My 2016

To start off this blog by saying that "2016 was the best year of my life" would be a complete, bullshit lie. So many fantastic things happened, and many not-so-great things happened as well. This year, life happened. The start of this past year was very rocky and full of uncertainties. My family purchased a small, local business that I had been working at for a year. This business is a pretty big part of the dance community in my city, and for my family to be able to continue a 65+ year legacy is phenomenal. Not only do we service the general area, but we travel all over the country to service dancers, and I couldn't feel more blessed that this will be something I get to experience for the rest of my life.

I went to my very first therapist. I'd never been to see a therapist before, but I did have some very personal things that I didn't know how to cope with. I can say now that this was one of the best decisions I made of the whole year..

I had my first scare as a dog mom. My 1 year old Havanese got into my purse and ate a large Chocolate Walnut brownie. I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life. My partner and I drove an hour to the emergency vet to see what could be done, and I am very thankful we did. Walnuts are very poisonous to dogs, small ones especially. I guess you could say that my little Pixel is preparing me for life as a mother one day.

I finally dealt with my hip pain. For over 4 years now, I have had the worst pain in my hips, particularly my right hip. My very first year in a professional company, I was dropped on my hip by a trainee in the school during a modern/contemporary class. I never in a million years thought that drop would ultimately end my dance career and throw me into what I am dealing with now... The catalyst that caused me to finally deal with this problem of mine was when I stood up from a chair and couldn't walk. The pain shot up from my knee, through my hip and up one side of my back. That was the final straw for me.

I have a Labral Tear in my right hip, and its not good.

I got married this year!!! I never would have thought that by the time I turned 24 years old I would be a married woman! The anticipation leading up to this day was stressful, full of tears and fits of rage. No wedding is a wedding without something going wrong the day of and boy, that tested my patience with people. There are things I would have done differently, but looking back on that day, I couldn't be happier knowing I married my best friend, the man of my dreams, and the love of my life.

I attended the Dota 2 Internationals for my honeymoon. For the readers who do not know, this is an Electronic Sports Championship; The Superbowl for gamers. I am an avid gamer and have been my whole life. My husband and I chose Ti6 for our honeymood soley for our enjoyment. Sure, it would have been great to go somewhere like Hawaii and just laze around all day, but this appealed to us on so many levels. We could not have picked a better honeymoon, and it is one of the few things I look back on this year and get genuine butterflies.

I survived Pax West without getting sick. Yes, my husband and I took a second honeymoon to Pax West in Seattle. Pax is hugely known for being an 'early access' playground for gamers and Youtuber central. Almost every Pax around the country, 75% of people get very sick afterwords, and my husband and I made it home safe, unscathed by the notorious "Pax Flu."

I gained control of my depression. Eight years ago I was diagnosed with Major Depression and Severe Anxiety. It has been something I have struggled with since I was ten years old. This year was one of the hardest years dealing with my depression and anxiety. For the first time, I did not try to deal with it on my own.

There are so many other little things that have happened this year, and I am very excited for the years ahead of me. Good bye 2016. You were a year of  milestones and a year full of shit.

Tootles,