My 2018 In Review! What a Year!

2019 if officially in full swing! This past week we have reflected on ourselves, 2018, and thought about what we want to come out of 2019. I was very lucky in 2018, it was a great year for me. I tried new things, had lots of great experiences, and good times with the people I care about. I never would have thought 2018 would have been so good to me as I rung in the new year with my boyfriend, Dylan, in our sweatpants!

In January, I went back to Ohio University to start my second semester of sophomore year at Ohio University. I really focused on settling it and tried to enjoy college rather than only the school side of it which I tend to do. Nothing much happened but it's January, we are just getting started in the first month!

In February, I celebrated Valentines Day with Dylan and he was my date to my sororities Valentines Day date party. We had lots of fun and went to see puppies the next day! Also in February, my sister went to her first high school dance and my family found Ellie's picture on Facebook. My mom and sister were dead set on us getting Ellie. I must admit I was a bit against it. I thought that Ellie would be the first dog my family got that wouldn't feel like mine since I live at school most of the year. Clearly I got over that fear because...

On March 4, my family went and adopted Ellie from a rescue in Dayton. I wasn't there because my best friend Maeve was visiting OU that weekend so I poorly photoshopped myself into the picture! Throughout March I went home a couple times and fell in love with Ellie, so much that she is coming to live with me for my last year at OU next year!

In April, I celebrated April Fools Day per usual because I for some reason just love that day! My pranks were a success I must say. I started the day with an app called TextNow. This app let me text with a different phone number and whichever area code I wanted. With this, I texted different friends and family members saying that they were officially set up to receive daily Llama Lovers texts with included a picture of a llama, charged $1 everyday. It was hilarious to see people falling for it. My dad went into an uproar and was texting back, my boyfriend tweeted a screenshot asking if anyone else had gotten this, and a few people blocked me right away! Beyond my llama texts, I schemed a little harder. My mom and I had gone down to have a meal with her side of the family for Easter that day so I prepared a food stunt. I bought three real cake pops from the store and then brussel sprouts. I dipped the brussel sprouts into chocolate with sprinkles on top and poked them onto a stick. They looked like they were cake pops! After dinner I brought out dessert and my family trying to be supportive all took one (except my mom, she knew better). Some bit into a cake pop and others were unfortunate. One of my uncles was hilariously unhappy and had to call my cousins to tell them what I had pulled over on him. My other uncle strongly kept eating the chocolate cover brussel sprout, he thought it tasted good. Anyways, I also turned 20 and said goodbye to my teenage years in April. My birthday fell on Moms Weekend at OU so I spent the weekend with my mom. We decided to treat ourselves to shopping and the Cheesecake Factory so we drove to Columbus on Saturday. In a whirlwind of dramatic events I got my purse stolen, saw the guy getting arrested as I was running to the car crying to check there, then was given my purse back with everything in it thanks to the Columbus Police.

At the beginning of May, I finished my finals and went home from Athens, although I didn't stay there long. I enjoyed a warm week with my family and friends before I took off to study abroad in Florence, Italy. This was like a dream and feels unreal reflecting on it. I stayed in an apartment right next door to the Santa Croce. I was in Italy for six weeks, so this basically is all of my June! I visited many small cities in the Tuscany area along with Cinque Terre, Rome and Venice. While in Italy, it wasn't all fun and no work. I took a full semester of classes within those six weeks! I have family who lives in Italy so while visiting Rome I was able to branch off and spend an afternoon with them. I am eternally grateful for the time I spent eating spaghetti and gelato in that beautiful country.

On June 23 I came home from Italy, I took my 91 year old grandma to eat her first Chipotle which seemed very important. I then carried on into July where I celebrated Independence Day with my family and started my first internship at the YMCA. My title was Marketing Content Intern and I loved it! I had never had an internship before but had worked previously for the YMCA at a local branch. I collected content over the rest of the summer and created videos, graphics, and more. I can proudly say I tripled some of the analytics there and they asked me to come back and help out while I was home for winter break! Also in July, I went to my family condo with my family and Dylan. I had a blast on the beach laughing and eating food all day with my favorite people. I also got to see my favorite singer since I was little, Shania Twain, in concert for a second time in July! It was a memorable experience that I won't forget. I first saw her in Las Vegas with my mom for my 15 birthday but had gotten so sick from greasy pizza that it was hard to enjoy. I'm grateful I got to sing along and have such a fun time with my family at her concert this time.

In August I played with my dogs more, my Nana moved into a new home which we helped her decorate and settle into, and I made my first purchase for my senior year apartment (a headboard and stools)! Later in the month I made my way back to Athens to started my junior year at OU. I moved back into my sorority house living with five roommates again. With the start of school, I also started my new job I had been hired for at the end of last year. I had previous work for the OU Aquatic Center as a lifeguard and at the front desk. Starting in August I continued those jobs and also started working as the Marketing Lead for the OUAC. I have learned a lot from this job about marketing and also myself.

In September I will be honest, I came home almost every weekend that month! Not because I don't love OU but because September is always such a busy month! I had just started my retail job at Lilly Pulitzer and they wanted me to be trained before their ginormous sale. My cousin got married and my sorority also had recruitment that month! I also started taking some of my favorite pictures thanks to my mom who came with me and awkwardly would take pictures of me at gas stations and random baseball parks!

In October we of course celebrated Halloween OU style at the end of the month. I also attended another wedding with my boyfriend Dylan and his family (I just love weddings!) and a few Bengals games with my family. At school I studied, had fun with my roommates, and went to my first OU hockey game!

In November I went to Columbus and met my dad for shopping, yummy food, and face masks to spend Dads Weekend with him. I was inducted into the Schey Sale Centre which is the #1 student sales center in the U.S. and also nominated Social Media Director for my sorority which I will start this coming semester at OU!

Although I extremely hate being cold because I always am, December is one of my favorite months! I love Christmas and the whole holiday season, if you let me I'd start listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween (yes, I do still love Thanksgiving and I'm not skipping it). I returned to the YMCA to help promote group exercise classes at each of the local branches. Then like normal, my family packed ourselves, our Christmas spirits, and our three dogs + my 91 year old grandma into the car and drove to Florida. We celebrate Christmas in style, wearing Lilly Pulitzer of-course and drinking champagne. I always have a blast with my family in Florida because we all stop our busy lives and just enjoy each other.. and my grandma may enjoy a few rumrunners! This year we went trapshooting in Naples, visited on of the Lilly Pulitzer stores, and drove across the state to see South Beach, Miami!! *Also in December is Dylan's birthday which is the day after Christmas. Sadly I most likely always miss it due to being in Florida but he's the best and we always celebrate it once I'm back! Happy 22nd bday Dyl! <3

My family and I arrived back in the 513 just in time to ring in the new year. I spent New Years Eve with Dylan and my friends from home having a ball of fun and ordering late night Insomnia cookies! Happy New Year! 2018 was amazing as I just spilled my whole year to you all in a very long post, thanks for reading if you've made it this far! I look forward to seeing what 2019 holds! I already feel it's going to be a great year even if it isn't as epic for me as 2018 was. In 2019, Dylan graduates from college and starts his first job as a credit analyst at TQL! My sister is going to Spain, Italy, and France with my mom which I am so excited for her to experience, also my sister gets her drivers license!!! In 2019 I also will move into my first apartment and enter my last year of college. I can't wait to see what else the year has in store for us!

What was your favorite part of 2018 or what is something you're looking forward to in 2019?! Let me know below and leave a comment! :)