Hey again lovelies! Last year I really enjoyed doing a post about My 2016 and loved being able to reflect on the year that I had, so I am going to do it again with my 2017 – which was definitely a roller coaster. Plus, what better way to start 2018 than reflecting on this past year.
January was relatively uneventful for me, the boy I had been dating at Christmas time was gone home (a foreign exchange student that I wrote about here) and all my friends went back to school so I was generally unpleasant to be around. However, my friend who lives in Britain came back for another semester so it was wonderful to spend more time with him. We are still friends actually, and talk regularly, he came back to visit in September which I will talk about more in a sec.
February was pretty awful, I was quite sick and was on antibiotics twice within a three week span (double ear and eye infection, and then strep). I hadn’t been on antibiotics since I was a kid so that was an experience. March was much better though, my baby brother turned two (!) and I had the pleasure of attending a gala for a girl I went to high school with to raise money for her various cancer treatments. My best friend came as my date and I was so glad that I was able to give my support even though me and the girl never talked much in high school. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know her that well, I still wanted to help out by buying my ticket and then buying raffle tickets etc. at the gala. It was nice to help out and it was a lovely evening.
In April I officially finished my second year of university and was accepted for an amazing position at my university. I had applied and interviewed for a job with one of the professors of the English department (which is my field of study) at my university and I got the position! It was such a good opportunity for me and it was a full time position that provided me with such incredible experience. If I recall correctly I celebrated by going out with my friend to get manicures.
May 1st I started my new job at the university, I was so super nervous but my two coworkers were incredible and so helpful and my boss was absolutely amazing. The position was 9-5 Monday to Friday until the end of August, but that was by my choosing because the hours were incredibly flexible. As long as I fulfilled a certain number of hours by the end of the summer I was free to make my own hours – which I definitely did. Also in May…I turned 20! I officially became 2 decades old and I celebrated by going out to a club with two of my bestest friends before my birthday, having cupcakes at work and leaving early on my birthday, and then going out to camp for the may long weekend after my birthday. I felt so so so loved.
In June my little sister, my friend and I all went to see Little Ray’s Reptiles like we did last summer and that is always a fun experience, my sister will hold/touch anything she is allowed, last year it was a scorpion! This year I convinced her to hold a tarantula which freaked me right out. Also in June my family and I went for a little day trip to a city 3 hours away from us to do some shopping, visit my dad who was working there at the time, and for me to visit a few of my friends. We only stayed for one night but we did a lot of shopping and we took my friend out for dinner like we always do when we are in town. I also went for a little Tim Hortons date with the boy I was talking to at the time (will talk about him more in a moment – he was the one who took me on my best date) and went out to a few bars with my friend that evening. It was such a fun little weekend away!
July was probably the most eventful month out of my whole summer, which overall wasn’t too eventful anyways (my summer I mean) since I worked in an office and also acted as cleaning staff at my camp all summer. For Canada Day my family and I were out at camp, but for the Fourth of July I took my sister and two of her friends out for iced cream, the park, and then to sit and watch the fireworks. It was so cute to see how excited they were about the fireworks. It wasn’t very long after this outing (maybe a week or something like that) that I had my best date ever…like seriously, ever. I could probably go on for paragraphs about this, but instead I will just direct your attention to the link I gave you and hope you go take a look.
Also in July I got my first ever car!!! A little 2002 Toyota Echo, I named her Hildy and I was and still am over the moon. It is still so awesome to be able to go where I want, whenever I want without having to ask to borrow my moms car, or ask for a ride, or try and figure out transportation to and from places like work. That is definitely not something I take for granted. It is so good on gas too, but mostly I love it because its mine and it gives me more freedom which sometimes I so crave.
August was a lovely wind down to the summer: we were visited at camp by some family friends who we hadn’t seen since the previous summer, I attended a lovely white dress party hosted by a friend I went to high school with, and my best friend (whom I have known since I was 3) finally came home from her 10 month volunteer exchange in Thailand! It was so lovely to finally see her in real life and not just through our snapchat conversations while she was away. Also in August, I was offered the opportunity to keep my summer position at the university, part-time, for my entire third year of university on a contract! Obviously I was ecstatic and accepted because I love my job. I still do love my job and I probably will until I have to stop doing it.
In September I started my third year of university – which is absolutely crazy to me because that means next year (like 2019) I graduate. Not too much on that because that will just stress me out haha. So I started back to school which was nothing too eventful, until my friend from Britain who I mentioned earlier, came back to visit for a week! It was so fun, we went out for breakfast like we used to all the time when he was studying here, and we visited a corn maze at a little farm in my town. This was all during a massive heat wave so it didn’t feel very autumnal doing a corn maze in shorts whilst sweating, but whatever. My sissy also turned 12 in September! Seriously cannot believe she is that big already.
October was a very cozy month, I spent a lot of time with family at camp on Thanksgiving and also at home on my reading week. My nephew had his first birthday in October as well and it was such a blessing that I was able to be there for that, especially since I have known his momma since I was in elementary school. October was also Halloween, which meant numerous opportunities to dress up. I went as a butterfly for my brother’s trick or treating party and I went as a football player to my school pub. I also started dating again in October which has proved to be fruitful as I am still going on dates with the same person (who is very lovely by the way).
In November I started to feel super festive and began getting into the Christmas spirit, even though I had like 300 papers to write for school. Literally like 3 days after Remembrance day my shared office at work was decorated and not long after that we had both (that’s right we have two) Christmas trees set up in my home. This month there was also the Christmas tree festival and various other festive things going on in my city to kick off the Christmas season, and I tried to take part in as much of it as possible whilst still drowning in homework.
Finally, December – this month started with a freakin’ bang let me tell you, because December 2nd was the 12 barz pub crawl that my friend decided we had to be a part of. I will admit I was skeptical, but I did really enjoy myself it turned out. I finished classes and final projects really early because I had no exams this semester which was the best thing that possibly could have ever happened to me in my life, so I was able to really enjoy all the festive things that my family was doing all month. As well, my office and the rest of the staff in the library where my office is located got into the festive spirit too and we all went out for a lovely holiday lunch. The same day as the lunch, my office did a secret santa gift exchange – the whole day was such a nice last day of work before the new year.
December is always such a happy month for me because I finally get to take a break from school and spend time with my family and friends. I got to visit friends from out of town, and ones who go away for school which is always nice. Then on Christmas Eve my whole family gets together at my great-grandparents house for dinner and presents. We have been doing that ever since I can remember and I always feel so blessed and so grateful to have a family that loves me that I can make these memories with. I think it is because of this tradition that Christmas has always been so special to me.
Finally, it was time to say goodbye to 2017 and while usually I spend New Years Eve with friends, this year I felt like a homebody and really just wanted to spend time with my family. So instead of going out, I stayed in and watched a movie with my parents and my sister, and I said hello to 2018 hugging my little family.
So now, I just want to take a second to thank everyone who made my 2017 the crazy amazing year it was. I want to thank the friends that I made this year for choosing to be a part of my life, and also the friends that I lost this year, for reminding me that nothing in life is ever guaranteed and sometimes, I am better off on my own. Also to the friends that have stuck by for as long as I can remember, it does not go unnoticed and I have so much love in my heart for you all. Thank you also to my boss and coworkers for making me happy to go to work. Most importantly though, thank you to my family for your never-ending support and encouragement. If it weren’t for all of you I would never have made it to where I am today.
As I welcome in 2018, I also want to thank all of you for your continued support surrounding what I write. I can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store for me, but I hope it is filled with blessings – and I hope that yours is too.
Love always,
Hailey
Hailey 