A Reflection of 2013

Cheers to 2013, we’ve made it through another year! For me, 2013 has been a year of growth, beauty, learning, empowerment, and many other great abundances. There are of course mistakes I wish I had never made this year. As easy as it is to worry and regret those mistakes, in the long run, those mistakes became learning opportunities and life lessons to hold onto. Looking back on 2013, it really was a great year!

This year for me really was a year of self growth and self discovery. A quote that could describe this in a nut shell would be “I love the person I’ve become because I fought to become her” – Kaci Diane. The end of 2012 was really when I started to truly find myself and I continued that through 2013. In 2013, I really started to form my own strong opinions, style, personality, and many other characteristics. Through developing who I have become this year, I have found a great amount of self assurance and happiness. In this process comes the true test of choosing if you are going to let other people hold you back from being yourself. There will be someone that will have a negative comment to say to your face or behind your back. There will be a so called “friend” that doesn’t approve of your personality. These people don’t deserve the time of day from you since deep down inside, they feel unsure and insecure about who they are. I’ve learned that you will have to fight in order to be 100% true to yourself.

In 2013, I truly started to grasp how necessary it is to remove negativity from my life in order to live a positive life. I’ve always known this is true ,but putting it into action is the real challenge. This year, there were people and situations that I have come to terms with how negatively they affect my life. Even though it can be hard to remove negative people and situations, it is vital in order to live a positive life. For me, it was so easy, especially with people, to sweep under the rug how much that person was bringing me down. This is especially hard when someone is very close to you. By doing this, I was only hurting my self. Through this, in 2013, I learned to immediately find the source of the negativity in my life and remove that source as soon as possible.

One accomplishment I achieved in 2013 was becoming in love with reading. I never hated reading books, but in the past, I had a bad habit of starting books and never finishing them. In 2013, I was consistently reading books that I thoroughly enjoyed. Reading a diverse amount of books would bring a smile to my face and occasionally, a tear to my eye. Overall, reading provides entertainment, learning, extending my vocabulary, improving my writing, and other great tools! In 2013, I also really pushed myself to become more involved in activities I liked and knew would benefit me in the long run. Through participating in these activities, I have learned great skills such as how to work together in a large group environment, contributing your part, and staying on task.

2013 was also a great year for traveling and events. I started out the year in January by going to see Ed Sheeran. This was a great experience and show to see since Ed Sheeran, unlike many other solo artists, is a truly a one man show on stage. ‘+’ is a fantastic album with a great variety of songs so it was great to see him perform most of those songs live. Also, it was such a great experience since the crowd was so energized. In June, I went to see Fall Out Boy with my brother. This was truly a treat for the both of us since we had been wanting to see Fall Out Boy for years. When they announced the new album, we were immediately prepared to buy tickets. Seeing Fall Out Boy perform their new and old songs was such a great experience. It was also surreal seeing them in person after listening to them for years. After performing for years, they have really mastered the craft of playing live with great stage presence and a flawless sound. The cherry on top was seeing my brothers excitement since he had been waiting for this moment for years. He was the one that got me into Fall Out Boy and other great bands and I knew this concert meant so much to him.

My number one highlight of 2013 would probably have to be the vacation I took with my family to Bar Harbor and Boston. Going to Boston was such a great experience by exploring the city, going to the Red Sox Game, and absorbing the cities historical architecture. Though Boston was great, staying in Bar Harbor, Maine was one of the best moments of 2013. The state of Maine is very secluded and some what set apart from the rest of the U.S., which made this trip extremely relaxing. Bar Harbor was the perfect town in Maine to relax since there was such beautiful sights and the feeling of how comfortable the whole town is. Most everywhere in Bar Harbor was walking distance, so we never had to drive anywhere. Since we were surrounded by water, the sights were beautiful and just being in that atmosphere gave me peace and contentment. The weather in the summer is usually in the 60’s and 70’s which was perfect since I was never getting over heated. On a perfect day in Bar Harbor I would go to the pool, lay out while enjoying the view, eat seafood, go for a hike, and go shopping. Ever since leaving Bar Harbor, Maine, I have missed it so much and I really want to go back. Hopefully I can in 2014!;)

Buzznet was a large part of 2013 for me and that will be continued into 2014. I’ve had so many great experiences on Buzznet in 2013 and I know 2014 will bring even more. Thank you to everyone on Buzznet who has helped make this a great place during 2013.

I’ve written all of my 2014 goals and I’m ready to see what this year has to offer. If I ever get off path for my 2014 resolutions, I don’t need to beat myself up about it since I’m only human. A new year calls for a fresh start! Make 2014 the best year it can be! Now, I leave you with a madly inspiring quote from author, Neil Gaimam that will hopefully give you a boost of excitement for 2014!

XoXo,

Katelyn

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