The Good Parts About 2018
There was a lot of sadness and disappointment in the world this year. The country suffered and dealt with the pain of having 94 school shootings (as of 12/11/18). In March, Northern white rhinoceros officially went extinct. Brett Kavanaugh, a sexual assaulter, was nominated and then confirmed to the Supreme Court. I lost a red and white gingham romper immediately after I wore it for the first time. Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade passed away. Trump and his administration carried out a million horrible things with zero empathy. I watched a full season of The Bachelorette (Becca Kufrin) just for her to pick a transphobic and racist piece of trash. My stupid red state continued to disappoint me.
But, there were also good things.
Coley
I met and started dating one of the best people I have ever met in my life. His kindness and constant support carried me more than he probably realizes.
The Greatest Showman's Choreography for
"From Now On"
In January, on my first official date with Coley, I witnessed the most beautiful piece of choreography I have ever seen in my life. I know that's dramatic and I know beauty is subjective, but every time I watch this specific scene I can't help but feel my heart swell with pride for the dancers, the song, and the overall message. I'm pretty sure I've contributed over 100 views to this clip from YouTube. Watch it and be prepared to feel your heart almost burst.
Hungary
In March, my mom, my mom's best friend, my sister Simone, and I traveled all the way to Budapest, Hungary for spring break! We experienced a culture we had never been exposed to and for the first time ever, I was completely lost with the language. Simone and I danced around a huge castle and I happily ruined my pink hair in the thermal baths. I've been editing my Budapest video for literally 8 months and it's not quite what I want it to be, but hopefully by the time you read this it'll be on my videos page. If not, go watch my other videos haha.
The Winter Olympics
Growing up in a big ski family, there's nothing like the Winter Olympics to grow your American pride. The millennials dominated and Chloe Kim made the Asian-American family proud time and time again. Also FYI, not only is she super badass and made me want to dye my hair blonde, but she's also the first woman to EVER land a frontside double cork 1080 in halfpipe.
Midterm Elections
I voted for the very first time this year!!! I cannot emphasize enough how important the midterm elections are and for once we are on the right path for fixing our government, thanks to the amount of young voters who registered and participated in their civic duty. We broke the record for the amount of women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids became the first Native American women elected to Congress. And my queen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. So yes, a lot of big wins but we still have a ways to go! Let's see that turnout and more for the next presidential election please and thank you.
Bailey
Thanks to Coley, I became an honorary dog owner this year! My favorite 10 year old puppy Bailey entered my life in April and he's already the star of all my Snapchats. He's stinky and a little slow, but we love him anyway. Also he helped us get featured in an article about dogs in Bloom Magazine! Check it out here! (We're on page 120).
Pink, Purple, Black, Brown, and Blonde
These are all the colors I dyed my hair this year. It's honestly surprising that my hair hasn't fallen straight out of my head (especially since I recently bleached tf out of it) but I'm so thankful it hasn't come to that. Although my hair is blonde right now, I've been using this awesome conditioner in rose gold that dyes my hair temporarily! I highly recommend if you're looking for some low commitment as well as the want to not put anymore chemicals in your hair.
North Carolina
Over 4th of July weekend, my friends and I traveled to Coley's hometown of Black Mountain/Asheville to visit family and eat good barbecue. It was the first time in a long time that I was somewhat cut off from the internet and it felt good! I now miss the Blue Ridge Parkway dearly, and I cannot wait to make it back there to eat more sugared bacon.
Too Faced Eyeliner
This eyeliner is so good it made my list of good things about 2018. I've been notoriously horrible at makeup ever since I could remember and only started slowly getting better after I met Sam, my senior year in high school roommate who doubled as a makeup expert. I saw this eyeliner a couple of months ago in Ulta and bought it right away because it was pretty and I felt like being dumb with my money. Turns out it's the best investment I could have made! It's so easy and I love it a lot and you can buy it if you click here.
David Dobrik
I literally did not know who this guy was until his breakup video with Liza Koshy went viral on YouTube, and when it did go viral, I did not care one bit. But then slowly, David Dobrik started to infiltrate my recommended videos and I couldn't not watch just one. Then one became thirty . . . thirty became all of them. Even though it is incredibly embarrassing to write, I will admit that I religiously refresh on his upload days. But, now you know. And if you don't know, click here.
Myself
Yeah, I'm not afraid to give myself credit and say I contributed a lot to making 2018 the best it could be. I finished, and more importantly survived my first year of college. I passed A100. I made new friends and kept old ones. I finally got my driver's license. I started this blog. I ended my first semester of sophomore year.
So yes, 2018 was bad and bad things happened and nothing will change that. We shouldn't forget the bad things because they help us learn how we can be better. But 2018 was also good. Moving into 2019, I just ask you to bring in the good that you got from this year and the knowledge you learned from the bad. Maybe 2019 will be better. Hopefully.