2017 in Review

2017 has been a busy and intense year with a lot of happenings.

Let’s knock out the low points first. Needless to say as I imagine this is true for many folks, but following the November 2016 election, the divided political and increasingly-hateful social climate took a toll on my overall happiness. I was glued to the fake news and reading thought pieces analyzing the current situation for months. I eventually took a step back, realizing that it only served to sadden and depress me. I loathe apathy, but for mental health preservation, I’ve chosen to unplug. I’m sure I’ll be back in action soon but for now, I have to keep myself distracted and happy. Regardless, I continue to work on being a good citizen, spreading a credo of equality, and making sure to represent my home country in a responsible light while traveling abroad.

The absolute worst part of my year was losing a long time friend to vehicular homicide. It was a gruesome and entirely preventable accident. My friend Stephanie was killed after a stolen car in a police chase ran a red light and hit her going ~130 mph. We were very close in high school and had kept in touch all these years. She turned 32 a week before her death, and had just reached out to say she missed me.  I spent two weeks in a very dark place before accepting her death. It’s still quite unfathomable. I’m grateful for the years of friendship and conversation we had and vow to continue living life to the fullest, just as she would want. Through the tragedy, I reconnected with Hayley, the other part of our once-trio. I’m grateful for people like her, old BBYO friends, and my every day friends who were willing to show support during such a terrible time. As the Rabbi requested at her memorial, may Stephanie’s memory live on as a blessing.

Switching gears… there were some really wonderful moments of 2017 and here are some of my favorites:

Ringing in the new year in El Nido, Philippines. The first day of 2017 started barefoot. That’s because I lost my shoes during an epic celebration on the beach, in the tiny Palawan town of El Nido. Pretty sure the ocean carried my sandals out to sea. My four days on the island were incredible and I highly recommend you explore this remote part of the world as it’s slowly being discovered by adventurous tourists. It is special.

Standing up for equality at the Women’s March. A reference back to the beginning of this post, as a counter-activity, I partook in this historic, worldwide event on January 21, 2017, aimed at advocating for legislation and protection of women, minorities, and immigrants. After the hateful and divisive rhetoric spewed by #45, this served as a powerful and monumental march, with estimations of over 17,000 attendees in my small hometown city. It meant so much to me to have my mom and friends join in such an impressive display of activism.

Skiing for the first time in Snowshoe, WV. We had a friends weekend in the snowy WV ski town and it was such a blast! I was really nervous about skiing after suffering a minor concussion snowboarding years back, but I actually did well and found it really fun! A 6+ hour drive each way is a lot for a weekend trip, but it was very much worth it to be with such good company and to celebrate our friend Megan’s 30th birthday!

Hosting a successful Passover seder. This year I squeezed 20 or so friends into my one bedroom apartment and hosted a traditional (or not so traditional) Passover seder. I created a very progressive and all-encompassing haggadah and everyone contributed to a potluck dinner. We went through many bottles of wine and had a great time! I’m not religious but I love sharing cultural traditions, and Passover is one of my favorite Jewish holidays.

Hiking Hanging Rock with my family. We finally coordinated a family hike to Hanging Rock (my favorite state park), near Winston-Salem for Mother’s Day. The weather was perfect and a good time was had by the core four. We don’t do it often but I’ve always enjoyed hikes with my family, and always think my parents are cool for conquering some challenging treks.

A week in D.C. I’ve grown up visiting my grandparents and other family in Maryland but had only been into D.C. for day trips or occasionally to visit a friend or cousin. But this year I had the opportunity to spend the better part of a week in the District. I hung out with my cousin David for two days in Eckington, and then spent 4 more nights on Massachusetts Avenue for a work obligation. I love DC. It’s big city, diverse, green, and has killer rooftop culture.

Three days in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam involved a music festival for my birthday, many bike rides, stroop waffles (yum), museums, cafes and the red light district, sunshine, rain, and a boat party through the canals. It is such a cool, historic city and I loved the energy there. Best of all, my newest international best friend Rosanne hosted me so we got to spend some solid time together.

