New Year Reflection
Hi Dreamers!
Sorry for the late post (as we are now over a week into 2019). After my trip I got really sick with a double ear infection that turned into a sinus infection. Basically, i got on my connecting flight in Atlanta and my ears didn’t pop once I was back in Madison. I’m feeling better now and I also started a new job as an administrative assistant! What that means for this blog is post might get slower, but won’t stop. I’m still trying to figure out a schedule so make sure you’re following the blog and social media so you don’t miss anything!
Going off of that, I wanted to do a reflection on 2018 which might have been one of the hardest years of my life. I spent the beginning of the year in my last semester of college. I really solidified my support group after my bad friend choices fiasco in 2017.
In my last semester I held three leadership positions, two honor society memberships, rebooted this blog, and participated in a shark tank type business competition as a finalist. I graduated in May with my best friend, Alex, in my Disney graduation cap and had the best graduation party!
Then, I had major surgery in June. I had scar tissue removed from my ovary. Post graduation is hard — it’s worse when you’re sick and moving halfway across the country. In July, I moved from Massachusetts to Wisconsin to end six years long distance with the love of my life, Josie. After I moved, I had a series of medical complications stemming from my surgery and Josie was so patient with me.
I’ve spoken about my mental health on here a bit and even about my chronic illness and I want to make a point to talk about it more in the new year. The last half of 2018 was really hard mentally. I was an unemployed graduate and was alone most of the day while Josie was at work. Which triggered my anxiety really badly. What made it worse was I was so homesick and most of my support system was back in Massachusetts.
I turned that energy into productivity. I unpacked everything and set up our new home. I threw myself into my writing and my blog. I got a really cool internship with a reiki studio doing social media, and most Importantly I went back to therapy! If you have mental health struggles I highly recommend it!
Point is: this year threw me through the hardest adjustment period of my life, but I came out the other side even better for it! I figured out I want to get my masters and be a writing professor. I quadrupled my blog engagement thanks to you awesome readers. And I learned that I’m stronger than I thought I was. Even if I don;t quite feel myself and settled yet, even if my current job isn’t my dream job, even if some life goals seem really far away right now, I know I’m going to be okay.
On New Years Day 2019 I spent the day with the love of my life at my favorite place in the world: The Magic Kingdom! If that’s not an omen for a good year, I don’t know what is. So here’s to magic and dreams and taking 2019 by storm! Thank you all for making 2018 the most valuable learning experience of my life and I hope you’ll follow me into 2019!
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Happy New Year!
Love, Brigid
Isabelle @ BookwyrmBites
January 13, 2019 at 6:39 pmooooh congrats on the new job and on graduating! and on figuring out what you want to be when you “grow up” – that’s a huge accomplishment! (and I’m a little jealous, to be quite honest ?) I’m so glad to hear you’re feeling better, physically and mentally both. hoping your 2019 is as amazing as you are ?
BrigidDowney
January 13, 2019 at 8:35 pmAww thank you lovely! Yeah, early 20s is a weirrd place to be in your life, and I honestly wished people talked about it more instead of just posting their achivements on social media. The rough patches need to be more normalized 🙂 Hope your new year is going well, too!
Kati ?? (@KatisBRR15)
January 14, 2019 at 3:19 pmGreat post and congrats on your graduation and the new job that is really amazing that everything at the end of 2018 came absolutely well for you and you came out stronger. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.
BrigidDowney
January 17, 2019 at 7:00 pmThank you! I hope your new year is going well!