Every month I look back at the things I learned, loved, and lived through. I also look forward to the next month. Since today is the last day of the year, I will be looking back at 2015, and tomorrow, on January 1, I will look forward to 2016. Can you believe we start a new year tomorrow?
LEARNED
My One Word for 2015 is Freedom. The greatest lesson I learned about freedom is that I already have it. I only need to walk into it and live in it. If ever I feel fettered, it’s because I refuse to let go of the shackles I picked up. If ever I feel like I’m being held back, it’s because I keep sitting on the bench when I’m free to get up and join the game. Freedom is already mine, and it is already yours. There are people whose freedoms have truly been taken away. We have the power to be their voice. Freedom was also my 31 Days series topic.
I learned that Social Psychology research found that our brains remember negative events and experiences better or in greater detail than positive events. It takes 5 positive events or experiences to cancel out 1 negative event or experience, which is why it can be hard to bounce back from a bad moment.
LOVED
I visited Washington D.C. and loved it. I loved visiting Smithsonian museums and national monuments. I loved learning the history and feeling connected to this country. While there, though, I also saw the poverty and people in need right in the heart of the US capital.
I did my first ever giveaway. Gifts are my love language (both in showing and feeling loved) so I loved giving away a copy of Emily P. Freeman’s Simply Tuesday.
Family from the Philippines is here on vacation, love it! I went with them to Disneyland and I stayed there an extra day with my brother for his 18th birthday. And that’s how my Instagram feed ended up with a lot of food pictures. Follow me @annaangelars.
I went through an obsession phase of getting rid of stuff. I gave away a bunch of clothes and makeup. I actually sold a dress on Vinted (yay!). I’m still on a get-rid-of-it kick. I haven’t tackled my accessories so they’re next. I love creating actual space in my tiny space, but now I have to stop myself from filling up the space.
LIVED THROUGH
In 2015, I turned 30. Here are 20 things I learned in my 20s.
I released my first ebook “Faith Infused Life: a 31-Day Devotional” that you can get for free for subscribing to this site.
This was my most popular post in 2015, but these are my favorites: when God and Emily ganged up on me, when I used video, and when I talked about dating lies.
Our children’s ministry transitioned into a family ministry. I went to my first Orange Tour conference and adored it! I received these:
Books I read: Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman, The Fringe Hours by Jessica N. Turner, Do Over by Jon Acuff, So Shines the Night by Tracy Higley, The Orange Leader Handbook by Reggie Joiner, and 642 Things to Write About by the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto (which isn’t a read-it-kind of book, but it still counts in my opinion. I’m currently reading a few books. Next year, my goal is to have a longer list of books I read.
And I opened my online store, Homemade Homebody!
What about you? What were your highlights from this past year?
