Sitting here, looking back at 2014, it’s hard to know what to think. The year feels like it was neatly divided in two- pre-job change, and post-job change. Pre-job change, I was doing a pretty good job at working towards my 2014 goals, but not feeling overly fulfilled, professionally. Post-job change, many of my 2014 goals were put to the wayside, but my job was teaching me boatloads, both about the work I was doing and about myself. It’s impossible to say the year didn’t have success though, and here’s why.
The Things I Did
- I wrote almost 50 blog posts, on my personal blog, for the Student Leader Collective, and for Punditry.ca. My personal blog received over 10 000 page views over the course of the year, with my most popular post, For the Love, or For the Resume, receiving over 5000 views in and of itself.
- I ran 5K for the first time ever. I unintelligently accomplished that feat in a race (thanks Bluenose!), and thought I was going to die- but I didn’t!
- I went ‘back to school’, taking a course on Student Development Theory through Seneca College. While I haven’t received my official mark yet, it was impossible for me to fail going into the exam, so I think it’s safe to say I passed!
- My book collection, and my knowledge bank, on marketing, communications, social media, and digital identity has grown exponentially. I think I’ve found a new passion!
- I hit the #52in52 mark in July, and read 67 books over the course of the year. Apparently I read a lot.
- I attended my first (and second!) professional conference, dropping into CACUSS while they were in Halifax, and heading to Orlando for #NODA67.
- As mentioned above, I was a pundit!
- I planned nine days of orientation events to welcome our new students to campus, without any major disasters, in spite of poor weather and power outages.
- I met my SLCollective friend, Sabina, in person (as well as Tom and Nathalia) while I was in New York, and met my Twitter friend Lisa in person when we both ended up at the same conference in Florida.
- I went to Toronto to visit with some of the best people in the world- Meagan, Lauren and Ashley.
- I leveraged the power of both Skype and the post office to stay connected to friends far away, to meet new friends, and to incorporate my brother into our Christmas during his first Christmas away from home.
- I spent four days in NYC with Ben. It was both exactly what I expected, and nothing like I expected.
- I visited Harry Potter World (which is not at all what it is actually called), and drank butterbeer, ate at the Three Broomsticks, and went on adventures in Gringotts and Hogwarts. It was so. much. fun.
The Things I Learned
- I need to be constantly reminded of my goals, my promises, my #oneword, etc., because I can easily get caught up in day-to-day living and forget.
- Some of the things I thought I was good at, I’m not really. Some of the things I thought I wasn’t good at, I am.
- My body knows when I’m stressed and anxious before my brain does. On that note, my body responds to stress and anxiety by not wanting to eat. Sometimes for weeks at a time.
- You can have real relationships with the people you meet online, and they can be some of your biggest supporters.
- Asking questions is the only way to learn things, and more often than not, people are happy to talk.
- I don’t need cookies to survive. But I still really, really like them.
- Having someone on your side matters more than just about anything else, often.
- People actually do listen to what I say, at least sometimes. Knowing that some of the things I write actually resonate with people is pretty cool.
While 2014 had some pretty good times and a whole lot of learning, no year-end review is complete unless it sparks ideas for how 2015 can be even better. Stay tuned!
What was your #1 accomplishment or best memory of 2014? What did the year teach you? Share in the comments- I’d love to hear a part of your story!
