I hope you guys are having a happy New Year! I’m always amazed looking back on the past year. While we’re living in it, it doesn’t feel like much has changed, but when you look back, you realize just how much you have accomplished. It’s true that we all go through struggles, and as a whole 2017 was a mix of happiness of how far I’ve come, but also full of struggles. I always try to focus on the positives in my life, but I also don’t want you guys to think my life is all rainbows, puppies, and butterflies (I wish); The truth is that no one’s is! So… below I’m sharing some of my struggles from 2017, and if you continue reading, highlights from 2017 and some of my goals for 2018.

If you read here regularly, then you know that I had a major career change this year! I left my career in special education to seek one in marketing, and after month’s of struggle, I finally accepted a new job as an influencer marketing coordinator for a company here in Boston. If you’re in the middle of a job change or career change, my biggest advice to you would be to keep at it (but you can read more here + here)! We all deal with “no’s” and rejection. Unfortunately, it’s part of life. But… it’s extremely humbling and I fully believe it makes us better people. There were so many times during my career transition that I felt regret for quitting my previous job… I felt doubt. I thought something was wrong with me because I couldn’t find a job super quickly. Looking back, I find it funny how I only felt these things because things weren’t going how I expected them to or how I wanted them to. But guess what – life doesn’t go how we plan. Of course now, I don’t necessarily think of things going so negatively. It’s hard to explain what I mean. I guess what I’m trying to say is open your mind and realize that sometimes our thoughts are a bit flawed. I definitely let my emotions take over when things aren’t going as I had planned… and I know that’s many of you as well!

Another struggle I dealt with for the majority of the year was the balance between managing the blog, my personal life, and a full time job. While it may not seem like it…. a blog is a ton of work! Luckily it’s fun work, so I can’t complain… and besides, I CHOOSE to do this, it’s not like someone is forcing me! I truly do love it. I love sharing with you guys and I love when you comment because it tells me that what I’m “saying” (writing) is resonating with you. While I do consider it a hobby, it’s also a job. I have very high expectations for myself plus I’m a perfectionist. There’s always something to do, and when I was in between jobs, I was putting in 7-8 hours a day in this thing! For those of you who don’t blog, you’re probably like How. Is. That. Possible? But I promise you, there’s always multiple things to be doing. To give you a bit of an idea if you’re curious… Here’s just some of the things I do on a daily and weekly basis for this blog: Photography, photography editing, outfit planning, blog post planning, blog post writing, responding to emails, sending emails, website upkeep, sending invoices, and honestly so much more. I caught myself (almost daily this year) not paying attention to my boyfriend during the evening, and instead, scrolling Instagram for hours. I caught myself not enjoying vacations and instead, honestly working harder to get content for the blog.

Now, I have even less time for my blog because my new full time job is about 15 more hours per week than I was working in my teaching job. So… How do I plan to manage these things better this year? This month I’m going to be working with a photographer for the first time. Up until now, I’ve been having my boyfriend take my photos. While of course this doesn’t cost me anything, it can often be a stress to our relationship and cuts down on us just “hanging out” like a regular couple. So not only will this not cut into my relationship as much, but it will also free up a TON of time for me because I won’t be spending hours photo editing… The photographer will be doing that! Stay tuned near the end of January for those photos. I’m hoping all goes well and it will be a regular thing!

HAPPY NEW YEAR: HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2017 + GOALS FOR 2018

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2017

• Visiting Charleston for the first time (highly recommend it and I would 100% go back in a heartbeat!!! You can read more about it here).
• Getting a new job in influencer marketing + making the major career switch from my job in special education (you can read more about that transition here + here).
• Visiting Key West for the first time + making the drive from Miami… truly incredible views! (You can check out my Key West Travel Guide here + check out my outfits from Key West here + here).
• Going to my friend Dana’s wedding (my first close friend from high school to get married). It was so much fun to get together with people I hadn’t seen in years + celebrate!
• Something on my bucket list this past year was to visit Nantucket, and I was able to cross that one off! I visited Nantucket (an island off the coast of Massachusetts) for the very first time (you can read more about it here).
• Going to Boston Calling for the first time + seeing so many bands I’ve been dying to see live like: Chance the Rapper, Bon Iver, Mumford + Sons, etc (read more about it here).

GOALS FOR 2018

• Drink more water. 🙂
• Not be so quick to react.
• Push myself more with the blog – including finally getting out hair tutorials for you guys!
• Be wiser about spending.
• Plan a trip to somewhere I’ve never been!
• Consistently work out at least 3x a week
• Less complaining, more gratitude.
• Find a balance between my blog + my personal life.
• Drink less alcohol.
• Pack a lunch more = spend less money on eating out for lunch.

I hope your New Year is off to a great start! As always, if you have suggestions for posts/content you’d like to see, don’t hesitate to comment, DM me on Instagram, or email me at contact@brunchonsunday.com!