A lot happened in 2018!
I had quite a year, the blog had quite a year. It has been quite a year, friends. And now it’s time for my 2018 year in review! I’m going to break this down in year in two pieces, a brief blogging overview will come first, and month by month highlights of my year personally will come second. Let’s go!
Blogging in 2018:
How many blog posts did I share in 2018?
41 blog posts were published on Patience and Pajamas this year.
This year’s most popular blog post was 7 Mistakes I Made My First Year of College. Guys, this single post had more view in 2018 than all of Patience and Pajamas in it’s first two years of existence. Talk about growth!
The next three most popular posts were:
The 7 Most Helpful Gifts I Received for High School Graduation
Where I share all about the most useful and practical gifts I received that would be a great idea for any high school grad who is heading off to college.
Syllabus Week: 5 Things to Do Once You Have Your Syllabus
In this post I shared exactly what I do to make the most of my syllabus and set myself up for success as soon as the semester starts! Highly recommend to any college or university student who is looking to be more organized.
This is the most collaborative post on the blog, and I love that readers love it. This post contains the advice of 11 college students fresh out of their summer orientations with advice and tips for everything from what to bring to how to make the most of it!
Overall, college content seems to be pretty popular!
Patience and Pajamas grew a lot this year, and I am so proud of it! In 2019 I’m hoping to keep the momentum going and post more. I have no doubt that I’ll be able to beat 41 posts, so I think 50 is a good goal for 2019! My stretch goal will be 75 blog posts.
Perhaps I’ll make templates for myself for posts like my bulletin boards and monthly holidays so I can spend less time on them and more time on other blog things. We’ll see! To read more about my blogging goals for this year of blogging, check out this post that I shared on Patience and Pajama’s birthday last summer.
Now, let’s move on…
2018 Month by Month Review
January:
In January I headed back to my university to begin my second semester of college. I quickly got back into the swing of things and was happy to be back! I contributed to a conversation on Twitter about some of my experiences surrounding education and disability, and they’re by far my most popular tweets to date! Never would I have expected that I would have to turn off my Twitter notifications because there were so many I was losing track of texts and important emails! With the attention to my Twitter account came a surge in blog traffic, and Patience and Pajamas had it’s best month up to this point. Click here to follow me on Twitter!
I also completed the interview day portion of the Resident Assistant application process. I remember this day so clearly, because that morning pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did. Thankfully, things changed for the interview group and individual interviews that afternoon!
February:
February was a rough time for me. I dealt with a lot of “normal person” illness, including an infection and the flu. The flu kept me down and out for a while and hit right in the middle of midterms, before spring break. I still can’t believe I managed to catch up on everything when I got back in less than a week, but I was determined! Unfortunately, I did have to drop a class when I came back from the flu, which probably helped in the ‘getting everything done’ realm. All worked out in the end though, and I’m glad I made the decision I did.
Due to all of the sickness on top of midterms, I didn’t blog in February. It was really disappointing after having such a boost in January, but hopefully this never happens again!
Despite February seeming like more of a down month, one really exciting thing did happen. At the start of the month, I was offered a position as a Resident Assistant! This cleared up so many worries about housing for the fall. Accepting this position relieved a ton of stress and created a lot of excitement for sophomore year!
March:
What even happened in March? After the rush of February, March feels like it must have been easier. Reflecting on my year I can’t really think of anything much that happened this month, other than the start of RA training! I enjoyed my spring break, which happened to coincide with suddenly warmer temperatures and a break from the relentless cold and snow.
April:
The rush into finals and the completion of my first year of college began. Any warm days were taken full advantage of. Studying was done outside, lunch was enjoyed on a large porch off one of the prettiest buildings on campus, things were alright.
May:
May was finals, move out, and a rest month. And that is exactly what I did! I got back into blogging in May and was able to really enjoy my time to myself, while the rest of my family spent their days at work or school. It was such a relief to move out and have more control over my surroundings, and my health benefitted.
The focus on blogging definitely paid off. The last week of May kickstarted a summer of growth and opportunity that I totally didn’t see coming!
