Welcome to Year of Steph!

Snapshot of the Financial District in New York while in a taxi heading to Brooklyn on the Manhattan Bridge. #NewYorkThings

On my 24th birthday, I decided this year was going to be my year. I had made it to my mid-twenties and I wanted to make the most of it. While I sit here six months into "my year" (and on my half birthday!), I wanted to take time to reflect on what I've accomplished.

1. I traveled out of the United States for the first time ever! 
Ok, so it was to Montreal, Canada but it was still exciting and quite the culture shock. I didn't realize how prominent French was in Montreal. Thankfully my travel partner and good friend, Lisette, is fairly fluent in French, which helped navigation a lot. It also prepared me for...

2. My first trip to Europe (and I did it solo.)

Every year my company flies us out to London for a global gathering and I decided to tack on a trip to Paris because I've always wanted to go. I ended up spending half of my time at Disneyland Paris (I'm a huge Disney fan!) and half in the city. Traveling alone taught me so much about my sense of survival, how strong I am and how important independence is to me. It was honestly one of the most challenging things I've ever done in my life, especially because I don't speak French. So...

3. I started French lessons!

Of course I did this after traveling to France, but I fell in love with the city and the people and want to live in Paris one day. I found a school in DC dedicated to teaching French and signed up. I'm almost done with the first level of class and can't wait to start the next level. 

4. Traveling to New York for work and finding inspiration

This is totally cliche but between traveling to Montreal, Paris, London and New York, I've completely fallen in love with all of the different elements of each city. New York was especially inspiring because I was there for work. I was able to re-invigorate my love for my work while in a city that is so full of life and energy. I ended up going to a tarot card reader after winning a reading from a work competition and she mentioned the next 12 months will be full of travel and changes. 

What have you accomplished so far this year? What are you plans for the rest of 2017?

xx.

Steph