Hello, blogosphere, remember me? I’ve finally gotten some time to reflect on the past year. I love top hit mashups, lists, and other year end wrap ups that come out this time of year. There’s something so exciting to me and, apparently, a lot of other folks about reminiscing and reliving, then shooting some confetti in the air and drinks down our throats to start something new. I’ve been quite neglectful of this space the past few months, though I haven’t forgotten about it; so here’s the top stories, the good, the bad, and the otherwise of my year 2013, in order of appearance.

Top 13 of ’13

1. Years after disowning my undergraduate decision of becoming a teacher, and moving into the year with a Master’s degree, I taught a total of four sections of a college course where I relearned the challenges, joys, and passion of being an educator, motivator, and servant (I taught this class unpaid, but it paid off eventually… see #7).

2. I (finally!) let go of something I’d been holding onto my whole life, and it was beautiful.

3. Although 2012 travel took me to China, this year I somehow made it to Las Vegas, Houston, Columbus, Boston, New York City, and the Hudson River valley, NY.

4. I lost a few friends — to geographical or emotional separation — and gained some new meaningful relationships; I even added some long lost cousins to my life!

5. My younger, married sister found out she is preggers! The impending change of dynamics in their family and ours is exciting though emotional, so all I can do is just imagine what life will be being known as the crazy aunt.

6. I moved (again), and am happily situated in my own space, surrounded by 18 house plants and… (see #11). I wonder how old you can be before living in a studio apartment is no longer hip…

7. After all the previous posts lamenting the life a of an underemployed post-grad young professional, I accepted a new job! Biggest accomplishment of the year?

8. I had a summer of dating/romantic(less) shenanigans. See my previous posts and/or Twitter feed if you want more details on online love-seeking. GOD I’M GLAD THIS YEAR OF DATING IS OVER! (Excuse as I go swallow a quick glass of champagne, I deserve this one!)

9. I began working at a well established yoga studio in the city, where I also upped my yoga practice game. I’ve gone organic, and this year I also began juicing and green smoothie-ing. This has been the best year of my health — body, soul, and mind.

10. I read books this year. I started a blog. I learned more about China. I became a mentor to an 11th grade Philadelphia student. I planted a garden. These were all things on my “When I’m Done with Grad School…” to do list. More where those came from, but I’m excited to make time for some things I’ve been wanting to do.

11. I adopted a bunny, who has added some life, selflessness, and smiles to my home life. Hawkeye is an 8 year old Rex-mix rabbit, all black with an adorable white nose and adorable white toes.

12. I had the strange and sudden epiphany that success and self-made wealth is not going to come by playing by other people’s rules and inconveniencing my creativity and personality to entertain bureaucracies. In 2014, I will start putting my entrepreneurial-mindedness into action. Watch out!

13. Every year, I seem to grow so intensely from the year prior, but 2013 was the year of getting to know ME.

If you take all the words I italicized throughout this post, I can conclude 2013 sentimentally in this way: I taught myself what it means to accept myself as a person who thrives on relationships (and that’s a good thing, because who you are at the core is always a good thing); the travel I have done internally has led me to find myself beautiful in all ways — with short hair or maybe blonde hair, no makeup or no clothes to hide things behind, all alone or alongside my beautiful friends, smiling in contentment or tearfully expressing emotions; I’ve gained an appreciation for my brand of crazy, and that someday someone else will, as well, and maybe then the space I have to myself and within myself will accommodate two; Just because it’s been a romantic(less) year doesn’t mean it’s been without so much life; I crave an organic way of living where it all comes as it comes and it’s not forced; and, finally, my future can be designed only from an entrepreneurial mind — seeing the world as all these words in a new way, taking the next risky step to be and have more as I enter with bold determination into the brave new world of ’14.

Cheers and blessings to a happier, healthier all of us. ~CkB