A year has passed and I'm still pinching myself to make sure all of this is real.
One year ago I hadn't known the time, effort, and love that I have poured into this blog.
But also one year ago, I didn't quite grasp how special this could turn out to be. It's my own personal space to write about anything that may be on my mind and try to arrange my words to mean something. On the outside, it looks like just another fashion blog. But to me, it's much more. I've gained experience, used my voice for good and made connections that I would not have had aside from this blog.

Looking back at this past year, I see a time of tremendous growth. It hasn't been an easy 12 months, for anyone in that matter. There have been moments of abounding contentment but also disappointment. One aspect that I wish I could change about last year was the anxiety that I dealt with. I remember the good times when I should have been happy, but the overwhelming presence of social anxiety stood in the way. That made it difficult to get out there and do things, especially when it came to socializing with others. But, despite the obstacle, I made an effort to do more. Apart from launching the blog, I went on quite a few shorter distance road trips one after another, volunteered backstage at a fashion show, began an internship working more behind the scenes in fashion, and started attending the college group at church.
Although I can clearly note the anxiety in these different events, I don't aspire for that to be my remaining remembrance of the year. It was a year of growth, and I am thankful for all of the experiences that I have been blessed with.


I've been seeing many "new year, new goals" type posts floating around, so I thought that I would make up some goals for this upcoming year as well.

• First off, I want to grow who I am as a person, and that begins with further developing my relationship with God. Setting aside time to get into the word, making more of an effort to not back out of going to the college group at church, and listening to praise and worship music more often than radio pop all work for the greater good of strengthening my faith.I have come to the conclusion that maybe it's not so much about what I do, as it is about who I am. Once my heart is in the place that God wants it to be, He will move me on towards the path that I am to follow. 

• The next goal that I intend to work on is beating this social anxiety. I no longer want to be bound by fear and the worry that comes when I'm out or around people that I don't know so well. I just want to be confident and relaxed, despite my surroundings. Many people struggle with this, unfortunately. You know what it's like to be held back by an irrationally powerful feeling. But if we take a moment to really look at what's in front of us, maybe it's not as bad as we feel. If you're in the same boat, we can get past these rough waters.

• Another blogger, Gal Meets Glam, wrote on her list of goals, "spend less time on less important things." This spoke volumes to me. I can't account for how many hours I have wasted in attempt to prolong the inevitable. I'll scroll through all social media for too long and set a greater focus on who watched my snapchat story in place of sitting down and working on my writing. I'm not sure why I feel nervous about writing new posts or articles. It seems that I temporarily forget that I actually enjoy this.
  With this goal, putting the phone away is a must. Some days, it is necessary to turn off my phone until the end of the day. Without the distraction, I am able to accomplish more and end up feeling a significant peace. Last year I took about a week-long break from snap, because it was taking up too much of my focus. I saw that without the app, I could really enjoy things in the moment and not worry about who was doing what. So here's to a year of doing more important things.

A year is neither all good nor all bad. With such a vast time span, it contains moments, both good and bad. We can't remember it only for a specific instant in time. All of these occurrences stitch together to create what we remember when we look back, each year around this month. Most people have said that they want to make this year more about themselves, but shouldn't we be more intent on living life for something greater? Sure, we should strive to be the best versions that we can become. But that doesn't mean that life has to be centered inward. Wouldn't life be beautiful if we each chose to turn our focus up and out to God and to others?

We've been blessed with a new beginning to add on to our previous ending.
Let's make the most of it.