Destiny Rose Murphy's Adventures and Blatherings

2018 in Review

Dec 31, 2018
5 minute read

I stole the idea for this from Christian Genco (who stole it from Tim Ferriss) as a way to summarize the past year and plan improvements for the upcoming year. The general idea is you go through your calendar and record the things that made you happy and the things that made you sad each month. That way, you can try to get more of the happy’s and less of the sad’s next year. Below is my 2018 year in review, with the especially impactful items bolded, and a summary at the bottom.

January

  • Positives: Christian and I become Facebook official, Something Rotten, Found nice view on 4th floor of Fondren Library

  • Negative: The Color Purple in noisy theater

February

  • Positives: Biking White Rock Lake with Trigg and Christian, DC Tower Scholars Trip, Dancing with Kenny at UofH ballroom competition, Crepe event, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

  • Negative: Missed Christian a lot (Illinois trip and El Potrero Trip)

March

  • Positives: Black Panther, Trigg’s Wine and Magic Show, Tea, gardens, and Marakesh dinner during spring break trip with Jill and JD, Nails with Alec, Cooking steak for dinner, Isle of Dogs

  • Negatives: Wet and cold rock climbing in Portland, Struggling in Corley’s Ethics and the Law class, Stressful barbecue sale morning

April

  • Positives: Putting out Easter eggs for residents, Hanging with Eric, Henry, and Christian during Outdoor Adventures climbing trip, Iberco pork, Condoleeza Rice lecture, Avengers Infinity War

  • Negatives: Being cold and wet during Outdoor Adventures climbing trip, Having to redo Tower Scholars Microsoft presentation

May

  • Positives: Scarborough with friends, Mother’s Day tea with Nana and Mom, Cenote, tacos al pastor, patio with pool, and snorkeling on Mexico trip, Ms. Burnett’s lanai, Tarpon springs, and Animal Kingdom on Florida trip

  • Negatives: Laid off from Stanton, Hiltz threatened to drop grade over cell phone use, Finishing Political Science final in Cancun, Sea sick on ferry ride to Cozumel, Snorkel fit poorly, Getting rained on in Animal Kingdom and Universal Studios

June

  • Positives: Connor’s wedding reception, hanging with Luke, Trevor, and Christian in California, Meeting Stanford professors, Good food and boba in Palo Alto, Cleveland Botanical gardens with Lori, Christian helping Tanis fly his drone, Biking around grand canyon with dad, Yosemite, SFMOMA, ballpark, and oolong tea in San Fran, Pitchford Party

  • Negatives: Sick from wet swimsuit in Cozumel, Thinking I was late for first day of MOSAIC, Long delay meeting up and renting car in California, Bad fall on Pogue Ethics wall, Less than 24 hour turn around from Cleveland to Katie and Stephen’s Wedding to Flagstaff, Long wait for car at Flagstaff airport, Bear in Yosemite, Bad Motel in San Fran

July

  • Positives: The Last Five Years, Esther’s Follies, Ice wine, spa day, and Niagara in Canada with Lori, Getting to know the Pennington’s, 21st birthday party, Absinthe, O, and fancy sushi dinner in Vegas

  • Negatives: Comedy of Errors, Taming of the Shrew, Stress from lack of communication with Christian at World Domination Summit, Not enough time to work on LSAT in Canada and Illinois, Birthday party planning stress, Stress of getting around in Vegas

August

  • Positives: Shakespeare festival and Tae’s Teas, Making plane ticket door decorations, Love Never Dies (so bad it was good), First Katina massage, Making guacamole at Martin, Steak, beer, and mushrooms for dinner in Martin

  • Negatives: RA Training, Getting told I have barely any time to do big scholarship applications, Well woman checkup, Fire drills going wrong, LSAT prep stress

September

  • Positives: Perfect Arrangement, Katina massage, Help from the Chang’s on personal statement, Christian’s birthday dinners, Star Wars VR experience, Fulbright Interview

  • Negatives: Christian double-scheduling over Perfect Arrangement, LSAT scores stress, GRE studying, Christian making Peterson present in Martin

October

  • Positives: GRE Scores, Spiderman for PS4, Venom, Brown bag dance performance, Radiant Vermin, Reading over fall break, Fee waivers coming in, Christian’s stand up showcase, Halloween party, Babysitting Sadie and carving pumpkins, Mini chicken wellingtons event

  • Negatives: Getting sick from Myria’s house warming party, Armentrout reading group summit, Power outages and lady trying to break into my apartment, Boys club meetings with LSPI, Applying to law school stress

November

  • Positives: Benihana family dinner, Being printed in Kairos, Continental Gin Art Studio, Climbing at Crux with Luke in Austin, Emmer and Rye meal with Luke and Christian, Fantastic Beasts 2, Pimento cheese event, Pentatonix concert

  • Negatives: Losing winter on call days, Very little time for myself over Thanksgiving break, Philosophy distinction stress, Christian heart attack scare

December

  • Positives: Hanging out with friends before REI garage sale, Boba party, Katina massage, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, Seinfeld standup, Watching Avatar with Christian, Georgetown interview, Playing Dominion with Murphy family, Skiing at Sipapu

  • Negatives: Deciding not to apply to PhD programs, Unnecessarily clearing Moore, Driving to and from Hermann, Getting caught in snow on way to Sipapu, AirBnb with no heat, Burning hole in jacket

Take-Aways

Positives:

  • Travel is the big winner this year. Seeing, eating, and doing new things in new places is the way to go.
  • Good shows are consistently good! Spend the money on plays, comedy, and movies, and you won’t be disappointed.
  • Spend more time outside. Patios, walks through gardens, and biking consistently make you feel good (and keep you healthy).
  • Good food, whether its eating out or cooking in, makes you really happy. Keep learning new recipes and trying new restaurants!
  • Get more massages. They’re expensive, but they’re great and they keep your back from hurting.

Negatives:

  • Poorly planned travel can really ruin a day. Remember to spend the extra money for a nice place to stay, or a flight instead of a drive.
  • You’re grumpy when you’re cold and wet. I need to invest in some warmer and more waterproof gear ASAP.
  • Being rushed and feeling under-prepared for important things creates a lot of stress. Next year, early research is the way to go for big decisions.
  • Make sure to take breaks for yourself during stressful times. Over-scheduling makes you stressed, especially when it’s over-scheduling with other people.