The end of the year was a weird time for me this year. I’m in a new city/country/continent and instead of spending the holidays on vacation or relaxing with my family, I went on a trip. Which, to clarify, is not vacation. I’d call what I do more active tourism, there’s not really much rest or relaxation involved. This basically means little time to reflect.

My reflecting happened the first week of January. I felt like I was in a weird place mentally, like 2018 was kind of blah. Then I thought, ‘what?!?’ Under no circumstances was my 2018 blah. So because I’m a nostalgic person and want to look back and cherish these moments, I’m going to share my 2018 in chronological order.

Without further ado, here’s my year in review 🙂

January

• Started the year calmly. (To be honest I was kind of a hermit).
• Applied to the Auxiliares de Conversacion program to move to Spain!
• Enjoyed lots of snow (and some snow days) in Nashville.
• Fell in love with some local Nashville spots, like Graze and Centennial Park.

February

• Went to my first Drag Brunch at Suzy Wong’s in Nashville. If you’re ever in town, go. Those ladies are incredible.
• Discovered Nashville Public Library – Downtown and fell in love.
• Went on a vegan restaurant hunt in Nashville.
• Went through a really weird time emotionally. I was really frustrated with my situation and waiting on results from Spain.
• Apparently didn’t take one photo with me in it – not even a selfie!
• Decided to leave Nashville. If Spain didn’t work out, I’d figure out a plan b.

March

• Discovered a gluten-free homemade bagel recipe and Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel seasoning. My life was forever changed.
• Started loving and accepting myself wayyyy more. Even took a photoshoot!
• Read ‘Love Warrior’ by Glennon Doyle. Laughed, cried and recommended it to everyone I know.
• Secretly moved out of my apartment and drove all my stuff down to my parents’ house in South Florida. I hadn’t told anyone at work that I was going to quit, so everything was very hush hush. Only one friend knew.

April

• Discovered my love for sunrises and coffee on the beach with my mom.
• Started practicing yoga again, thank goodness.
• Moved in with my best friend Victoria and her husband. I decided to stay in Nashville a month after my lease was up, so I crashed with them. I will be forever grateful. 
• Work was really stressful, because there were lots of changes and I hadn’t given my notice yet. Once I gave notice, things got better.

May

• Still hadn’t heard back from the program, but I left my job and Nashville.
• Made the drive down to South Florida into a road trip. Stopped in Knoxville to visit friends and visited another friend in Atlanta.
• Spent a day in Savannah, Georgia before heading down to Saint Augustine, Florida.
• Felt really loved, accepted and self-confident and reclaimed the term plus-size in a positive way.
• Moved in with my parents.
• Finally heard back from Spain that I’d been accepted!!! Suddenly I could breathe.

June

• Helped my parents move into their new home! (Which is stunning, they should build homes for a living, just saying.) Effectively this means I’d moved like four times in a two month period.
• Changed my driver’s license to Florida! It was a miserable process and I only did it because I was legally required to…ugh.
• Really got back into working out and yoga.
• Met Cassie & Shay of The Bucketlist Bombshells at a meet-up in St. Pete. They were incredibly inspiring and really helped drive me to start copywriting.
• Started working as a dog-walker, which turned out to be really fun and a great way to get more steps in.

July

• Wore shorts (well, a romper) for the first time since elementary school. This was HUGE for me.
• Spent lots more mornings at the beach, going for walks at sunrise and doing yoga.
• Took another road trip to St. Pete with my sister Erika to visit our other sister, Karla. Fell in love with lots of murals and their downtown.
• Victoria came to visit me! We hung out at the beach, touristed around Wynwood (which I posted about here) and basically just enjoyed a weekend hanging out.
• Clocked lots of hours in the dog-walking realm.
• Applied for my Visa to go to Spain! Getting all the paperwork together was a lengthy process, so being able to go was a huge milestone.

August

• Took a quick weekend roadtrip up to Tallahassee to see my little cousin Alex graduate from Florida State!
• Had a photoshoot with my mom in Wynwood where she took my official headshots!
• Clocked tons of family time with taco nights, morning walks at the beach and just overall hanging out.
• Got my Visa, giving me the official OK to go to Spain!

September

• Took one last quick trip out to St. Pete to see my sister Karla and enjoy those calm beaches.
• Had a small going away party with my family before heading to Spain.
• Flew to Madrid! My mom came with me to help me look for apartments, and then my dad, abuela, aunt and cousin Alex came. We went to Coruña to visit family before spending a few days together in Madrid.

October

• Moved into my apartment in Madrid!
• Started my new job in Madrid!
• Met up with a friend in Bordeaux for a weekend of fun, food and wine.
• Celebrated my 29th birthday and honestly, 29 feels like the new 24.
• Spent lots of time walking around Madrid, getting acclimated.
• Celebrated Halloween with some fun festivities at school. This year I was a unicorn.

November

• Read ‘To Shake the Sleeping Self’ by Jedidiah Jenkins. Lots of introspection.
• Got incredibly homesick and tried to make the copycat Panera Mac’n’Cheese. Total failure.
• Took an amazing day trip to Segovia.
• Celebrated Thanksgiving with new friends and yummy comfort foods.

December

• Went to my first ever Christmas Market in Frankfurt with some new friends!
• Visited my family in La Coruña and spent the day in Santiago de Compostela.
• Traveled to Prague, Vienna and Bratislava on a ten-day solo trip, getting all the Christmastime vibes.
• Spent NYE with new friends who welcomed me into their family holiday with open arms 🙂

So yeah, 2018 was definitely not blah. Not one bit. I’ve lived in three different cities, two states and two different countries. It’s kind of crazy to look back and see the whole progression and frankly, I’m really proud of myself! Here’s hoping 2019 shapes up to be just as wonderful.