June:
I took two, six-week online classes that began in June: history and English. I’m so glad I did this. It was definitely the right decision for me, and after having to drop a class the previous semester, this helped get me back on track for graduation. Yay!
One of my favorite memories from June was exploring Charleston with my mom. We had a great day even though we only spent a few short hours there on our way to Hilton Head Island. If you want to read more about our adventures click here, and if you want to see photos (there are lots) click here!
The heat in June really hit me hard, but such is life with heat intolerance! I still got through a ton of work and was ahead in my classes when we went on vacation to the point that I didn’t have to worry much about them. Being able to relax and truly embrace my whole family being on summer break was a great feeling.
July:
July could be summed up by three activities: hiding from the heat, dog sitting, and prepping for fall.
The heat, of course, didn’t just disappear in July, so I spent most days inside. I had the opportunity to dogsit again, for a different family than I had previously, and it was a great little getaway. I’m all for staycation! I finished up my online classes while dogsitting, and went to work on both the blog and preparing for fall. I started repacking my clothes for college and condensing my other necessities that I had already repacked at the start of summer. This really paid off in the long run and I’m glad I could put my time inside to use!
Patience and Pajamas turned two years old in July, and I didn’t do much to celebrate. This is something I think I’m going to change in 2019.
August:
August brought my summer highlight, going to visit my amazing friend Julia (check out Julia’s blog, Julia Does!) and spending a week with her in New York. It was a whirlwind of photos and blogging, and I can’t wait to see her again!
Returning home I had a quick turn around, with just a couple days to unpack from my New York trip, repack my everyday essentials, and move back to college! I went through RA training, met the wonderful people who I get to call my co-workers, and got to meet my floor of first year residents! It was a lot, it was busy, and it was magical. It was still extraordinarily hot some days, which meant taking care of myself really had to be the priority, but overall, a great month.
On the blog side of things, besides Patience and Pajamas having its best month ever, the site got a new look! I’m so happy with the new theme and all of the work I put in to the blog in August. Julia was a huge help with planning and prepping and all the behind the scenes and I am beyond thankful for her!
September:
September was a month of firsts, as I began my third semester. I started to get to know some of my residents, was still learning the ropes of being an RA, and went for my second attempt at taking a full course load (spoiler: I completed all five classes with fantastic grades! Read more in my Semester Review). My job as an RA took priority, and it became apparent that some people in my life weren’t okay with that. Oh well.
The unseasonably hot weather really took a toll, and I had to keep my priorities in check to complete everything. Luckily, workloads weren’t too bad yet, so I could take my time with things.
October:
October brought midterms and it was the month that showed me the time and energy I had been dedicating to my job as an RA was not only worth it, but that I’m actually good at it. Imagine that! Through some really tough situations, I learned a lot in October.
I also turned 19 in October, and was lucky enough to go home on my birthday. I celebrated with my family, ate a delicious gluten free and dairy free cake that my mom and sister made, and even Mother Nature gave me the wonderful present of cool weather in the 60’s. Absolute perfection.
November:
November was a mess. An incredible, insightful, hectic mess. Major assignments in every class were due within a two day period, which of course brought on a lot of stress. I spent the only day it snowed all semester at out of state doctor’s appointments with doctors I am so lucky to have. I had some horrific nerve pain that left me unable to write for two weeks, which was an interesting challenge when you’re in the thick of the semester.
In the midst of it all, I managed to plan and execute an amazing program for my residents! A good friend visited me at the end of the month and helped out with the program. Thank goodness she did, because well over 100 people showed up and I could not have done it without her! Or the help of a couple other friends who showed up and made the night one to remember. I am so incredibly grateful for them.
December:
Coming back from Thanksgiving break I hit the ground (figuratively) running. I had a handful of exams, aced them, threw myself fully into studying for finals, and got the best possible outcome.
We had a staff bonding night at Red Robin which was a nice break in finals, and I packed up and came home! The aftermath of the finals rush was not easy on my body, that’s for sure. The rest of December was dedicated to sleeping, resting, and making the most of what little energy I had.
I had a lovely Christmas morning and New Year’s with my family, and I am so excited for 2019! Thanks for reading my 2018 year in review. Here’s to a great 2019!
