Celebrating 2013

While most of us are eager to celebrate the New Year's Eve and welcome 2014 for a fresh start, I would like to take a moment and look back at 2013. I don't usually do this looking back thing, remembering and analyzing all that happened, but this year it all felt natural to me.

However this past days have been to you and whatever has happened, there must be a couple of things you feel good, content or proud about. While I am aware that many people have faced terrible things, loss, pain, insecurity and I am thankful that my year was good in comparison to this, there were many times I felt like I didn't do enough, like I did not accomplish all the great plans I had.

So to banish those thoughts forever and intrigue you do the same to feel inspired, thankful and proud of your year, here is my list of the small and big things worth celebrating about 2013:

• I spent more time being aware of myself, my needs, what appeals to me and what makes me feel uneasy. This is a big deal for me, as I spent many years not paying attention to my inner voice, but assuming different stuff and forcing myself into liking them. 
• This year was the first time in my life I made a long time effort into eating healthier and cooking at home. And the credit to this goes to all the wonderful blogs and people inspiring me out there, pushing me to make new dishes and never forget to look for balance in every plate.
• There were many occasions when I thought about people in need, I felt compassion for others and connected to strangers in so many ways.
• I put more effort into cleaning my space and keeping it organized. And this happened by putting unnecessary things back into closets, removing things I don't like and keeping favorite objects as decorations.
• November and December are my favorite months of the year and I actually enjoyed them a lot, despite all the stress I felt for so many unimportant issues. I actually decorated the whole house pretty early and enjoyed all the twinkling lights and trees I trimmed.
• While this is still pretty much a work in progress, big effort was made in the shopping department. I got a couple of things I shouldn't have, mostly the first half of the year, but generally it went well. I also took the leap into adulthood and bought staple items for a higher price than usual, which means a few good items I have been wearing on rotation and less junk.
• Surprisingly I didn't spend a lot on gifts and entertainment this holidays season. I sure did, but not more than other years and not in the point to put myself in debt.
• I threw my credit card than allowed me to buy without having money by paying later. Now I can only shop for what I can pay.
• My second master in Applied Design came to an end, with an intense and wonderful project, Inspirim (an alternative magazine). I had so much fun with it (along with 6 months of work that left me exhausted for good). But I am proud of myself for being the first one to graduate for the second time on a row at my university and being called their lucky one ;)
• I closed business deals and fixed many mistakes as part of one of my jobs. I went through a new certification with success and met new people. Constant learning is what I love doing and keeps things interesting without risking being bored.
• I tried a lot to appreciate the most important things in life, like health and family. On January I am ready for a general check up and several other tests (because being a night owl and doing everything on a laptop pays off - in a negative way to your eyes).
• All in all I was more organized this year. While it's bad for my memory because I cannot rely on it because I have my phone and notebooks for everything, at least I can get a bit less stressed when I know I have everything written down and I don't risk forgetting something.
• This blog was not at its best during 2013. Actually I took a long break and I felt so bad to not have time to execute the ideas I had. But I have so many interesting topics piled up for next year and hopefully I will be having a more organized schedule and an editorial calendar (I feel so fancy by writing this). We'll see how it goes.
• I traveled 4 times, once being a new country. Actually I wish I had traveled more and this is a goal for next year. I also took the time to organize my traveling memories by places and dates.
• Social media strategy this year meant one thing for me : Instagram. I can't say I'm addicted but I was active both in my personal life and blog through it.

Go on and list your reasons to celebrate this year. Feel free to share them in the comments too.

Cheers to 2013!

| Love, Lisa |