It's Called Growth | Heart&Pen

when you have the audacity to 
look into my eyes and say 
I am no longer the same 
I proudly remind you 
it's called growth 
which I can not do around you


- Jenna Leigh Condon 

My 2020 Resolutions

Ahhh 2020 is here. A fresh new start to enjoy whatever comes my way. I've always loved resolutions but this year is a little different for me. There is a lot of pressure I put on myself to become better than ever in everything. But, I'm trying to put that thought behind me and focus on letting this year be whatever it will be for me. I don't have any plans or big dreams to chase, other than some goals I'm excited to tackle. I learned a lot during this last decade as it held my high school and college days. I just think it's so neat to be entering the 20's in my twenties, lol. Anyways, here are my resolutions.

1. Learn embroidery // For Christmas, I received a lot of the materials needed to start new projects. I have experience with cross-stitch, but it will be fun to learn new types of stitches.

2. Speak more kindly to myself // I've said it before, but I can be very hard on myself. Well, that is why last year my word was grace. Words have a lot of power, and the ones that run through my head every single day need to be more uplifting and full of gratitude this new year.

3. Have more faith // I hope to grow in the word and trust God more deeply.

4. Explore new places // California is so beautiful and I've lived here my whole life with so many more places to experience. I hope to do a lot more day trips to LA and San Diego!

5. Focus on my health // Physically and mentally my health needs to become more of a priority.

6. Maintain my bullet journal // Ahh, I'm so excited to have found such a neat community of fellow bullet journal enthusiasts. The concept of keeping a journal full of stationery and personal thoughts is just right up my alley. I hope to share a few entries soon this year!

My word for 2020 is grow. To grow in all areas of my life. I hope to plant my roots deeply in my faith, shed sunlight on my creative hobbies, water my friendships, and bloom into a more self-confident, independent, and strong version of who I am today. My desire is to grow tall no matter the seasons my anxiety brings. To grow in the freedom of saying no to certain expectations. To grow through my fears. To grow during the joyful moments. To grow in writing and poetry. I'm so excited to see where this year takes me, as I hold onto this word tightly. The words I chose to live by every year are the ones I silently repeat over and over in my mind and heart, as a reminder that everything is going to be okay.



"If you are outgrowing who you've been, you are right on schedule. Keep evolving." 

Taking Time To Reflect: Little Lessons of 2019

How do I even begin to sum up 2019? It's been a long year for me. Saying goodbye to the world I have poured every ounce of myself into was definitely a new challenge. I earned my degree in English and I couldn't be more proud of accomplishing my life long dream. Yet, it was hard to let it go and enter the unknown. Summer felt long this year, but our family vacation in Ventura felt refreshing. I quit my job in retail (woohoo) and took a full-time position at a consulting firm. It feels amazing to be able to begin paying off my student loans. This year I honestly felt so creative and I hope to explore new avenues next year.

Well, I truly don't know what 2020 will have in store for me. It's the first time in my entire life where I don't have any plans. I am just going to take life in short moments and enjoy what comes my way. Before I share my new year's resolutions, let's recap this past year.

1. // You can do anything you put your mind to, even if it takes time. If you forget, just think back to May when you received your degree.

2. // This year I found a love for poetry. I can't wait to slowly begin sharing them on the blog.

3. // I started an art travel journal. I just love using photographs, paint, washi tape, and paper to keep create such a memorial page of my adventures. It's so much more enjoyable when I print out my photos and do something special with them (unlike posting them on Instagram).

4. When I was young I use to cross stitch all the time. I would make tiny little cats or dogs. Somehow I lost the hobby all together come Jr. High. But, this year I began learning the craft all over again and it is my favorite past-time yet.

5. I met my celebrity crush, Jesse McCartney. I think our selfie turned out pretty cute.

6. Back in May, I was a bridesmaid for the second time for my best friend since second grade, Emily. I just love weddings.

7. Going to the Mission Inn Hotel with my mom to celebrate my graduation was just the best.

8. And I ended the year with my sister at Disneyland!

Best Of 2019

hhhh! You guys, 2019 has almost come to an end. I just wanted to take a minute and reflect back on the blog, because it has morphed into many forms for me this year. It truly serves as my milestone and every emotion in between type of space. I have barely blogged this year, and yet I've managed to grow a lot on Bloglovin', bringing my readers to 416! So, thank you! I love seeing new faces around my site. But, with that being said, this post was easy to create due to only publishing 24 posts. Back in the day, I was pushing out triple that amount.

I believe 2019 served as my year for simplicity and quality over quantity. I truly look back on my posts and love what I wrote, how I laid out the content, and the photography style I tried. I hope you have too! :) Let's dive in, here are the top five most-read posts of the year, along with my top four new places I traveled to!!

                GRADUATING WITH MY                  BACHELORS DEGREE 

       FIVE WAYS I WANT TO 
       SWITCH UP MY STYLE 

FIVE THINGS UNIVERSITY

TAUGHT ME 

          PERFECTIONISM,           THE HEART OF IT

I'M FEELIN' 22

  

This year I wasn't heavy in travel, but I ventured back to some of my favorite places. To kick off the year my mom and I celebrated my graduation at the Mission Inn Hotel. It was so relaxing, and so needed after the stress of my capstone course. In July, all of my friends and I bought annual passes to Seaworld and that was a blast in the summertime. For my family vacation, we went back to Ventura Harbor, Santa Barbara, and Carpeteria (all the places I grew up). Oh to be back on the sand with a book in my hand. It's literally all I did, it was awesome. And towards the end of the summer, I went to Balboa Park for the first time ever in San Diego and it was beautiful. You can read all about it here.