2021 Year in Review + Thank You

I’ve always recognized the importance of reflection. When I stop and think back to all that happened in 2021, I feel grateful. I’ve learned a lot, stepped out of my comfort zone, grown as a person, and matured very quickly. Of course, this year and my life is not perfect, however I think it is important to focus on the good and to live a positive life. Today, I wanted to share my 2021 highlights! Some wonderful things have happened in my life this year; some you may know about, and others you may not. Please keep in mind that while I am only sharing the good, that doesn’t mean that every day was perfect.

• Went hiking once a month for twelve months

If you have been following my blog since my first “Year in Review” from 2019, you would know that earlier that year, my uncle and I decided that we wanted to hike at least once a month for the entire year. Since then, we have succeeded in doing exactly that. This year, I was away from home for a while, so I was doing my hiking elsewhere (I’ll get to that soon…). Other than the time I was away, we went back to some of our favorite hiking spots in our area. Our hikes aren’t always incredibly intense, but we really enjoy getting some fresh air. I especially love our hikes in spring and fall because I think the weather is just perfect; not too hot and not too cold. A couple other family members have also joined us on a hike or two this year! I am looking forward to continuing this tradition in 2022!

• Celebrated my five year fitness anniversary

Fitness has looked very different to me this year. Since we are still living in a pandemic and things seem to be very up and down, I decided not to go back to the gym this year. I really do miss the environment and feeling of working out in a gym. I find it to be much more motivating, and I think I work my hardest when in the gym. Although I am fully vaccinated and had my booster for COVID, I felt it was best to continue working out at home. I have been doing weight training, yoga, and some HIIT. As the year has gone on, I’ve found it difficult to do certain workouts. While I was away from home, I really did not do any weightlifting. I am trying to find a way to continue doing the workouts I love while traveling, but it is challenging. Despite this, I have been working out more often now that I am home again, and I truly do love the way it makes me feel! When I complete a workout, I feel strong, confident, and empowered. So, in the New Year, I will continue weight lifting, doing my daily yoga, and throwing some HIIT in there as well! Yoga is pretty much a part of my daily routine, and I’ve recognized some incredible benefits. It helps that it can be done anywhere and everywhere, so there are no excuses! I am hoping that 2022 will be the year when I can finally get back in the gym and feel on track again.

• Graduated from Queens University of Charlotte

I really can’t believe how fast my four years of college went by! I remember first stepping onto campus for a tour, and also for my first day. It was a lot of hard work, and I remember feeling stressed and overwhelmed as each new semester started. It got easier every year. In many ways, I really enjoyed my time at Queens. I really grew as a person, and I was able to do things that I don’t believe I would’ve had the opportunity to do had I chosen a different school. I met some great people, learned so much about my chosen career path, grew as a writer, and I traveled abroad. Most of all, Queens has given me the confidence and preparation to step out into the real world. I graduated in May with honors, and this is an achievement I will always be proud of. Also, I am SO thankful to be done with school!

• Traveled out West

My family has had plans to travel somewhere very special since 2020, but of course, that trip had to be canceled. It was canceled yet again this year, however we were still able to do some traveling around the country! It felt so nice to go on a vacation again! In June, we traveled out west to a few places we had never been to before. I won’t go into detail since I wrote an entire blog post about the trip (linked here), but I will say that it was incredible! I really enjoyed seeing Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons! Yellowstone has always been on my bucket list, and I was so excited that I was finally able to go and experience this magical place in person. I had never seen anything quite like it! If you have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. You will enjoy every moment, and there is SO much to see and do there. Also, Grand Teton National Park is the most beautiful place I have ever seen! I am not sure if I had ever even heard of it before, but it is now one of my favorite places. Being there felt like I was surrounded by one giant painting. It was surreal. It is also right next to Yellowstone, so if you are going in that direction, you can’t miss it! This trip allowed my family and me to travel to a few different states such as South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. It is a goal of mine to travel to all 50 states, and I am almost there!

• Started my career working in marketing

I remember so many people saying that once you graduate from college, it can be really difficult to find a job in the field you want. I was fully prepared to work in retail or in a similar job before actually working in the field I studied four years for. Earlier in the year, I applied to a few jobs, but they were not for me. Then, I happened to get an email in June that I was invited to an interview. The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect. I felt really confident about it, and I got the job! It is a remote job for a marketing company, and I am surrounded by skincare! I really enjoy what I do. My job involves: moderating our social media, creating content (photos, reels, tiktoks, captions etc.), and communicating with some of our partner skincare brands. I was also just given a new title with more responsibilities. I am now a Marketing Communications Specialist! I am looking forward to seeing where my career takes me in the New Year.

