2018 has come to an end. Truth be told, I never thought of a future beyond the year 2018. My singular long-term goal was graduating college in 2018. 2019? Inconceivable. I never expected anything to happen after 2018. But here I am, on the cusp of another twirl around the sun.

Before we move into the future, let’s reflect on 2018, the best and most looked-forward-to year of my life. I put together a list of things I enjoyed during 2017 and decided to do it again for 2018. Lucky you!

Disclaimer: I did not see every movie, listen to every album, read every book, nor did I consume content as culturally relevant as the things on Obama’s 2018 list. I will also not attempt to rank the things I did/see/hear/read because ranks are for the military. This is not the military, this is my blog.

Places I Visited

• Cancun, Mexico
• Newport, California
• Manzanita, Oregon (oldie but a goodie)
• Salt Lake City, Utah

New Things I Tried

• Snorkeling
• Skiing
• Having a career
• Being a bridesmaid (#nailedit)
• Killing stink bugs all by myself

New Foods

• Baklava
• Escargot
• A fig
• Indian Food

Some Concerts I Enjoyed

• Beyoncé and Jay-z
• Boygenius
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Howard Jones
• Lorde
• Panic! at the Disco
• Taylor Swift

Albums I Liked (2018 releases)

• A Dawn I Remember by Holly Arrowsmith
• Boygenius by Boygenius
• Everything is Love by The Carters
• Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
• Historians by Lucy Dacus
• Invasion of Privacy by Cardi B
• KOD by J. Cole
• Scorpion by Drake
• Sweetener by Ariana Grande
• Thank You for Today by Death Cab for Cutie

(Wow, Rachel listens to some bops. I want to listen to what Spotify claims are her favorite songs from 2018.)

Things I Watched (also 2018 releases)

• Beautiful Boy
• Black Panther
• BlackkKlansman
• Incredibles 2
• Lady Bird
• The Olympics #BeyondPyeong
• On the Basis of Sex

Things I Read

• Brother’s Karamozav by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• The Bus on Thursday by Shirley Barrett
• The Third Wave by Steve Case
• The Weather Detective by Peter Wohlleben
• The Hollywood Reporter because, without paying for a subscription, it is mysteriously delivered to my office biweekly

Weird Things That Happened/Important Life Lessons

• I was shamed out of a wine sale because of my social status (and because I wasn’t carrying $200 cash).
• One of my photographs was almost used on the cover of a crime novel.
• I asked Brandon Routh (aka Superman) why he wasn’t wearing any shoes and he asked me why I thought he wasn’t wearing any shoes and I said I thought was he was too warm and he told me that was the wrong answer.
• The nine year-old boy in sitting in front of me at the Panic at the Disco concert was shopping on Kohls.com for mens shoes on his iPad.
• My family tailgated outside the Regal Cinema for The Incredibles 2.
• I found out Owen Wilson and Matthew McConaughey are two different people.

Thanks to everyone who made 2018 a great year! I look forward to the year 2019 because from here on out, I don’t have any idea about anything!