2019: Year in Review

2020 is right around the corner ya’ll! I can hardly believe it, this will be my last blog post of the decade.

This past year has been crazy. Crazy fun, crazy hectic, crazy stressful (at times), and crazy good. I’m finding more things to enjoy, more reasons to be thankful, and discovering a lot about myself with each new day.

2019 has been a great year. Would I have said that every day? Absolutely not. But, looking back over the challenges I faced and how God has helped me overcome them and learn valuable lessons, I can say now, a few days away from the new year, that 2019 was an amazing year.

January 2019

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One of my best friends, Shannon, came and visited me in San Francisco! We had a ton of fun exploring Fisherman’s Wharf, visiting Ghirardelli Square, eating seafood, and taking pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge (we also got a few great shots of Alcatraz 😉 ).

February 2019

February marked my 6-month anniversary at EquitySim and my Praxis graduation (for which I received the hoodie pictured on the right). Shout out to my amazing co-workers for the banana cake and flowers, and for making my entire time at the company so awesome 🙂

March 2019

In March, I took my very first trip to Canada (Vancouver)! It was absolutely wonderful – I met so many amazing people and got to experience many new things (like trying sushi for the first time). Vancouver is beautiful, and I would definitely love to return at some point 🙂 I got to live there for the whole month of March extending a few weeks into April – the people are great, the food is amazing, and the memories made there are priceless to me <3

I also got to meet my Praxis advisor, Amanda, in person, which was incredibly cool 😀

April 2019

In April, my dad and sister visited me in Vancouver! We did some exploring, and they got to meet my co-workers. Later that month, I also moved back to Minnesota from California and started the job hunt again – I accepted a job at DispatchIt right before my dad and I drove the car home across the country (that was a fun road trip in and of itself!).

May 2019

After I moved back home, I started working at a Minnesota startup called DispatchIt as a BDR. It’s such an amazing place to work and I’ve met some pretty awesome people there too 😀

May was pretty much spent getting started at my new job and unpacking from moving across the country again 😀

June 2019

I attended lots of my brother’s baseball games (picture is of him pitching) this past June, especially the few that led up to winning the state championship! Go East Ridge Raptors! My brother did an outstanding job, as always 😉

July 2019

During July, I took a lot of trips to Stillwater with different members of my family, and we spent the 4th up at the lake 😀

Mostly, I just hung out with my family and worked – it was a good time 🙂

August 2019

Right in the beginning of August, I took a trip out to Utah to visit one of my best friends – Elizabeth Beeli! We had a blast, and she took me to see all her favorite places – camping, the mountains, Salt Lake City, etc. Lots of fun and amazing memories were made, and I’m so incredibly grateful to have her as a friend 🙂

After my trip with Beeli, I caught an Uber and attended TOS-Con 2019. It was an interesting conference, but I mostly enjoyed getting to meet so many Praxians all in one place (one of them ended up being my new roommate)! Not to mention Utah is gorgeous in the summer 🙂

Oh, and I chopped off like 8 inches of my hair while I was there too 😛

Near the end of the month, I got to go to the MN State Fair with my company, and again with my brother and Grandparents (such a fun tradition!).

September 2019

I turned 21 (golden birthday!), started apartment hunting in MN, and got more into swing dancing 😀

Additionally, I got new headshots done to replace the ones I did like 3 years ago…ha.

October 2019

I moved in with my roommate, Samantha Clarkson! We got all settled, started carpooling to work, and integrated ourselves more into the swing dancing community (shout out to Katherine Glader 😉 ).

November 2019

This was a hectic time – I had rehearsals for CVFT’s Beauty and the Beast (I was teacup) almost every night, and I had a bunch of projects I was doing on the side. Thanksgiving brought a welcome break and fun times with family. Oh, and swing dancing too 😛

December 2019

December’s not quite over yet, but I’ve made a lot of fun memories! My cousin, Anna, is visiting us over Christmas break, I’m spending a lot of time with my family, and it’s not even that cold out right now 😛

I also performed in CVFT’s Beauty and the Beast and made many new friends – performing was a blast and I was glad for the opportunity!

Also, right before the break, my co-workers and I started volunteering with Sleep in Heavenly Peace (an organization that builds beds for kids that don’t have any). We spent an afternoon in mid-December building 30 beds for kids in the Minneapolis area – so fun!

Recap 🙂

Every time a new year is about to begin, it always feels like the year before went by so fast. I guess that’s a reminder to stay in the moment, enjoy every second and every season because time is a commodity you can’t buy back.

Happy New Year ya’ll!

Until next time,
Hope Frances

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash