Happy 2019 everyone! It is crazy to think that a new year is already upon us. Sometimes time passes by so quickly, it feels like it is in the blink of an eye – which is especially the case for me these past two weeks during the holiday season.

I celebrated the holidays in the Okanagan this year after I wrapped up my semester in Vancouver. I was very fortunate to be able to visit Big White Ski Resort in Kelowna with a couple of my friends. After the craziness of a semester of school and not having really seen each other in awhile, it was perfect to catch up with one another and enjoy some time relaxing together. I had also never actually been to Big White before, so this was a great chance to explore the mountain a bit (though in reality we spent most of our time drinking sangria in a hot tub). Nevertheless, it was a very relaxing start to my holiday.

After my stay at Big White, I headed back to the South Okanagan to spend some time with my family. The week was filled with a lot of food, drinks, and time catching up and celebrating the season. I got the chance to visit a couple of breweries and restaurants, and it finally snowed on Boxing Day which was so nice – but I wasn’t so happy about the snow storm a few days later that prevented me from flying back to Vancouver (though I did get back eventually).

It was nice to catch up and see everyone again, but as much as I would like to portray a holiday season full of cheerful celebrations, that isn’t necessarily true. My time in the Okanagan definitely was not cheerful all of the time, and I was very ready to come back to Vancouver by the end of it. I think sometimes we get so caught up in the commotion and expectations and pressure of the holidays, and we try to be perfect and live up to it without giving ourselves the chance to breathe. I think it is more important to give ourselves time and space and recognize that we can’t possibly fulfill every expectation during this crazy time of year.

With that said, I was very glad to make it back to Vancouver in time to ring in the New Year. Once again, I was feeling the expectation of having to do something big and ‘important’ to celebrate – even though I didn’t want to. Instead of forcing myself to fulfill these expectations and do something I really didn’t want to do, I celebrated small with a couple of close friends, and it was honestly exactly what I needed. It provided me with the chance to let everything that had happened the past couple of weeks over the holidays, and the year in general, really sink in before beginning another new (and my final) semester. I have been living in Vancouver for a year now and a lot of amazing things happened throughout 2018, but I anticipate even more excitement to come this year.

So, I am heading into 2019 with the intention of achieving what I want to on my own terms, without worrying about the expectations of others. More importantly, I am hoping that letting go of unnecessary expectations will provide me with more space to actually be happy. Being happy with who I am, what I am doing, and where I am going is my biggest goal for 2019 – and I am ready to embrace this year with open arms.

What are your goals for the new year? Let me know in the comments. And I hope 2019 brings happiness your way, too. 🙂