but I’m looking forward to starting something much more enjoyable in the New Year! And no, I did not become a full time blogger (yet?)
2. I grew amazing friendships that I didn’t think I’d be able to outside of a school setting : It kind of sucks making friends as an “adult”. You have limited time and for the most part there’s no easy way to force a friendship in the real world. (I mean, you don’t just happen to have classes with people and bond over how awful it is). I’m pleasantly surprised by my new friendships and bonds and I’m looking forward to seeing them grow.
3. I became a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder : This is probably the best purchase I’ve made my entire life (and will hopefully continue to make). I can’t say I did it all on my own though, I had a nice push from my boyfriends mom last Christmas, and all those gift cards I got from my mom helped a lot too. Never did I think I would be an Annual Passholder, but it is something so magical. And to think, some people get tired of going to Disney World, ha!
4. I started Central Florida Chic : I had tried (and failed) to start a blog before Central Florida Chic, with my beautiful freshman roommate. But obviously, we had some of our life to live while in college! I don’t regret that for a moment, and I don’t regret starting a completely new blog. It has been an amazing creative outlet for me. Just for that, I owe Central Florida Chic (and all of you) so so much.
5. I went on a Cruise : It had been quite some time since my last cruise. While I have fond memories of that cruise, I also remember feeling sea sick for the majority of it because of a hurricane brewing. I simply have no complaints from this cruise. It was amazing, from the weather, to the destination, to the food, and of course, the people I went with!
6. Increasing my knowledge of Orlando : While my parents may have moved to Orlando 5 years ago, I haven’t considered myself a native until this year. 2018 was the first full year of living in Orlando and readapting to being a Floridian. I have loved every second of it. I know more about Orlando now than I did even 3 months ago! I can’t wait to continue to grow those discoveries.