My 2014 Reflection

As it's now the beginning of 2015, it's time to reflect on the good and bad of 2014. Instead of bombarding my blog with new years resolutions, I'm going to reflect on the positives and negatives of last year. 
***Side Note****
Often times, social media can make us think that people don't have bad times. For women, we think the girls we follow have perfect lives because they're gorgeous and get so much attention from their looks. Expensive clothes, fancy make up and professional photographers make us believe they live such better lives than us. WRONG. Social media shows the best of the best of everyone. I mean really, does anyone ever post a photo of themselves having a break down because of financial problems? Or the feeling of heartbreak from a troubled relationship or marriage? How about battling with self worth or self esteem. We all go through things yet, we don't post photos of our hardships because we don't want others to see us struggle. It's natural. 
But, if I've learned anything, it's that I can't judge myself and my life off other people's social media profiles. I don't need validation from Instagram to know that I live a great life. I don't need to see other people's struggles to know that they're there and I'm not alone. 
**End Side Note**
To start, I don't publicize my struggles for attention or for sympathy. Only to show that they happen and they're real. Often times, struggles lead to great accomplishments, and that's exactly what I experienced in 2014. 
I graduated from college in December but oh... there were constant struggles along the way. For starters, there were times I had less than $20 in my bank account. I would give myself $2 a day for food until I got my next paycheck and I would try to eat all the canned food from freshman year when my mom stocked me up. I literally would have cereal and canned green beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 
The last semester I spent in Logan, I lived with 9 girls. That was the HARDEST living situation I ever experienced. It was always a mess, my things would get trashed, it was so loud when I had to go to sleep early, the internet sucked and needless to say, the struggle was real. 
Along with early mornings and living with so many girls, I struggled with school. I took 24 credits and was constantly stressed out with the thought that if anything goes wrong, I'm stuck in Logan for another semester and can't graduate. I am a person that thinks a lot of "what ifs" and that never helps a stressful situation.
What's next.. 
Oh, yes. The Tahoe. 
Up until 6 months ago, for years I drove a 1995 Chevy Tahoe. It didn't have working air conditioning, it had 200,000+ miles, it took a pint of oil every hundred miles, the doors took every ounce of human strength to open, it felt like a thrill ride with the shaking while driving on the freeway, the back windows didn't roll down, the exhaust pipe had fallen off on me, the tires were bald and it was actually embarrassing to drive. (I know I mention the Tahoe in many of my posts.. but it was a rough time.) 
During the summer, I would sweat from every single inch of my body and get delirious from the heat. No amount of icy water would cool me down because it would melt instantly.  It was miserable. It may not seem like a big deal, but commuting down to Salt Lake to see family and my lover was the longest, hardest drive in the world. Even going five minutes away to work was miserable in 105 degrees. My clothes were completely sweaty and I would have to change upon my arrival no matter where I went. 
Enough about the bad times, although I could go on. I want to share with you some good times that came from the bad.
Because I put in the hard work and stress, I was able to graduate from college and be finished! The feeling of being finished with college is unlike any other. It's the greatest accomplishment in my life thus far. The feeling of putting in the work and finally being done is more than satisfying. All the stress and hard work eventually paid off with obtaining my degree. It turned into a blessing after all. 

One of my last nights on campus of Utah State University.

Because I lived with 9 girls and put up with them, I learned patience and got close to girls I wouldn't have met if I only lived with a few people. At first, I knew two of the girls well, and I was a bit skeptical of living with the other 8 girls that I didn't know. But many of them became my good friends! I bonded and became close with the girls that I had a hard time with at first. I even missed them when they moved out and when I left Logan. Although I didn't click with ALL of them, the great times and living with my best friends was worth it. 

My eight roommates and some random little girl from the park.

Because I drove the Tahoe for a few years longer than I wanted, I was able to afford to buy a newer nicer car. Now I have a wonderful Elantra that does the job. I think another reason I drove the Tahoe for so long was to learn humility. I learned to be humble and love what I have. I sometimes look back and think, "Oh, that wasn't so bad." Why was I embarrassed to drive the Tahoe? At least I had a car. I needed to learn a valuable lesson before I could move on and purchase a new car. 

My Elantra and the old Tahoe in the background.

So there you have it. A very brief reflection of 2014. This year I am taking risks to make 2015 my best year so far. I'll be sure to keep you in the loop so be sure to subscribe to my blog posts! You can do that by entering your email address and pressing submit in the right side bar!