Five in 2015

It's that point in the year where we spend some time reminiscing on what the past 365(ish) days have been like and what we have or haven't accomplished.  2015 has been a great year for me. I have crossed things off of my 101 in 10001 list, stepped outside of my comfort zone, experienced new adventures, grew another year older, travelled to DC with my family, attended four weddings in four months, watched Todd graduate college, moved in with some of my best friends, travelled across the country by myself, completed my term as Chapter President, was accepted into another honors society, and continued to make great strides in my academic endeavors.  I always find it fun to look back on the year to see what the high and low points were. I thought five in 2015 would be a different way to reflect on the year and share with y'all. It highlights things in sequences of five rather than writing a novel about things I did or didn't do. 

Five things I learned:

One. 

How much I hate the term basic.  I could go on a rant or you could just look back at the post I wrote about this.  Basically, I find it offensive and not a comical way to describe women.  

Two. 

How important it is to support other women.  Sadly, today we still live in a partial man's world, where women are still not the majority of those in major leadership roles. Those women who do hold positions of power we tend to speak poorly of when we should be supporting them.  In general, women have a poor habit of putting each other down when we should be supporting one another. 

Three. 

To prioritize myself in my busy schedule.  I am incredibly involved, some may argue too involved.  I take a full load of college classes and I play an active role in being a member of multiple organizations both on and off of campus.   This year I learned the negative consequences of not making time for yourself.  I've have been getting better at allowing some "me time", but there is certainly room for improvement for 2016. 

Four.

To be nice to myself. I am 100% type A and a perfectionist. I hold myself to a higher standard than I do anyone else in my life. I have unrealistic expectations of myself, but yet I still expect to accomplish all of these things that aren't always feasible.  This year, thanks to some guidance from my mom, I realized this and began so make some small changes to increase my forgiveness. Being nice to myself is a new concept to me, but it something that I want to continue to explore as it is helping have a better mentality about myself and my life. 

Five. 

How great scheduling blog posts ahead of time is.  I just recently discovered that I am able to write blog posts and then schedule them to be automatically posted. This feature has greatly helped me. I wish I would've known this sooner, but it is going to help me become a better blogger this next year. 

Five things I accomplished:

One. 

I made Dean's List for the second time in my college career. This is a big milestone for me. I'm hoping to finish out my last two semesters with Dean's List as well!

Two. 

I trained and completed my first half marathon. This was no easy task, but it was a great experience. I had a ton of fun during the race, and it was great to do it with a friend/sister of mine. 

Three. 

I passed one of my PRAXIS exams... only five to go. These are the exams that certify me to become a teacher.  I have a year to pass them, so hopefully this time next year I will be sharing that I passed all of these exams and graduated college. 

Four.

Travelled across the country by myself. In June I flew to Arizona by myself for Alpha Delta Pi's Grand Convention. This experience made me feel like I was growing up. I navigated TSA, obtaining my boring pass, finding my gate, and several flight delays all on my own.  This experience was quite the adventure. You can read more about it here. 

Five. 

I completed my term as Chapter President. This might be my biggest accomplishment yet.  I will share about this experience in a few weeks as it deserves more than a few sentences.  But in short, this experience taught me a lot about myself and how to become an even stronger/smarter leader than I was before. Needless to say, leading 116 women is no easy task and comes with more responsibility than I could have ever imagined.  

I hope you enjoyed reading about my five in 2015. I am looking forward to 2016 and the many adventures, challenges, and learning experiences it will have in store for me to endure.  

XOXO