Goodbye 2016 ✨

Crystal

10 years ago

For most of planet earth, saying goodbye to 2016 will be incredibly easy. Even if you experienced the best year of your life (I’m sure many out there did) – 2016 wasn’t without its challenges for humanity.

For me, 2016 was a year of taking risks and putting myself out there in ways I never had before. That, of course, came with its fair share of moments of fear and self-doubt. Moments (and in some cases weeks) of wondering if I even know what I’m doing and then simultaneously figuring it out, every day, along the way. It was also the first year I experienced burnout and discovered what your body can do to you when you don’t listen to it telling you to slow down.

But in 2016, something really epic happened. I fell in love with someone who quickly went from boyfriend to boyfriend / best friend to human being that I don’t ever want to live without. We got our first place together, the 402, and with my thumbed, now published, cat Bella – we became our own little family.

In June, I stepped way out of my comfort zone and launched East Coast Mermaid and weeks later, the online shop to complement it. Without knowing anything about selling or designing apparel, with the help of some incredible mentors and my boyfriend / best friend / humanicantlivewithout / accountant – I figured it out.

This year, I made new friends that now feel like kindred spirits. I travelled to new destinations (two new states) and fell in love with new places on the map.

I made memories I’ll hold on to forever.

2016 may not have been perfect, or even remotely close to it for many of us – but I can’t look back on it without smiling. Because amid the fear for our planet, the heartache, and the uncertainty in the universe – it set the stage for whats to come and I’m choosing to remain positive that only the best is yet to come.

So to say goodbye to 2016, as is tradition, here are my favorite snapshots from the year.