This time last year:
I was frantically trying to find a new phone to buy because I had just spilled coffee all over mine and it would no longer hold a charge. I desperately stressed myself out to get that new phone because I was about to venture up a mountain (alone) so I could meet up with and spend NYE with my latest crush (and what if I got lost or stuck or… something! I needed a way to communicate, just in case). On top of purchasing that brand new, recently released iPhone, the trip also cost me a new set of tire chains (legally required for the driving the road getting up the mountain) and a bruised heart (after all I had gone through to get up there safely, I barely even got an ‘at midnight kiss’ to ring in the new year).
Turns out: I lost cell reception right at the bottom of the mountain, all the way to the top and for the entire two days and nights I spent with a bunch of strangers. I didn’t end up using the non-refundable snow chains either.
Last year’s small series of events around this time did a pretty good job of properly depicting most of the year that happened before it.
It’s safe to say 2014 had been a bit of a chaotic mess.
2015 – was much different.
2015 was illuminating.
Every now and then, I scroll through my phone’s camera roll or my personal Instagram posts from the past 365 days. If I’m really bored, I take a trip down memory lane and click through a year’s worth of Facebook posts. Those, along with a year’s worth of memories which I’ve tucked safely within my heart, are bright and shiny and happy.
2015 was full of all sorts of spectacular and shining moments.
Like spending my birthday, running through the forest and across the suspension bridge, with a phenomenal friend who I adore so much. And chasing sunrises with some of the raddest people in this city. There was a weekend in Vegas with some of the best ladies I know (which included an out-of-this-world-sexy lap dance, all the free drinks, and a contact who I saved in my phone as “Vegas Husband Dave” *which I keep saved as a constant reason to laugh and smile about*). There was also an entire week in New York City with Mum – I can’t explain how simply lovely it was to spend some quality time in the most amazing city, with the most loved woman in my entire life.
This was the year I got to meet Keith Urban, and shake his hand, and hug him, and tell him I ‘love’ him. It was also the year I jumped out of a plane with an almost stranger – who actually turned out to be a wonderful human being and someone I’m glad to call a friend. This was the year of weddings, babies, and a whole handful of little, but significant moments, that radiate inside my heart and keep me glowing with happiness.
2015: the year I confidently took a picture in bikini and posted it on social media without any hesitation.
2015: the year I bravely stripped down to lacy lingerie for a photoshoot and had no-fear in sharing those with others.
—> WHOA.
2015 was the year I made old friendships better, built new friendships, and solidified a tribe of people who love like I do. With this entire squad on my side, I’ve pushed forward and upwards – smiling, dancing, laughing, and exploding with happy tears on so many more occasions than I have experienced in a very long time.
What an amazing feeling.
2015 has been a good year; a year that gave me a lot of reasons to love my life – mostly thanks to the people in it.
I am so lucky (HASHTAG: BLESSED) to know the people that I do. There is this bunch of wildly unbelievable and truly sensational human beings that I know – and I get to call them: friends.
My mentors. My never-ending support systems. My best friends. My ride or dies. My never-will-you-leave-my-side peeps.
My family – a mother and father, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, etc. who love so damn hard — it’s overwhelming, in the best way possible.
All of these people inspire me and encourage me to be the best. They continuously share their wisdom and offer a voice of reason. All of these people are gifted souls who enhance my life with music, words, and unreal experiences. They are fascinating humans who make my life better, because they’re honest, kind, and good-hearted people.
All of these people – their support, the way they believe in me, how they have opened so many doors to incredible opportunities and adventures and inspiring, eye-opening life moments – it’s so fcking cool.
They are the best. And I love them for being in my life.
2015 is a year I will hold in my heart always, because it was the year I felt good and looked forward to every day and the people I got to spend my time with. It was a year where I created good memories, and smiled a lot.
Here’s to another year of life, as crazy as it always is. 
2015, I loved you. Thank you for being illuminating.
2016 – BRING IT ON.