It's 2014. A new year. And if anything deserves a new blog post, I guess it's a new year. I've actually written about a new year a couple of times on this blog (here and here), so this is not a new topic for the blog of Kate.
Not only is the new year a natural time for reflection, but January is also the one chunk of time where my life slows down a little. Schools are on break, business is a little slower, days are short, snow is plentiful. So, I tend to reflect.
And as 2013 is completely missing from this blog, I feel like I should fill you in on it. There's so much I could say or should say. But really, it doesn't feel like it was that eventful.
I'm 28, about to turn 29, and honestly, 2013 wasn't all that different than 2012. At least not on paper. Same job, same place, same life.
But 2013 was also completely life-changing. I've learned and grown, I've laughed and cried, I've felt desperate and settled, I've been joyful and sorrowful, I've missed home in Missouri and felt more and more like home is in Williams, I've felt like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be and spent hours thinking about applying for a new job and moving.
So, you know, I guess it really is more of the same.
Here are some 2013 highlights:
-New job title: Housekeeping Manager and Guest Group Communications Coordinator (Job responsbilities: big picture oversight of the HK dept, training HK Supervisor, working with the national HK team, doing all pre-event communication with every guest group at LC, communicating guest needs between departments, and, oh yeah, helping oversee our year-round intern program. Yeah, it's getting a little crazy, but I do love it.)
-I traveled a LOT this year. Which makes me very happy. My job is making me travel more and more (5 trips since September) so that's fun. In 2013, I went home 3 times, to NY, Michigan, San Diego, Mexico, Boston, Colorado, road-tripped from Atlanta to DC up the eastern seaboard, and took several weekend trips to Vegas, Sedona, Phoenix, Prescott, etc.
-Still leading Young Life, still can't get over how much I love this tiny little town.
-Hit the 5-year mark working for Young Life. Which means 5 more vacation days a year and a whole lot of feeling shocked about how this job that I thought I would do for a couple years has turned into a career.
-I sold my Blazer. I might have cried about it. Because even though it didn't have air conditioning and had 160,000 miles on it, it marked the end of an era to get rid of it. I had traveled a lot of places and cried a lot of tears in that car. But it has a new life with a 16-year-old boy and I have a GMC Envoy that looks like a car a grown-up should drive.
-I started thinking about things I should probably get a handle on before I turn 30 (which will happen in just a little over a year). Mainly, this means I've been listening to Suze Orman podcasts and putting an actual plan in place for my finances like a big girl.
-I read a lot of books. This felt awesome as it's extremely good for my soul but really easy to not do when I'm busy. Mainly this came from reading the books that we assigned to the interns, but whatever it takes.
Yeah, not that unique of a year when you look at my life. But a year where I learned to choose gratefulness instead of bitterness, a year where I felt really broken and a year where I learned how being honest about that brokenness makes me stronger- a better friend, mentor, supervisor, etc., a year where I learned how to put those two lessons together- how to let people see that I am not perfect but I am grateful. A big year, a life-changing year, and yet, not a unique year.
So, here's hoping for more of the same in 2014.
Song of the Day: Don't Give Up on Me by Solomon Burke