2017 In Review: 20 Positive Changes & 17 Adventures

December 28, 2017December 27, 20172 Comments

*Hi there! Super excited to have another guest post~ here on Ampersand. Just like how I love sharing cool new things with you, I love when people share awesome ideas/tips/events with me! Meet my friend Emily–a good friend from college & huge fan of Ampersand. She asked to share this story with you, and I know you’ll love it as much as I do!! Y’all can throw her a follow on Insta here.

IT’S NEW YEAR’S SEASON PEOPLE

Hi. My name is Emily, and I love New Years. I’ve always been a fan of documenting firsts (don’t doubt I have a first day of school picture for every year), lasts (had to insta the last beer of the summer), and any significant milestones along the way. I love paying attention to time and how things change, and I think New Years is a great opportunity to reflect and look back on great lasts, weird firsts, and exciting changes.

Last year around this time I was in quite a funk–unhappy with my job in a city I couldn’t quite call home, I decided that I was going to make 2017 the year of 20 positive changes and 17 adventures (cause 2017, hah). Despite the amount of jokes that were made about this, it has been quite the year. As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share some of what I learned from my endeavor!

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A Guide For When You Don’t Know What You’re Doing With Your Life

December 5, 2017December 5, 20176 Comments

Soooo confession: I don’t actually have my life 100% together. I’m sorry to disappoint you with the misleading title, but I don’t have the ultimate key to happiness for your 20’s. (Does anyone? If you do & you’re reading this, shoot me an email ASAP, thanks). However, even though I may not have it alllll figured out (and probably never will) there are some things I’ve learned in the two years out of school that have helped me get a little closer to that crazy thing called “balance” and “contentment” in adulthood. I figured there are some other people out there who might benefit from these life lessons, so here are a few tips for when you have absolutely know idea what you’re doing or where you’re going. That blank slate of the rest of your life seems terrifying, but honestly, it doesn’t have to be. Read on.

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24 Lessons I Learned When I Was Twenty Four

October 17, 2017October 16, 201711 Comments

Today I turned 25. I thought I’d have a little more of a quarter-life crisis moment, but honestly I’m feeling pretty okay. Maybe that’s because I had my quarter-life crisis when I was 20 because I’m kind of a weirdo like that. Regardless, I am officially twenty-five. And for the first time, I actually feel sorta like a grownup. It’s weird, I never thought I’d get here. It’s like I’ve finally transitioned from “adulting” to just “adult.” At the same time, I also feel incredibly young, in the best way. Like this is the start to some of the best years of my life. Crazy stuff.

Generally when I think about this upcoming year, I’m really excited. I just feel like it’s going to be a big year full of firsts & surprises. In retrospect, I feel like 24 was a year of preparation, maybe for all these exciting things I’m anticipating. I learned a lot of things when I was 24. There were a lot of big events that occurred as well as long stretches of stagnancy. Both periods taught me different things–all valuable lessons that life thought I needed to learn. So, as I normally do on my birthday (you can check out 22, 23 & 24), here are some things I learned this past year. Twenty four, you were a doozy–thank you for the wild ride.