Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Most Memorable Moments of 2014

I seriously can't believe that we're going to be saying goodbye to 2014 tomorrow night. It seems like we were just ringing in 2014 a few weeks ago. Where did the time go?! Today Brett and I are venturing down to New Jersey to spend New Year's with my good friends Jeff and Noble. We haven't seen them since August 2013, so we thought it was definitely time for a visit, and what better time to visit loved ones than the holidays! But, before we pack up the car and go, I thought I'd reflect on this past year.

Last December I wrapped up the year by reflecting on what I considered to be the most memorable moments of 2013. This year, I'm going to bid adieu to 2014 in the same fashion!

As I explained last year, the moments I'm reflecting upon aren't necessarily things that I'll look back on and smile, but they are definitely things that I will remember in the years to come. Here are the things I'm definitely going to remember, month by month, about 2014!

January
Brett starts his new job/Getting back into vlogging
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Also picked up my new glasses the day Brett started his new job!

The beginning of the year came with a new job for Brett, and because it was relatively far away from where we lived, meant he had to move out of my apartment. This definitely caused a bit of adapting in our relationship, and it was pretty hard at first, but we have certainly grown much more because of it. Nearly a year later, I'm about to end my time of needing to stay in south eastern Massachusetts, and we will be looking into moving back in together as soon as possible!

I also allowed myself to get back into my vlogging hobby at the beginning of 2014. Vlogging is something that can be hard to do, as it's really putting yourself out there. It's one thing to sit and type behind the protection of a keyboard, but when you're vlogging you're putting you face to your opinions which can be pretty scary. However, I've really been enjoying myself this year, and Brett has even warmed up to having the camera around!

February
Valentine's Day with Brett/NACA Nationals
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Conference Starter Kit: Name badge, guide book, coffee.

Brett and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day together, consisting of pizza, Cadbury Cream Eggs, and movies. Our favorite date night is one where we get to be lazy, as we don't get to do that too often in our daily lives.

I also had the chance to attend the NACA National Convention in Boston with a handful of students for a few days. That was my very first national convention, and while it had thousands of people in attendance, it actually wasn't that bad! (I'm not a huge fan of crowds for those who weren't aware.) I think it was the perfect introduction to national conventions, as I would be attending another one the very next month!

March
Flying to Indianapolis for ACPA National Convention
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#Selfie with Indy!

At the end of March, Janine, Brittany, and I all flew to the great state of Indiana to attend the ACPA National Convention! I had never been to Indy before, so it was really cool to explore a new city as well as experience my first conference that encompasses the whole field of student affairs instead of just one functional area like NACA. We had a blast and I hope to attend another ACPA soon!

April
BSU Springfest
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After our final Springfest event!


Basically the entire spring semester is dedicated to prepping for BSU's campus wide event known as Springfest. It's one of the biggest events PC puts on throughout the year, and in April, it all came together and went off without a hitch! It was so cool to see the event that everyone had been talking about all year, and really made me feel like a part of the BSU culture. I'm excited to see it all happen again this upcoming spring!

May
Completing my first year of graduate school/Turning 24/Adopting Cosmo/Quadcopter fun
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Midnight birthday cake surprise!

With May came the end of my first full year of graduate school! My birthday tends to line up with the end of the school year in higher ed. land, so it's always a great way to celebrate the end of the year as well. We had lots of friends over for a birthday party, playing Heads Up and other fun games, and ending with a surprise birthday cake from Brett when the clock struck midnight on May 11th!

Brett and I also ventured up to New Hampshire for Memorial Day weekend, a much needed escape from real life before the craziness of Orientation began in June. We watched Mad Men, ate more birthday cake, and flew my dad's Quadcopter, which inevitably wound up with us (me) roofing it. We also brought our new fish buddy Cosmo along for the ride, one of many throughout the summer!

June
BSU Orientation
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End-of-sessions banquet!

My whole life was Orientation at BSU during the month of June, and while it might usually stink having to work the entire first month of summer, I LOVED working for this Orientation program! I had a wonderful time with the Professional Staff and made some deeper connections with them, bonded with students that I wouldn't typically work with in my daily role as a GA in OSIL, and laughed so much each and every day, despite how tired I was. (Being exhausted would alo explain why I was laughing so much...) Going through this program reminded me why I loved Orientation so much as an OL, and gives me another option professionally when I'm searching for jobs this spring. I'm extremely jealous of the grad interns that get to be a part of this program for years to come!

July
Bringing Danny to NH/Brett's Spider Bite/Cape Cod
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Uncle/nephew bonding!

