My Year At A Glance and New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year again! I hope these first four days have treated you well. The New Year is so fun because you get to make resolutions and get a little fresh start. It feels like a reset which is essential after 365 days. But something else that I love about the New Year is reflecting on the year that I had. So, in honor of that here is “My Year At A Glance.”

Winter

Sadly, I didn’t have the best Winter. I was having a rough time just in general. My winter break was chaotic and it set me up for a bad start to the new year. Not only were specific people and things bringing me down, but some events that happened over winter break just ruined my mindset and image of myself. It’s safe to say that San Diego was not my happy place at this time. I left as much as possible, traveling to Boston, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado on different weekends. There were still some good moments in San Diego though. I had a lot of friends that were there for me. By the end of the quarter, things did turn around. I got a boyfriend and his crew was a nice change from the people I used to spend all of my time with. Overall though, it was a weird time. 

Some highlights were traveling to those places on the weekends, getting closer to a lot of people I hadn’t been close with before, starting my job at UCSD Recreation, and starting my position as VP New Member Education and Member Experience with Alpha Phi. 

Spring

First, I went to Charleston with my mom. We had such a great time and I look back on that trip a lot. Everything was so beautiful. The city, the places we stayed, my mom, everything. That will forever be a memory that we share that is so special to me. 

Otherwise, spring quarter was a good time. I was with my boyfriend the whole quarter and we were having a lot of fun. We went to Coachella which was amazing and he also got me into surfing which I’m so happy about. Things with my friends were good and I was on a good path to loving my life at UCSD again. My family visited for the Red Dress Gala, I went to two Padres Games, I planned a retreat for Alpha Phi which was a success, I ran my first 5K, and I had a lot of great times with my girl friends.

The highlight of this quarter is obvious. COACHELLA. Easily the greatest weekend of my life. Everything was perfect and worry-free, my company was great and I wouldn’t have changed a single thing.

Summer

My summer started with a bang. I went on a road trip with the boyfriend and it was a blast. Our route was San Diego → Beverly Hills → Las Vegas → Zion → Salt Lake City → Denver and then I left for home from there and that was the last time seeing boyfriend. 

Otherwise, I spent my summer at the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce! Shoutout to everyone at the Chamber, thank you guys for giving me a great first internship experience. I also had a fun job driving two kids to and from camp which was a great side hustle. I recommend a job like that to any college student coming home for the summer. It’s a super easy and fun way to make extra money for when you’re back at school. 

Being home was also a nice change. I went to the beach most weekends and stayed at my friend Natalie’s house. We always had a blast. My family also spent a week on Long Beach Island which was a lot of fun. Then I ran my first half marathon and was sent off to Barcelona! 

Along with my beach adventures, starting my blog was the highlight of my summer. This has been such a fun personal project that I take so much pride in. I’m very excited to continue with my blog in 2024!

Fall

As you can probably guess, this was the greatest time of my life. Ten different countries, twenty-one different cities, and a million new memories. I learned and experienced so much, that I’m still digesting everything that happened while abroad. 

Something that I want to bring specific attention to is the personal growth that I endured. I turned to self-reflection a lot during my time abroad. Journaling more than ever. I feel like I have a lot of emotional intelligence and insight now. Learning more about myself was a highlight of my year. I’m proud of myself and definitely have a lot more love for myself. I’m excited to enter the new year feeling the satisfaction and pride that I do. 

In Conclusion

It’s so weird because I already forgot so many things that I went through this year. While abroad, my roommates and I would always have conversations about our pasts. We would ask “dinner questions” all the time and they ranged from “What’s your favorite type of pie?” to “What is your biggest insecurity?” Once someone asked what my favorite memories were of my freshman and sophomore years. It baffled me how hard it was to think back on specific times. My depressed state in winter is already a faint memory of mine. I guess it’s a blessing and a curse how fast memories can fade away. 

With this, remember to cherish the good times, take pictures, journal, and do anything and everything to keep those memories alive. And with the bad times, remember that these hard times pass and one day you’ll hardly remember them. Just keep moving.

Resolutions

1. My first resolution is to make San Diego my happy place. I think because of the hard time that I had there in the Winter, I keep myself from remembering all of the wonderful times. And there are a lot of wonderful times. I have such amazing friends, it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth, and my school is great. I’ve been holding myself back from appreciating all of the good things that San Diego has to offer and I’m over it. It’s time to only look at the positive and make San Diego my happy place. 
2. I want to let go of all of the things that keep me from being 100% confident and proud of myself. There are a few memories that I have that I still get anxious about and there are some people that bring me down just by the thought of them. I hope to completely free myself from these anxieties and move forward with life. Although it’s easier said than done, I’m working towards this goal every day and am excited for the day that I can confidently say these things do not weigh me down. 
3. Make washing my dish towels with my dark clothes load a habit.
4. Volunteer in San Diego! I’ve already applied to intern at Feeding San Diego and San Diego Parks and Recreation. Now it’s time to put my time in when I get settled into my life in San Diego!

Thank you all for reading about my year, what I learned from it, and how I hope to improve myself in 2024. I know I’ve been writing about myself a lot, but get ready for more posts on abroad and UCSD advice, trip planning, and a few little random posts that I feel passionate about.

Sending virtual hugs and high-fives,

Chlo