Dear 2016

You were a really tough one. You put a lot of really difficult situations in my path, and you were filled with hard recognitions of who should have really meant the most to me, but you also gave me so many opportunities. I had the chance to meet new people, make new friends, begin to truly learn how important it is to look after myself. You drew me closer to my family, and my faith, and you made me appreciate the good times so much more.  You helped me strive to chase my dreams, and you sparked immense amounts of inspiration in my heart. You helped me understand how a simple face to face conversation could turn your week around, and you helped me grasp a better concept of what true joy means. 2016, you taught me a lot dear friend, but 2017...I cannot express how thankful I am that you're here. In honor of the new year, I decided the best way to kick it off is by choosing my word. 

Since I was in junior high, I had the opportunity to participate in our local churches girl’s bible study, and when every New Year rolls around, we each get to choose our “word”. This concept to me seemed so simple at the time, but after my 5^th year of choosing my word has rolled around, I began to truly understand the importance of this tradition. I suppose I should explain what “choosing your word” really means…

Each year, instead of setting a New Year’s resolution, we each chose one word-any word, that would represent what we want to do in the oncoming year. Whether its something as general as “grow”, or something more specific such as “happy”, it can be whatever you want to accomplish that year. This year I decided that I wanted to a word that represented several goals of mine. In the year 2017, I will have to not only make a decision on what my future job will be, but I will also have to applying for endless amounts of scholarships. Not only do I want to complete that, but I also want to put 10x more effort into my photography than I did this year. I want to work for the things I want, so that was when I decided my word for 2017 would be…

Pursue.

I WILL pursue photography.

I WILL pursue my future.

I WILL pursue my goals.

I WILL pursue the best memories.

I WILL pursue happiness.

I WILL pursue to be a more devoted Christian.

I WILL pursue self-love.

I WILL pursue MY 2017.

Easy Christmas Gift Ideas

The lights are twinkling, the hot cocoa is steaming, and the soft sounds of Christmas music are coming from the radio, and once again you aren’t taking any of it in, because if you are anything like me, the holiday season can seem horribly stressful. The pressure is on to not only get gifts that people will love, but to somehow find time to buy the perfect gift for EVERYONE. Over the years I have had my fair share of “white-elephant_ gift exchanges, but there always comes a time when you have to actually buy a REAL gift. YIKES.

This year (after stressing out for several weeks) I came to the conclusion that I should only give gifts that I would want to receive. Whether it’s something simple, or something personal to specific person. After searching Pinterest for hours, I realized that maybe I should put up my own ideas for quick and easy Christmas gifts, so that you won’t have to stress out nearly as much as I did!

My first gift idea is to buy something SEASONAL from Bath and Body Works. All of their Christmas smells are AMAZING, and I have yet to find one that I haven’t loved. They have great deals around Christmas time, so it is also very inexpensive! This year I decided to get some of their smaller products, and to distribute them as “bits and pieces” of all of my friend’s gifts!

My second gift idea is something so easy, but so meaningful as well. I bought this mug at Michael’s for $5, and simply cut out small pieces of paper and wrote either memories, or things I loved about my friend, and filled the mug with the slips of paper! These are some of my favorite presents to receive at Christmas time, because I know how much thought they put into the gift, and it’s also so fun to think back on fun memories that you had together!

My third gift idea was to put together a “Christmas Cheer Box” for one of your friends. The JOY box is also from Michael’s ($10), and on the inside of the box I filled it with things that would work as not only Christmas décor, but also a few things they could use year around! Inside this box I put the “Memory Mug”, an adorable ornament (Michael’s-$5) and a picture frame. ($5) I was also able to find a bag of cheap ornaments, and filled the inside of the box with it! Overall, the gift was around $30, but I think it was well worth it, and turned out super cute! Some other “filler” ideas are wire twinkle lights, hot chocolate, fuzzy socks, or even some jewelry!

I hope these few ideas helped you get inspiration for your Christmas gifts this year, but just remember anything that you give this season is more than enough, it’s all in the effort that you put into it! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season, and I hope you all are enjoying the cold weather! ❄️