Ep. 9: 2023 highlights
The last episode of the 2023 December series!
A round of applause for this actually happening. I remember in November I was like “I want to do something special on the blog since Christmas is my favorite holiday; I want to do something memorable.” For days, I was clueless on exactly what I even meant by this. Did I have ideas? yes. Did I know what to do with them? not yet. The good news is that the ‘not yet’ became a ‘yes’ just in time for December. I asked God for help while crafting this December series. This is where the prompts came from: Describe your ideal Christmas/What would be your Ideal Christmas Gift be/What was your lesson of the year? These admittedly brilliant prompts got people thinking on what seemed like easy questions, but in reality were really thought provoking. The bi-weekly posts that came at random times of the selected days were targets I told myself I had to reach and here we are, ticking the last box of the target list!
My lessons of the year:
Every mistake is a lesson, don’t fret.
If it wasn’t supposed to happen, it wouldn’t.
Do life at your own pace.
Accept what makes you comfortable and uncomfortable.
I feel like every blog post outside of the December series was me telling life lessons I learned throughout the year but those four above are the ones I didn’t outrightly state. A lesson of the year summarizes what you went through this year; which is why they were some of the longest posts in the series.
Highlight of the year #1: Peru.
I’ve been fluent in Spanish for over three years now and it wasn’t until this year that I traveled to a Spanish-speaking country. I literally scoured Google Maps in the fall of 2022, looking for where to go for the 2023 Spring Break. I was determined to do something different and the only limit I set for myself was the time zone. I knew I was heading back to school right after the trip so couldn’t take any super long-distance flights; which then led to my focus on the Americas. New York still forced me to put on a jacket in spring so I knew the destination had to be sunny. Shortly after deliberating, I decided on Peru, and it was absolutely worth it. By the way, when the airport is fairly far away from your hotel, know you’re certain to have a great vacation. Every meal I had in that country was exceptional. 0 complaints. The people I met were just as incredible, the hospitality, the architecture, the beach, the walks, bike rides - I loved it all so much. If you get a chance to go (maybe in 2024), don't hesitate!
Highlight of the year #2: Mapping out what I want my style to be like.
I never really talk about fashion on this blog- I never talk about it here at all! my friends and I talk about it a little too often and I personally think it’s fun to showcase your creativity or master of colors/textures through clothing. I won’t quite define what style means to me just yet, but I think I have bits of it figured out as I’ve gotten older, which is fun. Who knows, maybe some style blogs next year?
Highlight of the year #3: Figuring out what 2023 would look like for this blog.
If you’ve been reading theotherdreamer for some time, you would know that the underlying message is positivity but the moodboard each year is different. 2020 was more of self-care because of COVID, 2021 (which, fun fact, was my most active year on the blog so far) was a combination of wellness, music, photography, and.. philosophical ideas? 2022 was about being present; and 2023…? 2023’s overarching themes were hope and understanding the multidimensionality about everything through life lessons I picked up throughout the year. I also introduced my photography page this year!
Lastly, the most viewed posts on the blog in 2023:
Thank you.
In all, it was a very good year, very grateful for all it entailed, including writing for all of you. I hope 2024 will be even better for all of us!
Until the 2024 ones
-C
