2024 reflection
I’m stumped trying to write this silly little note to sum up 2024—something neat, profound, tied with a bow. But this year wasn’t neat, and neither is this post.
It was messy. I did some cool shit. I failed a bunch, too. Fell off course, hit detours, and had to figure out how to get back on track.
Ain’t that the art of living? Knowing when to speed up, when to slow down, when to sit in it, and when to get the hell out of there?
Anyway, here are a few scrappy notes I jotted on my phone this year—read as advice to myself.
Learnings
* Learn from journals new and old. And mushies
* Find your tribe. Eat mangoes with them
* Go on bike rides so long and hilly that you celebrate the flat bits
* Pay more attention to the way the wind flows through the trees
* Rest. Play often. Play hard. Then rest again
* Nature has seasons. Life has seasons. Work has seasons. Change with them
* Say “I love you” more often to friends. Even when it feels slightly uncomfortable. Because it’s true
* Travel thoughtfully—stay in places longer, tread lightly, learn the language, play soccer with the locals, share meals. (And stop flying so dang much, you climate contradiction)
* Take big leaps of faith, write about them later
* Consume less, create more
* Every time you make a decision—however small—you’re casting a vote for the person you want to be. Who do you wanna be?
Things I’m most proud of this year:
* Showing up for friends
* Riding a mountain bike across New Zealand and Vermont. And not throwing my bike off a cliff
* Walking away from a promising climate gig bc I didn’t feel valued
* Jumping in lots of cold water
* Testing massage therapy—and realizing I love writing too much to let it go
* Cultivating self-love and feeling at peace when I’m alone
What I’m excited for:
* Hiking Cotopaxi in Ecuador :)
* Continuing a creative writing project in the new year
* Seeing where I land when I’m back in the States this spring
I love a messy year. And big lessons learned the hard way. Happy trails, folks 🥭