• Celebrated one year with Tom

On July 22, Tom and I celebrated one year of our relationship! Sadly, we were apart at that time, so our celebrations occurred over a video call. We made the best of it though, and very soon after that, we were finally together in person. I couldn’t believe that a year had gone by, but we were and are so thrilled and excited for many, many more years together!

• Traveled to England to see Tom (twice)

For the past couple years, I’ve made it a goal for myself to get out of my comfort zone more often. When making this goal, I wasn’t sure what I would end up doing down the line, but looking back, I am proud of my courage. For a start, I traveled with my university to France, which was a dream come true. And this year, I traveled completely on my own for the first time to go and see the love of my life. What I thought would be a terrifying and intimidating experience turned out to be amazing. Not everything went right (for example, my luggage was lost for a bit and my flight was changed), but I somehow got through it all and ended up in London to meet Tom in person for the first time after waiting for a little over a year! Since then, I traveled back to England once more. I had never spent so much time away from home or my own country. In 2022, I plan on doing some more traveling, and it is still a big goal of mine to do the things that scare me, because it is always worth it in the end.

• Celebrated two years of “Compass to Confidence”

I truly can’t believe that I have been blogging for two years now! I still love it as much as I did in the beginning, even though I have not been doing it as often. My life has been a bit busy lately, but I will always enjoy and love having this space to share whatever is on my heart. I am grateful to be able to share my passions, give tips, and inspire others to become confident through my words. It is my mission to guide my followers to confidence, and I will not give up on it. My blog has even allowed me to gain more confidence in myself, and I couldn’t be prouder of how far I and my blog have come. I am looking forward to the content I will make in 2022, and I hope you will continue to follow along on the journey!

• Got engaged

Last but not least, the biggest highlight of all: Tom and I got engaged! After speaking about engagement and marriage for a while, Tom proposed to me on November 24^th soon after we arrived in the US. I always imagined what that moment would be like in my life, and it couldn’t have been any more perfect. From the very beginning, even before we started dating, I never had a doubt in my mind. I knew that he was the one for me very early on. I have never felt anything quite like Tom’s love before, and it was and always will be so special and precious to me. I am grateful to have found my forever person. Now… who is going to help me plan the wedding?!

This year has taught me so much, and overall, it has been wonderful and very enjoyable. I am looking forward to accomplishing more of my goals in 2022, and I can’t wait to bring you along with me. I will be sharing more about fashion, beauty, fitness, travel, entertainment, and more about my personal life! I also wanted to say thank you to those of you who have read my blog posts this year. Whether you have been following along from the beginning, or you are new to Compass to Confidence, thank you. Writing and inspiring others has always been my biggest goal in life, and every time I upload a blog post, I feel like I am reaching that goal. I am forever grateful. Be on the lookout for a blog post in the New Year, and I wish you all the best in 2022! Until next time…

2019 Year in Review + Thank You

Well, 2019 has come to an end. Another year has come and gone. It’s crazy, but the older I get, the faster the years seem to go by. It’s kind of scary to be honest, but I’m so excited for my future and to simply live my life that I don’t let it scare me too much. Today, I wanted to share my 2019 year in review with you all. I only created my website and started blogging in August of this year, so I didn’t get to share some other big moments that occurred earlier in 2019 with you.

Before I discuss my highlights for 2019, I wanted to mention that these are just my highlights. This year was not perfect, and I definitely had some bad moments, but overall this was a pretty great year for me. I always want to be 100% honest with you all, and I believe that vulnerability is what connects us. I don’t want those of you who had a difficult year to read this post and think that ONLY good things happened to me because this is not true. I am human after all, so my life is in no way perfect, but I wanted to share some moments that I am most proud of, as well as moments that simply made me happy. If this was not your best year, try to look back and celebrate your victories, no matter how small. Even if you didn’t accomplish every little thing you wanted to do, it is OK! Be proud of where you are today, and try to do better in 2020!

When 2019 first started, I had no idea what my life would look like when it ended, and although nothing absolutely insane happened, I feel different in the best way. I completed many of my goals, one of which was to go hiking once a month for twelve months. My uncle and I decided to do this together since we both enjoy hiking and he is very outdoorsy and adventurous so he was the perfect person to do this with. Our hikes were not always very strenuous (most of them were fairly easy), but being outdoors for a bit and using this time to exercise made me feel good and I always looked forward to those Sunday morning hikes.

