2017: My Year in Review.

2017. The year that was. Trump became 45. Almost 365 days later and I'm still in shock. The year women said ENOUGH, marched, made #metoo a sweeping phenomenon and demanded change. The year of more mass shootings and senseless murders and an ongoing struggle for marginalized communities to be seen, heard, and valued. The year I was reminded yet again that more justice is needed. More love. More compassion. More connection.

Closer to home, 2017 was...

• A year of trips: Austin and Chicago for LeaderShape, Columbus for a conference, Jacksonville for a family wedding, the Coast for Memorial Day, and Hawaii for an unforgettable family vacation.
• A year of stretching: joining the Stonewall community playing kickball and dodgeball and finding my groove and expanding my gay community.
• A year of expanding my portfolio: Strengths Training in July, MBTI Certification in November, and beginning my real estate license studying as the year closes out.
• A year of purchases and adulting: A new tv! New car! And making some smarter financial decisions.
• A year of work transitions: New team, new opportunities, new challenges. And a year of struggling to stay engaged and energized. 
• A year of family: Almost 5 years back and I still strive to not take for granted that I have family here. Dinner with my parents, visits with my grandmothers, and as much guncle and parrain time as I can manage.
• A year of building community: I've cherished my Stonewall relationships, how my NP community has continued to expand, my coffee dates with my old neighbor who has become a dear friend, getting to know my new Pastor at church, and the list goes on.

I previously blogged about my year of dating in 2017 so no need to revisit those lessons. Though I just re-read that post and dang! some good stuff there (I'm biased but whatever).

I approach 2018 with hope. Hope for continued growth. Hope for more love and the opportunity to be in love again. Hope for courage and conviction to stretch and dream big and not regret. Not hold back. Hope that 2018 will be a year to thrive and if its destined to be a year to survive for resilience and grit to carry me through. Hope.

Happy New Year.