In The End: Bye-Bye 2015

I feel like I've blinked and this long ass year is finally over. Although long, frustrating, emotional and rewarding; I don't totally hate 2015 like some people do in this moment.

I've found this year to be a growing and learning process for myself. It's hard to believe that we are starting 2016! Wow!

Last year I made myself a "Goals for 2015" post and I'm writing now to update and see what I did, what I didn't and start thinking about what the 2016 goals are.

Shall we review?

1. I want to write more- So overall, did I write more? Yes and no. Did I write more short stories or poetry? No. But I did join a great site, Gruemonkey and became their lead Rock & Roll writer and editor.  It's come at the cost of neglecting my own blog a little bit but I am glad I found the site.  I've been able to write more about music (my other love) and meet some interesting people.  The best part was getting to interview Sage Francis and Henry Rollins-- Not many can say they got to do that this year!

2. Get published or self publish my work. -  Yeah, totally didn't work on this as much as I had wanted to.  I was so focused on getting a job and everything else that this sort of fell to the way-side. In a way, I've been published through Gruemonkey, but I'm still trying to publish some of my poetry.

3. Find a full time job- CHECK!- Hell yeah this girl got a full time job this year! I'm now an assistant designer for swimsuitsforall and it feels great! I'm a part of a great company and team and really loving it so far.  I'm looking forward to a bright future with them

4. Redo my portfolio- I did....and I didn't I re assembled, added and looked over everything that I had and made an assessment to find the best way to present my work

5. Travel- CHECK!- So I didn't get to all the really cool places that I wanted to go to but I did have a really great trip in New Orleans.  Maybe I'll tell you all about it sometime because I don't think I ever really did.

6. Sew more of my own clothes- I didn't sew anything for myself this year :(

7. Do more yoga/rejoin the gym-CHECK!- I got A LOT more into Yoga this year! I participated in 5 1 months challenges on instagram and taught myself some new tricks and moves.

I also went to a number of classes but I hope that in the future I can do a retreat or even a workshop for the day. There's plenty of time to find out in 2016! If you need some inspiration of your own, you can also check out my Fitspo board on Pinterest!

8. Be more confident-CHECK!- I think that in one way or another I started to become more and more confident in myself and in my life. I think a lot of the confidence I gained was believing in myself. Especially with all the rejections from jobs or promotions, I had to remind myself that it wasn't me, it just wasn't the right time or the right job. I also have started to gain some self confidence in how I look and dress. Yoga has help with this and I hope to be even better this year.

9. Buy Stock- OK, no I didn't do this. Not really sure why I didn't get around to it but I really need to do this as soon as I figure out how it all works.

10. Eat well/ Learn more recipes/try new things- I won't check this one off because while I ate pretty well and tried a thing or two, I don't feel like I got to try as many new recipes as I wanted.

11. Get my hair cut short (again)- CHECK!- YOU BET YOUR BUTT I DID!

After much consideration and getting past arguments with people who don't matter I went ahead and cut my hair short! I grew my hair out for a little over year and honestly, I hated having it long again.

Having my hair cut short was liberating all over again.  I truly feel like 'me' when it's at this length. I'm glad I trusted my gut and went short again.  I might grow it out again at some point but for now I'm happy with keeping it short and playing around with it.

12. Go to a movie night at The Troc-CHECK!- I actually went to 2 movie nights this year at the Troc.  I went to go see John Wick and Mad Max.  Seeing Mad Max also lead me to making my costume for Halloween where I went as one of the sacred mothers from the film.

In Philly we have a sweet venue called The Trocadero, otherwise known as "The Troc" not only do they host some killer concerts they also have Movie Mondays where they show a different film each Monday night.  

13. Go to 4-5 concerts with or without someone- CHECK!- Let me back track here;

1- Pennywise @ The Troc, Phila, PA

2- Pitch Black Brass Band with West Philadelphia Orchestra @ Johnny Brendas, Phila, PA

3- Alkaline Trio @ The TLA, Phila, PA

4- Gogol Bordello with Mariachi El Bronx and Flogging Molly @ Festival Pier, Phila, PA

5- The Birthday Massacre with Combichrist @ The Troc, Phila, PA

14. Adopt a kitten (only if the right time occurs)- Sadly, no kitten for me :[. Since there was a lot of moving around and money was tight I haven't been able to take the plunge in owning my own pet. Hopefully I will adopt in the next few months after I move into a more permanent apartment.

Overall I feel like I did a lot this year that I wanted to do.  Hopefully I will be able to do some of the things that I didn't get to last year, this year but we'll just have to wait and see.

2016 is here and I am wishing you all a happy and healthy new year! May all your lives be merry and bright.

Forget about what happened last year and focus on the future. As Buddha would say, let that shit go!