As we enter that awkward week between the end of Christmas and New Year's Eve, we gain time to reflect upon our past year. By the end of every year, we all joke about how the previous time kicked our asses. There are even tons of memes out there to make fun of it.

While we prepare ourselves for this new year, we make goals for what we can do better based upon the term we recently underwent. We make "New Year’s resolutions" to try to help us accomplish our goals. Instead of taking this time to look to the future of 2017, I like to reminisce on all the amazing or not so great experiences I had the opportunity to encounter in 2016. 

I woke up on New Year’s Day in my apartment on south campus and laughed at all the pictures I took the previous night with my roommates, best friends, and boyfriend at the time. I spent the rest of the day with my family celebrating the start of 2016.  

Later that month, I began training for my new job at Sykes Student Union, where I still work today. I knew two employees already that worked there because I grew up with them! I loved beginning this job because I was able to reconnect with old friends and make plenty of new ones.

Another highlight was that we had a crazy snowstorm at the beginning of the semester! They canceled half a week of classes because of the storm and I was snowed in on south. My friends and I sledded down the road, made snowmen, and ordered Chinese food (because they were the only places that would deliver in a storm). It felt like we were kids again!

In February, I competed in my first ever pageant, Miss West Chester University. I used to perform all the time in high school with musicals and glee club but, in college, I drifted away from being on the stage and I missed it. I decided to get back up there and compete against 15 other women for the crown. I wasn’t expecting to win or anything, being that it was my first pageant and all, so I went in there with a fun and open minded attitude. It was one of the best experiences ever! I met so many incredible women, those who were contestants and former winners, who inspired me to be confident and feel beautiful in my own skin. It was great performing on a stage and hearing the crowd again.

 

Also in that month, I celebrated a three-year anniversary with my high school boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. We were on and off since entering college but were very strong during this time of our relationship. Seven months later, our relationship ended up falling apart, but I'll forever relish the memories from the three and a half years we had. Later that week, my sister and I tried out for “The Voice!” We didn’t make it to the next round (lol) but it was really fun to do. This was our second time trying out.

March was less eventful except for celebrating my favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day and singing in our town’s annual parade with my family. I also discovered face-swapping on Snapchat at this time. Terrifying…..

April was exciting af! I experienced my first Banana Day since I transferred to WCU and had no idea what that was before. My baby cousin turned one, I experienced a Donald Trump rally (because unlike what we suspected in 2015, he wasn’t kidding), and I reconnected with an old friend from Nigeria who I had met my junior year of high school. Oh, and the best part, I turned 21!!! My birthday was on the Wednesday before finals week, but I still made the most of it. Wednesday through Saturday was lit and I’m pretty sure my roommate had to put me in my pj’s one night (sorry mom). But I still made it to class the next day!

May and June were the least exciting of my year. After finals, I devoted these months to waitressing at Molly Maguire’s Pub in my hometown to save up money for my trip to Ireland! Oh, and my dad retired at 53 years-old. But, Ireland!!!

On July 6th, I departed with 14 other students to take a media class in Ireland. Being insanely Irish (I mean, Bridget McFadden, like c’mon) this was a dream come true for me. I traveled all around the country starting in Limerick. From there, we went to Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, had a medieval dinner at Bunratty Castle (with endless wine), and saw a zillion museums. After a few days in Limerick, we traveled to Dublin where we stayed the remainder of the trip. While staying in Dublin, we traveled all around the city and more! Our first day we did a Dublin food tour ending with learning how to make Irish coffee. I also became certified to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and to taste test whiskey. We went all the way to Northern Ireland too on a “Game of Thrones” tour (even though I’ve never seen the show) and saw the 8th Wonder of the World, Giant’s Casueway. My favorite parts of the trip were making amazing friends that I still see around campus now, getting my first tattoo, and of course, the night my friend and I got kicked out of The Temple Bar for dancing on bar stools.

 

This was honestly the best experience I’ve ever had. Ireland has always been a dream of mine to visit and I finally had the opportunity to do it! I was lucky enough to stay an extra week because my family came over after the class ended. This was amazing sharing this time with them as well because we all appreciate our heritage so much and were so excited to learn more.

August came around and I prepared to go back to school, while taking one more vacation to Ocean City, Maryland. The next week, I returned to school to participate in training for my job at Sykes. This was actually a really fun time because, even though no one else was at West Chester yet, we hung out with each other and chilled at the WC bars after long sessions. Once school started, I moved in with the best roommates I could ask for who later would become my best friends.

Now, September was pretty crazy. I decided to go out for sorority recruitment as a senior. Joining a sorority was always something that I wanted to do but never actually went through. I transferred in my junior year and I wanted to get settled at the new school before anything but I finally decided to take the chance and go out for recruitment. I’m so happy I did because I met my best friends, gained an amazingly big, big, and twin, and found my home! 

October just brought so much more fun to this semester. I began enjoying the single life and started enjoying myself for the first time in a while. I went home to work the first few weekends of October because it gets crazy in Jim Thorpe in October. I discovered my love for Shawn Mendes this month. I also sang at my high school Spanish teacher/Glee Club advisor’s wedding. All the PA state schools went on strike the same week as Homecoming, so that week was pretty lit. And, I can never forget Halloweekend.

In November, I was finally initiated into Alpha Delta Pi! I also found out that I have a cousin who works in the student union with me when we traveled to Pittsburgh for a conference. I also tried to watch four Harry Potter movies in two days for Harry Potter trivia (I knew nothing).

Now for December... so far, this month consisted of many ugly sweater parties, family time, scavenger hunts, stress, Christmas songs/movies, and some confusion along the way. After finals week and the crazy semester, I’m just so happy to be home, finally relaxing. This was by far my busiest semester, yet I managed to keep my grades up somehow.

After writing out my year at a glance, I’m definitely ready to accept what 2017 has for me. Now, I’m not one of those basic girls that like to say, “new year, new me” but I’m honestly ready for new chapters to begin. I’m graduating after this semester and am still blind on what God has planned for my future. All I can say is that I am ready and excited for these new chapters!