2015 in Review: Utterly Unsatisfying

This is the third time I’ve done a year-in-review on this blog. Usually I go into the process thinking, “Not a whole lot happened this year” and then by the end of the review, I’m all “Okay, this has actually been a pretty awesome year.”

Not the case this year.

2015 was, by my goal setting standards, not a perfect year. Not even close. Even when measured on the scale of excitement, 2015 doesn’t rank very highly. I got a new job and moved to Kingston, which was huge, but not a whole lot else took place or was achieved. Without further ado, my 2015.

2015 in Review

Things I Did

• I worked three different jobs over the course of 2015. And no, I don’t mean all at the same time. It was a topsy turvy year of employment, but in the end, I think it all worked out for the best, and I’m happy to be working at Queen’s.
• Working at Queen’s required that I move halfway across the country to Kingston, and I’m loving it here.
• I finished my Certificate in Student Affairs and Services. Look ma, I’m a real #sapro now!
• I went to Toronto for vacation, and to visit Lauren, Ashley, and Meagan- and even got to see Kate while I was there! The four of us participated (not Kate, unfortunately) in ScienceChase, and had a blast.
• I began volunteering with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and with Cystic Fibrosis Canada, when I was still in Halifax. In Kingston, I gift-wrapped at the mall during the Christmas season for the first time ever. Basically a lifelong dream achieved.
• I joined KSSC’s All-Sorts-of-Sports league in the fall, and played floor hockey, volleyball, dodgeball, and basketball for the first time in FOREVER.
• Not what I would call a success, but I wrote 8 blog posts for my personal blog, which was viewed about 1600 times.
• I wrote several posts for @thisisyearone, a series of mini-biographies on the attributes of wildly successful people. Biographies included Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Shonda Rimes, and Dr. Seuss, among others.
• I read 49 books over the course of the year, missing my goal of 52 by 3, but still reading 49. Some of them were really, really good.
• I’ve been a pretty consistent journaler, which is a habit I’m extremely grateful to have reclaimed.
• I started figure skating again. Getting back on your skates is NOT as easy as getting back on a bike!
• I completed Hootsuite’s Inbound Marketing certification, which basically means I’m a marketing expert now.
• I participated in a Scrabble tournament. Yes, you read that right. My team is proud to have come dead last.
• I watched all 11 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, then all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls. Then I watched all 11 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy again.

Things I Learned

• Sometimes things don’t work out the way you want. But sometimes, that’s for the best.
• You can’t just assume that you actually are happy because you are living the life you want. What seems perfect in theory may not be so perfect in practice.
• I don’t desperately need people in my life. But I do like having them there.
• Moving is a lot more work, a lot more complicated, and a lot more expensive than I had anticipated.
• Wanting doesn’t work. Planning does. Accountability does. Checking in does. Putting in the effort does.

That last bullet point is what I want to focus on going into 2016. 2014 was much more successful year, and I believe it’s because of the approach that I took. 2014 consisted of monthly check-ins with myself, which reminded me of my goals. It consisted of tangible targets. And it consisted of monthly projects so that I was able to focus on one goal at a time.

2015 was adequate, but to make 2016 the best year possible, we’re revisiting the strategy of 2014.

Do you feel more satisfied with your 2015 than I do? I’d love to hear what great things you were up to, accomplished, laughed at, etc.