Just like that...

It's nearly the end of the year! As always, I spend the end of the year reflecting on what I did over the last 12 months and what I want to do differently in the upcoming months.

2010 was GROWN UP. 2011 was CONSTANT. 2012 was FUN. 2013 was AMBITIOUS. I spent a lot of time reflecting about 2013. Were things around me changing, or was I changed? In Costa Rica I deemed 2013 the year of transformation, but in hindsight, that's not quite accurate. I think I am still figuring out who I am, and in doing so I took risks and created adventures for myself and challenged myself. I did things that I didn't think I'd ever do, and pushed myself to the limits, quite literally.

When I decided to apply to a top 25 part-time MBA program, everyone around me thought I was setting myself up to fail (although they didn't tell me at the time). Hell, I thought I was setting myself up to fail. And then I got in.

When I booked a trip to Costa Rica 8 days in advance, I thought I was absolutely mad. No one else knew how to deal with me and I was at my wit's end with a lot of things. I didn't know how to deal with everything happening around me. And then I spent 7 days with some of my now-favorite people in the world and it feels like it was the easiest thing I've ever done.

I pushed myself in (and out of) relationships, both personally and professionally. I forced myself out of my comfort zone. I worked harder this year than I ever have in my entire life both at work and at school and I am beyond proud of the things I have done, the people I have met, and the accomplishments under my belt. I was promoted to a new role, I was recognized at work with an award for excellence, I passed all my classes in my first semester of business school, I was elected social chair of my class...these are not easy things, and I certainly don't think I made them look easy (in fact I probably made all of them look infinitely harder), but it's just more examples of how I pushed, pushed, pushed without looking back. Or around, or forward, really.

Seems like 2014 has some big shoes to fill, but that's not the point. Believe it or not, pushing yourself to the limit is exhausting. It can be heartbreaking, disappointing, and plain old hard. It's also invigorating, inspiring, exciting. But it's time to slow down.

I would like 2014 to be INTENTIONAL. I'm not making resolutions, per se, but a few goals.

• Less time and effort into my love life: I will be spending zero time pursuing any dating opportunities between now and the end of March. I'm not going to say no if the opportunity arises, but I'm not going to seek it out.
• More time and effort into my physical well-being: I'm running a 1/2 marathon (!!) on March 23 and would like to finally do that triathlon I spoke of.
• Less time bebopping all over the world just because and more time with people that matter in places that matter: a long weekend in Atlanta with the Costa Rica girls, #kanda2014 in Croatia, debating between a shorter return trip to Iceland and a 2 week trip to China for school in August, at least 1 trip to San Fransisco, and a few stops in Dallas, Chicago, Boston and Miami to round out the year, and of course many a summer weekend at the lake.

It's never the new year without an actual resolution, though, so here it goes. My 2014 New Years Resolution is to make my bed daily. I have one other one, but I'm keeping it to myself for now :)