A lot has happened this year but I guess that’s true for anyone and any year, it is 365 days after all. This year has been one of the most rewarding, and mentally challenging, of my life. Right about this time last year I was in the middle of winter break. I had finished my first semester at Barnard in good standing, but was already feeling stagnant.

Since then, I have changed a lot in an effort to push myself and grow. I have lived by the motto that “if life isn’t crazy, you aren’t doing it right” and have had many successes, each frequently paired with a cold, sore throat, or stress headache, to show for it. I’ve strived to become a better person by surrounding myself with an insanely awesome group of friends who inspire me to keep hustling every day.

One year ago, I would have tried to convince you that I would stay in college mostly because I was trying to convince myself. By taking a leap and leaving I have taken on many new risks and challenges, but I have also never felt more free. I have learned more about myself as a businesswoman, leader, student, and of course human, in a week than I did during an entire semester at either of the colleges I attended.

This coming year is going to be crazy. I will work to scale a business that has had some great successes but isn’t yet self-sustaining. I will strive to build even stronger friendships. I will not, and you can hold me too this, become jaded about dating. Finally, as always, I will do my best to be the best version of myself possible.

Here is 2014’s mission statement. It will, of course, be edited frequently over the coming year but I like to have a firm place to start from:
By focusing on qualitative measures of achievement, I will avoid being bogged down by numbers and figures that have little to no role in my eventual spiritual success. I will be sure to reciprocate the support and love that my friends show me and that drives me through seemingly insurmountable challenges. I will laugh more, dwell less on the temporary, love without caution, and take care of my body and mind. More than anything, in everything that I do, I will strive to be happy.

Happy New Year and here’s to a mind blowing 2014!