RECAP OF 2016...

I'm sure you hear this at the end of every year, but boy did this year fly by! 2016 was definitely a great year, even though it did have its up and downs. Here's a little recap of how 2016 went for me...

Truthfully, nothing great happened to me at the beginning of the year. The only exciting thing was that I had just started a new job! It was my second job at the time, and it was at a local day care. I loved it-- until I realized there's only so much patience I can have with kids. I worked there 2-3 times a week, up until September, I became a substitute. I would be around there about once a month and I really started to miss it being as the kids all had such a special place in my heart. Fortunately coming up, I will be back working there more than I have been, which is super exciting! 

Next came Prom. God what a disaster this was. I had an amazing time with all my friends at the time. No, I wouldn't change anything about it now if I could, but if I knew I wouldn't be in touch with any of the people I spent the whole time with, I definitely would have changed in then. I was absolutely head over heels in love with my dress! 

After Prom, the rest of the school year pretty much flew by for the most part. I partied non-stop every weekend. (yes, I was just being a typical highschooler.) I bought my very first own car!! (with some help from my parents, thanks guys :p)

Next step- Graduation! It seemed so unreal, and so bittersweet. I couldn't believe this moment was finally here. I didn't want to believe this was happening. I was a mess, but hey, I made it that far!

After graduation came the beginning of summer which consisted mainly of lots of parties, long hot beach days, and boring sucky days at work. But- on August 7th I turned 18!! Finally the day I was counting down to!!! Don't know why though... because nothing really changed. oh well.

This is when the countdown really started to begin. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket at work, so I went in the bathroom, looked down at my phone and saw a text that said "my leave was approved." On August 20th, the guy I have been talking to for months via text message, Facetime, and every other source of social media was finally coming home! I was beyond excited, but also nervous. So many thoughts were going through my head. What if he sees me and thinks I'm ugly? What if there's another girl at home waiting for him, and not just me? In the back of my mind, I knew how honest and kind hearted Joe was, and I knew nothing like that would happen. Sure enough, it didn't, and the week he spent at home was definitely a week I will never forget. Some people might say military/long distance relationships are never going to last, but 4+ months later, we are better than ever. Lucky me, got to spend the new years with him! I have a total of 12 days with him currently, and we're having so much fun having him back in Jersey!

Here's a few pictures from his trip back in August.

& a few pictures from the past 5 day's he has spent at home so far!

I'm so happy he's able to spend some time at home with me and our families! For the past 4 months when he was away, I stayed in touch with his family and went to their house every so often to hangout. 

Other random stuff that has happened to me was that I got my first tattoo-- and now I want more!!! I also got through my first semester of college, when I didn't want to be there at all. I also finally decided what I wanted to do with my future- and that's be a cosmetologist and a hair stylist! Which is why coming up this year I will attend a cosmetology school. There's so many exciting things to look forward to in 2017. I can't wait, & I can't wait to share it with my readers as well!