A year in review // Best moments of 2014

2:17:00 PM

Ah. It's that weird transitional time of the year again, midway through Christmas and New Years, when all you have planned is to recover from a food coma. Also that time of the year when those "2015 please be good to me" photos and statuses pop up on your feed. Bleh. Back to what I was saying, while food coma-ing, I gathered a list of my favourite memories of 2014, month by month- and boy do I have a lot to say and share. I learned SO many things this year, but the biggest one of them all was probably letting go of things/people that were once important to me; that once added value to my life. However- the truth I learned is that you don't actually need what you think you need to fulfill the hole your life. Materialistic things and crappy gimmicks/egotistic lies don't do you any good. Find peace and happiness within yourself THEN branch out to the world.

ANYWAYS. Done with that nonsense. Take a little peek into my favourite experiences of the year. Here's to a healthy/happy 2015! Be back when I awaken from my food coma!

// FEBRUARY //

What a good month February was- probably the best of the entire year. My family sent me off back to Tempe on a surprise birthday trip. I spent my time with the very best people + absorbed every single minute of it. Looking back at it only makes me long for the next spontaneous AZ trip.

*** Another big event that happened in February was getting my braces off. I never considered myself too self-conscious about my teeth or how they looked, but somehow the whole experience boosted my confidence big time- in the best way possible.

// MARCH //

I faced one of my biggest challenges in March when I second-degree burned my hand during a culinary course. A burned right hand meant that I couldn't write, play instruments, let alone hold anything without dropping it. I was at the hospital every 3 days for a month and a half for regular checkups and gauze changes. Being the independent person I am, I hated having people do things for me, such as write/type/change my gauze. I absolutely hated it. I would try to do it myself but would end up in tears. The first few weeks I would cry nightly about my inability to do regular tasks and also about how painful it was. Through that, I realized that I'm lucky to even have a hand- a hand that would one day heal and become able and useful again. We take SO many things for granted that this truly was a learning experience for me.

WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS
(apologies in advance)

(There is a misconception floating around that I stuck my hand into a pot of hot boiling potatoes while making mashed potatoes.. That is NOT what happened! I laugh every time I hear that from people. The true story is that I grabbed a hot handle of an empty pot. I mean- the stove was off + no one warned me. You can't blame me, come on! I can't go to the Whole Foods hot bar without looking at the chicken cacciatore and cringing at the sight! Jeez!)

// JULY //

Warped tour. Before 2014, I 'd never been to Warped but always wanted to experience it first hand, especially when Paramore was still performing! It was a long, hot day in Portland and we had fun meeting a lot of new people and listening to some awesome bands play. HOWEVER- I learned that 9 hours isn't long enough to see ALL the awesome bands ya need to!

// AUGUST-SEPT//

I spent almost a full month in California living out of rental vans and hotel rooms and I definitely wouldn't have had it any other way. The summer was a learning experience for me and a whole two months of reflection + the longing for soul gaining experiences.

*** Along with California, we also made our way to the desert- (aka my favourite place in the world). The desert is filled with so much wonder and mystery, it's a bit scary but so cool.

// NOVEMBER //

After many years of being a fan, I got to see Ryan Adams play live for the first time. It was the most exciting thing for me and I made it known to everyone after endlessly talking about it for months. When Butch Walker came out to play the encore for Come Pick Me Up, my ears were in heaven. The only thing missing that would've made the whole thing a notch more magical was the most perfect, Jenny Lewis, who eventually joined the last leg of the tour. Super bummed she didn't make a special appearance at my show, but DRA AND Butch Walker are more than I could've asked for. Did I mention we almost ran Ryan Adams over after the show?

"Laugh all you want, I'm deaf and I can't hear you anyways."