- Do 30 minutes of cardio at least five times a week. This definitely didn't happen. But I'm not super out of shape either, so I can't complain.
- Only drink soda on special occasions. Done. Pretty sure I only drank soda for headaches or 16 hour shifts at work. Plus a couple Martinellis at Christmas or something.
- Spend less time on my computer and phone and more time in real life. I probably did okay with this, especially in the summer. I definitely underestimated the amount of time I would spend writing papers this past semester.
- Eat healthier. I did this a lot more than I have in the past. Basically I can't afford to eat out all the time so I got forced into this one.
- Visit my great grandparents once every two weeks. Ugh, I'm the worst.
- Take time to do things for other people. This one is a struggle because I'm so busy (which is not a good excuse), but I did pretty well overall!
- Take risks, come out of my comfort zone, and grow as a person. I've done a lot of this, especially with my job at a treatment center. I've made a conscious effort to work on my communication and be more open in relationships. It's hard for me as a quiet, independent person, but I'm doing well.
You win some, you lose some. Resolutions aside, though, this year has contained some awesome memories and amazing lessons, every minute of every day. Here are the best memories and the most important lesson of each month, along with some of my favorite pictures.
January
Memory: Reuniting with my Plato's Closet friends for dinner before all of us went our separate ways again to missions, college, or [real] jobs.
Lesson: Don't ever curl your hair with straws.
February
Memory: Ellie Goulding concert! (The first of many.) She's amazing. I'm so in love with her.
Lesson: Trying to trick your friends into giving you birthday presents four days early doesn't work. Especially if the day four days before your birthday happens to be Valentine's Day.
March
Memory: Spring break in Bear Lake with old and new friends, where we pretended to have fun on the beach but it was actually covered in snow and we weren't prepared. So we went back to the cabin and played "gang up on Shannon in ultimate spoons."
Lesson: March Madness is the worst thing that can happen to your life.
April
Memory: Meeting Colby at Smashburger when I was the biggest nervous wreck imaginable and therefore managed to say phrases like "oh good, you're a real person," "did you know they sell key lime pie at the Dollar Tree," and "one time I had to book an event for a porn author." Glad that turned out.
Lesson: Don't ever trust anyone with the name soulfulofluv on OkCupid.
May
Memory: Getting a new car and sadly saying goodbye to the old reliable Darth Evader. And then going to the Real game and eating cake.
Lesson: Save room for cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory.
June
Memory: Going to California with Colby which entailed going to a wedding, hanging out with his nieces, and playing on the beach. Aka five days of heaven.
Lesson: Don't let me get starving-level-hungry and then drive around for an hour before finding food, because I will rage. Who knew.
July
Memory: Governor's Honors Academy for sure. Ten days of life lessons, spending time with the coolest kids, touring national and state parks, and making lasting friendships.
Lesson: Getting very little sleep and working from sun-up to sun-down for ten days straight will cause you to get bronchitis for the next three weeks, stomping on your dreams of running a half marathon this year. Take care of yo'self.
August
Memory: Spending a whole carefree day hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park with Colby. Despite some weird old man stalking us through the whole thing without us knowing, it was one of my favorite days of the whole summer.
Lesson: College goes by way too freaking fast.
September
Memory: A very eventful scavenger hunt in Kanab with the girls I work with. And throwing my awesome roommate of three years a surprise [sober] 21st birthday party.
Lesson: Going for a lot of bike rides and runs to avoid stress about graduate school does not actually avoid it. But it does help a lot.
October
Memory: Colby's mission reunion and a haunted house made for one very interesting and fun weekend in Salt Lake City. Plus, later in the month was homecoming containing Hellogoodbye, the roughest 5K in my lifetime, true t-bird night and my last football game as a student at SUU (sad face).
Lesson: If you're going to Colby's mission reunion with him, don't expect to ever come back.
November
Memory: Is there really any better memory than Thanksgiving with my family? If you haven't heard that story, read it here. Plus there was the jazz game and playing pranks at Temple Square. Good times, good times.
Lesson: If you get embarrassed or offended easily, don't ever meet my family.
December
Memory: Lots of Christmas parties, especially one particular ugly sweater karaoke party where I [badly] sang Adele, Justin Bieber, and Britney Spears. Followed by multiple family Christmas parties which are a whole other story.
Lesson: Writing all those papers would have been worth it if I actually got the 4.0 I wanted. But since my senior transcript is stained by one sad little A-, I should have thrown in the towel long ago. (Jokes... I love that A-.)
Overall, 2013 has honestly been the best year of my life to date. I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store. I think it's gonna be good.
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