And it’s 2015! It’s blowing my mind that we’re already two days into a brand-new year. Usually by now, I’ve figured out my word for the year and have set my yearly goals, but I’ve done neither, so I’m feeling a bit unprepared for this year. But no matter – I will figure them out and I’m really excited about what awaits me in 2015. I believe it will be an exceptional year!
Today, I’m finishing up my “Best of 2015” posts with a look back on some of the blog posts I wrote this past year that I loved. It’s always been easier for me to open up, be vulnerable, and talk about how I’m feeling on my blog than I do in person, which is why I’m always so hesitant to talk about my blog to people in my real-life world. My blog is a piece of my heart, and I’m so thankful for those who have been along for the ride. I can’t wait to continue opening up throughout this next year. Blogging is therapy for me, so thank you for allowing me to share myself so freely.
Mushiness aside, here are some of my favorite posts from this past year:
1. My favorite post was On Being a Highly Sensitive Person. “I’ve always known that I’m super duper sensitive in terms of getting my feelings hurt too often and worrying too much about what people think of me. Criticism and sometimes even joking around at my expense is something I take personally. But someone with a highly sensitive nature is not just someone who is “too sensitive” and needs to “lighten up.” It goes much, much deeper than that. It’s actually a genetic trait!”
2. My most popular post (with over 1,200 views!) was On Being a Socially Anxious Introvert. “I wanted to be a star. I wanted to exude confidence and friendliness and openness. I wanted to be that girl who had no problem making friends, who could easily chat it up with a stranger on the street, who could enter new situations feeling curious and excited, not terrified and overwhelmed. And I hated, hated, hated that I was not that girl.”
3. My most helpful post was My Favorite Podcasts. “Podcasts are taking over my life! I can’t tell you how many times I say, “Oh, I heard about that on a podcast!” or “I was listening to a podcast and…” I listen to them when I’m getting ready, when I’m walking Dutch, when I’m exercising, when I’m driving, when I’m working, when I’m cooking, when I’m cleaning. They fulfill me.”
4. A post whose success surprised me was Unapologetic. “Everyone says you have to love yourself before you can love another, and I always thought that was a little cheesy and hokey. But maybe loving yourself isn’t so much about standing in front of the mirror and saying, “You are beautiful and funny and nice!” but about being unapologetically yourself.“
5. A post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved was My Very Best Job Searching Tips. “Job searching can be dreadfully mundane, heartbreaking, and exhilarating. Whether it’s submitting resume after resume after resume, losing out on a great job, or getting a good lead on your dream job, it’s a roller coaster ride, for sure.”
6. My most beautiful post was On Dating. “Dating can be really fun. And exciting. And thrilling. It can make you fall asleep with a silly smile on your face and wake up with that same silly smile plastered, just from the thought of talking to him again. It can give you those delicious butterflies you feel deep in the pit of your belly as your phone dings with a text or you’re walking up to meet him for a date.”
7. The post I was most scared to push publish on was On Frugal Living. “Being frugal is not very fun, it’s not very sexy, it’s not very exciting. It’s boring. It’s saying no to plans with friends and turning away from the cute clothes at Target during my toiletries run and choosing my boring home-cooked meals over delicious take-out.”
8. The post I am most proud of was One Year of Writing Professionally. “There are days where the writing comes easily, and I’m knocking pages off my to-do list left and right. And then there are days when it feels like I forgot how to put words together to form a sentence. Nothing works and it can take me upwards of an hour to write a single 250-word page. As someone who is pretty high-strung and anxiety-prone, I can get myself worked up over these days, worrying that I will never, ever be able to write again and why am I even here I am terrible at this why did they hire me oh my god what if I am fooling everyone?! It’s fun being in my brain sometimes. Good writing days happen. Bad writing days happen. It’s nothing to get in a tizzy about!”
You wrote some great posts this year for sure. Your job searching tips just reminded me that I need to spruce up my resume today, so thank you for that! 😀
I liked your job searching post! It’s something I’ve never really done and I found it helpful should I ever decide to leave my job to pursue something else.
I had to go back and re-read your podcast post now that I listen to them! It took me a long time to jump on the podcast bandwagon but I am so glad I finally did. I listen to them practically every day now and they make my walking commute so much more enjoyable and productive. 🙂
You definitely wrote some great posts this year. I feel like my posts this year were sort of lacking in content… I feel like 2013 was so emotional and I was so down and there was so much analysis… So 2014 was more ‘happy happy joy joy’ and not a lot of soul searching posts (plus the thing that has brought me the most strife and stress this year has been something I am afraid to talk about (work) since I never know who will find my blog…).
Isn’t it funny how sometimes we post something that we didn’t really think about that much and it’s a great hit with lots of comments … and then another post, that we thought about and planned out extensively, doesn’t get the attention you thought it would get?
WEIRD. I enjoy pretty much all of your posts though… you had some good topics this last year!