2017 in review (yes, it's late)

2017 was a wild year; 12 months full of growth and change and tears and laughter and loss and anxiety and so, so many "firsts". i started the year off by starting a new position in my job of 3 months & worked full time much longer than i'd originally planned. i saw the first of my childhood friends get married, got 3 new piercings, my first (& second!) tattoo, bought my first car (affectionately named "Beatrice Bullet" due to her excessive acceleration while coasting), traveled back to Ohio for a month, all while entertaining the idea of moving across the country - 1,800 miles from home. i struggle(d) with anxiety (which is something i've never really shared before, so here's to being open and vulnerable in 2018. ha), talked and prayed and schemed with my cousin about finally living in Ohio and renting a place together, and finally took the leap. 

in September, i quit my job - leaving behind so many wonderful people 😭  - and started packing, in the midst of which i turned 21. in early October, i drove across the country for the first time (even after making the drive with my mum & dad 20+ times, i'd never driven once!), left behind home and family and everything i'd known for the past 18 years of my life and started a new adventure in Ohio. leaving my family is one of the hardest things i've ever experienced, and let me just tell you: nothing prepares you for that goodbye. 

upon my arrival, i dealt with car troubles, made phone calls (eeee), got (somewhat) used to living independently, cultivated a passionate love for Aldi, flew by myself for the first time (including a 40 minute layover in Detroit to catch my next flight - which i almost missed) and realized that "visiting home" is about the most melancholy, bittersweet feeling a person can experience. 

it's been a year of realizations; of doubt, of growth, of change, but through it all, i've grown stronger and God had proven His faithfulness over and over again. i feel like i waited for 2017 - the year - for a long while, and it changed my expectations and reality more than i thought was possible. i cling to sameness; to constancy and comfort and security with a ferocity born of anxiety and fear, but this year has proven, despite my uncertainty, that change is more than a part of life - it is life - and, if given the chance, it can be a good thing.

it's all a crazy ride, friends, but sometimes you just gotta go for the wild adventure; take the leap; make the move. buy the plane ticket. pack a bag and just go. here's to (the remainder of) 2018 - the crazy, the hard, the lonely, the wild, the joyful, the new - and all that entails. 🎉  

p.s. here, have a conglomeration of miscellaneous photos from 2017 thrown together in an unorganized heap. cheerio. xo