Another thing that I have accomplished this year is something I am extremely proud of. On February 23^rd, I celebrated three years of weight lifting! I truly cannot believe that I have been weight lifting for almost four years now! Time is going by so fast, and honestly, when it comes to the gym, it hasn’t always been easy. If you’ve been keeping up with me for a while now, you would probably know that I got a bit off track with the gym and with eating healthy this year, but I refuse to let this stop me from continuing my fitness and health journey. I fell in love with weight training so quickly thanks to my dad who taught me everything when I was sixteen years old. I am now twenty and so much stronger and more confident than I ever have been and the gym has played such a major role in my life. I have learned so much about myself because of it, and I have realized how easily motivated I am as well as my loyalty and dedication to reaching a goal that I really wanted to reach. In January of this year, I also celebrated two years of (mostly) healthy eating. I changed up my diet in January of 2018, and even though it has been difficult this year, I’ve stuck with it pretty well.

This year, I got to cross quite a few items off of my bucket list, one of which was going to Nashville! I had been to Tennessee a couple times before, but I never got to see Nashville until this past spring! I loved walking down Broadway and hearing the live music everywhere we went. The food was great, and although it rained most of the time we were there, I didn’t let it ruin my time. I had so much fun and I was able to see The Grand Ole Opry and The Parthenon.

My family enjoys traveling often, and we usually go somewhere new every year. This year, we were surprised with a trip to Alaska! I had always wanted to go on a cruise, and I was able to check this off of my bucket list! In June, we spent one week on the Norwegian Jewel, and then we spent another week in Alaska traveling on our own. The cruise was so much fun, and Alaska was absolutely beautiful. We got to see Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks. I am incredibly grateful that I get to travel often and see such breathtaking places with the people I love most.

This year, I turned twenty which was very exciting for me. I am no longer a teenager, and I feel both excited and nervous for the next decade. It’s crazy to think that in ten years I am going to be thirty! My life could completely change in these next ten years. So much could happen. I am proud of who I am today, and I am really looking forward to blossoming into the woman I am becoming. I know she’s going to do amazing things.

I had been wanting to create my own blog/website for so long now, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure how or where to start. I wanted to find a way to get my writing out there, but the idea of other people reading my words made me anxious. I obviously got over that fear, and I absolutely love blogging and being able to write about my passions while helping others. I feel like I am already fulfilling my purpose in life, and I am so excited to continue blogging in 2020.

This year, I started my junior year of college. College is definitely not easy, but I feel that it is rewarding and exciting. As a junior, I am finally getting to take more classes related to my interests and I really feel like I am learning so much information that is going to be very useful to me and my future career. I am proud of what I have accomplished in college so far, and I am looking forward to finishing my junior year strong.

Another highlight of this year is something that I never thought I would have the guts to do, and that is get a tattoo. My best friend and I had been talking about getting tattoos together for a while, but we never ended up doing it. Finally, in September, we went to get our first tattoos together and I am still so in love with it. This was another item on my bucket list and I was really excited to check this off with my best friend by my side! I am already planning my next tattoo, but I don’t want to go crazy! I want my tattoos to be mostly dainty and feminine.

Lastly, I was able to attend another concert this year! I had been to a few concerts before, but I definitely think that this one was the best! One of my best friends and I went to see the Jonas Brothers in November. I grew up listening to their music and watching them on TV, so seeing them live was like a childhood dream come true! I am so glad that they are back together and their new music is amazing.

2019 was a really great year for me. I really wanted to focus on growth and self-love, and that is exactly what I did and plan on continuing not just in 2020, but for the rest of my life. The purpose of my blog is to share my passions and to help me gain confidence in myself, but it is also about you, my readers, because I hope to help you gain confidence in yourselves as well. I want us to walk this journey of self-love together, because it is not easy, and sometimes you need someone to help you along the way.

I also wanted to say thank you to those of you who come back to read my blog posts every week, and to those of you who have supported my website since my first post. I am very proud of what I have been able to do with my website so far. I get so excited when I see a like or a comment from you guys, and I hope to get to know you, my readers, a bit better as time goes on. I plan on sharing a bit more about myself with you all, and I have some exciting posts coming up in the new year. (If any of you have any recommendations or posts you would like to see me create, let me know in a comment below! I would really appreciate it if you shared my blog with your friends and family as well!)

I am so excited to head into 2020 feeling the way that I do. I am feeling more positive and confident than I ever have, and I want to share it all with you. Thank you so much again. You don’t know how happy writing makes me, and being able to share it with you feels like my dream is coming true. That little girl with her diary in hand would be thrilled to see her future self living her dream. I’ve always been scared to share my writing with the world, and maybe that’s why I held back from creating a blog, but I’m not scared anymore. Two of my biggest goals in life are to write and to help others. I truly feel that this is what I am meant to do in my life, so nothing is going to hold me back. I hope you all have a Happy New Year, and I’ll talk to you all soon! Thank you!

(I wanted to briefly share that in 2020, I plan on changing up the look of my website just a bit. This is going to be a gradual change. The whole concept of my site is going to stay the same, but the look of it may change a little. I wanted to let you all know so that there wouldn’t be any confusion!)