A couple weeks ago, some of my Philly friends and I went to New York for a day trip. I went to college in the Bronx, and a lot of my college friends still live in and around the city. For work, I also commuted from Philly to New York pretty frequently. So it had been a long time since I had gone to New York without any obligations — just to walk around and explore with friends.
The day was good for the soul. It’s always nice to have some quality, offline time with girlfriends. It also reminded me what I love about New York, and brought back a ton of memories from my early 20s.
It’s easy to feel sentimental and nostalgic at the end of the year, and even more so at the end of an entire decade. The 2010s also coincided with my 20s — I was 19 at the start of 2010, and I’ll be turning 30 in the fall. So much has happened over the last 10 years.
Taking cues from some of my blogger friends, I thought this was a good time to share an “anti-bucket list” — basically a look back at what I did accomplish over the last decade:
- Started this blog! (2010)
- Went on two Global Outreach trips (2011, 2013)
- Visited Italy & France with my family (2012)
- Graduated Fordham (2013)
- Moved to Philadelphia (2013)
- Adopted two dogs: Zamboni (2013) and Arya (2015)
- Was a bridesmaid for high school friends (2015, 2016)
- Switched jobs three times (at least)
- Visited my mom in Colombia (2015)
- Went to Canada and the PNW for the first time (2016)
- Visited my dad in Costa Rica (2017)
- Lived by myself for the first time (2017)
- Started therapy (2017)
- Helped plan the PHLblogger’s Blog Connect Conference (2017, 2018)
- Went to the Home Run Derby (2017)
- Fostered senior dogs (2017, 2018, 2019)
- Got my first tattoo (2018)
- Bought a house! (2018)
- Saw Dwyane Wade’s last game (2019)
- Did a reading at my friends’ wedding (2019)
It’s crazy to think about how much has changed, how much hasn’t and what stands out years later. Not every year was great — like, I’m sure cool stuff happened in 2014 (I just can’t remember what) and 2016 and 2017 were particularly hard years as well. The last decade had its share of highlights and lowlights, but I can confidently say I’m happier now than I was ten years ago. I’m grateful for that, for the lessons I’ve learned and friends I’ve gained along the way.
Cheers to a happy and healthy 2020!
~ Sarah