I had about 3 weeks in July that I was actually off from work, so Brett and I did a lot of travelling! We took his nephew, Danny, up to my parents' house, which was a blast for everyone! We took him tubing, to the town fair, and we even cooked some s'mores! We also got to go up to Ossipee to Brett's family camp site, and hung out on the lake there as well. The only downside of this weekend is when Brett got a large spider bite on his leg. It actually caused Brett to get pretty sick and we eventually took him to the Doctor to get it checked out. He got put on antibiotics and it all cleared up, but it was scary for a second!

We also were invited out to a friend's Cape house for a few days in July as well. It was so much fun just relaxing, eating tons of delicious meals, and hitting the beach. We're definitely going to make an effort to get out there again next summer!

August
Creativity in Counseling/Family trip to Maine/Watching football practices
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Fireside chats with the fam.

On August 1st I finished up my summer course, Creativity in Counseling. Though it was just an elective, I really feel like I got the most out of this class in comparison to every other counseling course I've taken so far in my program. The professor who taught this class did so in such an impactful way that I still remember exact words that she used when explaining counseling technique, and I really believe I will remember it in the years to come.I'm really happy I took the leap and signed up for this course!

My sister also came home to NH that weekend, which meant a family trip to Maine! We went up to my Aunt and Uncle's camp site on Cold Stream Lake and spent the weekend tubing, chatting by the fire, and playing with the 9 dogs that were in attendance.

With August came the beginning of football camp for Brett, so when I visited him this month I spent a lot of time in the bleachers watching him coach his players. I don't think I ever have truly seen him in his professional element like that, so it was really awesome to see him do what he's best at!

September
Starting at Clark/Getting wisdom teeth removed
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Arriving to Clark on my first day!

The beginning of the fall semester kicked off with the beginning of my graduate internship at Clark University! It's always a bit difficult to adapt to a new environment at first, but the people in the office have been so supportive and helpful that the transition was quite easy. I never thought I'd be working at three very different institutions at once, but it's been a very cool experience!

I also FINALLY got my wisdom teeth removed in September. It was an interesting recovery process for me. It seemed like I was totally fine the few days after the surgery, but as the week progressed, I was in more and more pain, to the point where one night we were seriously considering going to the emergency room. Thankfully, that didn't have to happen, but it was scary. Props to Brett and my parents for being there for me during the worst pain I've experienced... hopefully that never happens again!

October
Finishing my second marathon/Reverse Trick-or-Treat/NACA Regionals
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With the Bears at the closing dinner at NACA Northeast!

In October I completed the New Hampshire Marathon - my second full marathon! My parents were there to cheer me on at the finish line which was awesome, and so nice of them because I do not run that distance very fast whatsoever. I'm definitely looking forward to my next marathon, whenever that may be!

Some of the ResLife staff did this awesome program known as Reverse Trick-or-Treat, where we knocked on the doors of our residents and gave THEM candy. It's something that I've always wanted to do and I was so happy we were able to do it as a staff. Such a fun way to celebrate my favorite holiday of the year!

October also brought the NACA Northeast Regional Conference. It was great to have the opportunity to attend this conference again, as last year I didn't really know what to expect our how to make the best out of what was offered to me. This year I presented an educational session, participated on an awards committee, all while supervising our delegation of 11 students. I also felt much closer to my students this year than I did last year (last year I was still getting to know everyone!) so that made for tons more fun with them!

November

Deep Fried Everything/Silly String 5K
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Pups getting to play on Thanksgiving!


In November I put on my favorite program that I've ever done - DEEP FRIED EVERYTHING. I did this program in early 2013 as well and it was a big hit, so I decided to do it again. My residents loved it and I had such a fun time with my CAs that helped me out with it. Awesome staff and resident bonding night! I will definitely be doing this again... multiple times!

This year I was able to participate in the 5K that my family "hosts" at my Grammy's house on Thanksgiving - the Silly String 5K! It was fun to see my whole family participating in something that I really enjoy, including my youngest cousin who often gets left out of things because he's a few years younger than everyone else! I also got to run with Kiwi, and make a new friend, which is always a bonus!

December
Two-year anniversary/Christmas
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Brett's anniversary gift to me!

As usual, December has been the perfect end to a great year! Brett and I celebrated two years together, I finished up my third semester of graduate school, and I got to spend the Christmas holiday with both my family, Brett's family, and even Brett - something we had yet to do in the three Christmases we've been together! This month has been full of smiles and time with the people I care about, and I'm really looking forward to sending the year off with Brett and two of my really great friends!

2014 has been another wonderful year in the books. 2015 is going to bring a lot of new, exciting, and sometimes scary changes to my life, but I can't wait to see where I'm going to be this time next year!


Happy New Year, everyone!
Share some of your favorite moments of the year
or link me to your 2014 wrap-up post in the comments below!

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