Chefchaouen and camping in the Sahara, Morocco. I still need to write a separate blog post for my Morocco experience, and I will in the upcoming months. But the two highlights of my 8 day adventure were the time I spent exploring the blue village of Chefchaouen and the night I spent star gazing in the middle of the Sahara desert near Algeria. I mean, how random does it get? This is definitely one of the most fascinating countries I’ve ever visited.

Belgian surprises. I spent a few days in Belgium before returning home from Morocco, as I found a good flight deal and had never visited the country before. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to differ much from a place like, say, London. But surprise, I loved it! The cobble stone streets, our cute Airbnb, the easy train rides to Bruges and Ghent, the beer, the waffles, the squares. I reunited with my friend Gavin from Thailand and we had a great time catching up. Even better, when I went to the airport to fly home, I was an entire day early – oops! I turned lemons into lemonade by booking a random train ticket that left 30 minutes later for Antwerp. Once there I found a hostel, and had the best day and night exploring alone!

International John Mayer. If you know me, it should be no surprise that I love John Mayer; I’ve been a huge fan since day 1. My friend Juliana and I had a killer weekend in Montreal in the spring, and the highlight was seeing John Mayer at the Bell Centre. Naturally after making arrangements to go to Canada, he announced he would be in Raleigh over the summer… go figure! But it gave us a good excuse to visit a new Canadian city and to see our beloved musician twice this year.

First time in SoCal. I finally made it out to San Diego this year to visit my best friend and her husband. I may have gotten stranded overnight in San Francisco on the way (because I just have the BEST luck flying :p) but we made the most out of our 48 or so hours together once I finally landed in SD. I then took the bus to Los Angeles and spent the next day and a half roaming the city, which impressed me much more than anticipated! I stayed at Venice Beach and had a GREAT time. Cannot wait to go back to visit Victoria!

A few firsts in New York City. I convinced my Dutch bestie to fly over for her first ever US visit and we took NYC by storm over a whirlwind 3 day weekend. I finally entered Central Park for the first time and that was one of our favorite pit stops. We hit up a few rooftop bars and walked through the Occulus which was quite impressive. We also walked the Highline which was great on an unseasonably warm October day.

Other noteworthy happenings: seeing both sides of my extended family over Thanksgiving break! I don’t think that had ever happened before. And just recently, one of my girlfriends Megan had her first baby! It’s really incredible seeing your good friends become parents.

New countries visited in 2017: Philippines, Malaysia, Netherlands, Morocco, Belgium, (upcoming: Nicaragua and Costa Rica).

New U.S. cities visited in 2017: Snowshoe, WV; Forth Worth, TX; San Diego, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Gainesville, FL.

Favorite new destination of 2017: Philippines. Heaven on earth.

Favorite movie of 2017: Lion. My friends have made fun of me all year because of how much I’ve raved about this movie. I first saw the movie on a cozy night in Brussels, then at the outdoor movie theater for a friend’s birthday, and twice more on Netflix. Yep, that good. It’s the true story of a young Indian boy who gets lost from home, is adopted and raised by an affluent Australian family, and his ongoing curiosity and eventual quest to figure out what happened to his birth family. It is intense, beautiful, sad, and inspiring. The book and movie are equally wonderful.

Favorite book of 2017: Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles. This fictional novel portrays the daily struggles of life in Ukraine and one highly intelligent woman’s goal to “make it” and conquer the supposed American dream… by way of mail order bridal service. It’s quite fascinating, well-written, and now I’ve found myself day dreaming about visiting Odessa!

Favorite song of 2017: Sun Comes Up by Rudimental. It gives me all the feels and the lyrics are so uplifting. I’ve had it on repeat for months if that says anything… check it out.

Overall it was a great year. While nothing can bring back a loved one taken too soon, my friends continue to remind me of how lucky I am. Whether it be through simply showing support, creating new memories, or joining me on a crazy adventure, I’m continuously grateful for the love and opportunity around me.