As my year of blogging is coming to a close, I wanted to look back on all that I've debated, struggled with, agonized over, laughed about, and considered, so I decided to take a peek back on the blog and pick out my favorites. Taking that walk through memory lane was emotional, and I couldn't help but to read half my blog posts from the last 362 days. Narrowing it down to a top twelve was even more difficult; in a year filled with so many wonderful adventures, people, changes, challenges, and more, there were too many to pick from.
After painfully saying farewell to the blog posts that didn't make the cut, these are the twelve I came up with as some of my most important. Some of them are introspective, some are informative, some are just funny. As with life, this range of emotions makes all the colors brighter, all the experiences stronger.
I hope these blog posts can give you a chuckle, spur some reflection, or even light a fire under your butt to do something to make the world a little better. They do these for me, at least. And so, without further ado, here are my top twelve blog posts from the past year (in no particular order).
1. Blog #58: An Indian Wake-up Call
The story of the time a monkey literally burst into my hostel room and almost jumped into my bed.
2. Blog #22: A Lot of Things
An emotional look inside after a mentally sh*tty week, pondering my motivations, passions, and more.
3. Blog #57: नमस्ते (Namaste)
A reflection on the beauty of language and connection, and how it's possible to connect even with entirely inadequate knowledge of someone's language.
4. Blog #90: Birthday Pt. 2
A reflection on turning 21, looking back at the past year of my life and looking forward to the next.
5. Blog #184: This Isn't Normal
An emotional yet informative plea for something to change surrounding mass shootings and gun control in the United States, with realistic steps everyday people can take to help stop this madness.
6. Blog #24: The Dal Disaster of 2019
Perhaps the most iconic blog post of mine; the story of exploding dal.
7. Blog #5: Being White
A reflection on race and how that shapes our experiences everywhere.
8. Blog #334: Thoughts on 2020
The anticipated New Year's blog; resolutions/goals/dreams/wishes for 2020 and gratitude for 2019.
9. Blog #262: Jet-Setting and Carbon Offsets
A look at how to reduce our carbon footprint when purchasing flights, detailing my journey with buying carbon offsets.
10. Blog #105: Alonely
A reflection on being alone in Frankfurt and beginning the process of my semester in India becoming nothing more than a memory.
11. Blog #212: Babbling Broads: Ep. 1 Did We Cuss at All?
Mine and Ally's first (and... so far... only) podcast episode.
12. Blog #149: A (not so) Brief Reflection on my Semester in India
Exactly what the title says it is.
Finally, a bonus blog post, which I just couldn't stand to let go.
13. Blog #347: The End of an Era
A reflection on the end of my dad's mayoral term, marking the end of an era for my family and our hometown.
