Well, golly. It’s actually 2017? *waves at time passing by at abnormal speeds*
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” – I’d say this quite perfectly sums up 2016, for me at least. There were a lot of worst times, but there were also a lot of very best times. And since I try not to be a pessimist, here are the best of times this year for me. 🙂
Life ~
~ I went to two of my cousins’ weddings this year. (One of which I was a bridesmaid in!) The first wedding was in March, the day before Easter, actually. We took a long drive up to northern Minnesota and had a nice time meeting with family. My brother was one of the ushers. The second wedding was in June, (and it was super hot, let me tell you…). It was at my cousin’s parents’ barn, which is like seven miles away from us, so no long drive this time. I was a bridesmaid in this one, and I had to wear high heels for the first time…I stumbled a lot. XD But I got to wear a super cute dress, so it was okay. 🙂
~ I turned 16 in July this year! I’m not much of a…party person, so there was no ‘Sweet Sixteen Bash’ or anything. I just hung out with family and ate cake, you know? Thus far, being sixteen is no different than being fifteen. Excepted sometimes I feel obligated to get a job and pay a lot of things for myself. That doesn’t really work out though, since I still don’t have my driver’s license…
~ I got braces towards the end of October (which worked out good because I was partially distracted by NaNo and such). At first, I absolutely detested them. They hurt my teeth and my face and I basically wanted them off. Now. But we’ve come to a civil relationship and I hardly notice them much anymore. Plus, there’s like a million rubber band colors to choose from…O_O
Writing ~
~ I finished Rewrite during Junowrimo this year. I had already written 14,000 words from my failed attempt at Nanowrimo in 2015, so I was ahead by a bit. I still ended up with 45,000 words though, and a half finished story. It was a ton of fun to write though! ❤
~ I also wrote Erase this year during Nanowrimo, which I had much better success with (compared to last year’s attempt..). I didn’t win, but I made 45, 000 words. And the story’s far from over…like, 70,000 words from over…it’s going to be monstrous and an absolute dream to edit, I imagine.
~ I’m working on revising and editing Imprint to get ready for publishing (maybe). I have my parents and aunt helping with things like sentence structure and wording. I have the first few chapters relatively polished, and I’ve written my very first query letter. It was…interesting, and I still don’t know if I’ve done it right, but I guess I’ll find out when I send it out. XD
Blogging ~
~ I participated in the first annual Silmarillion Awards put out by Jenelle Schmidt and D.J. Edwardson, and it was a TON of fun. 🙂 You can check this post to see who the winner was for Most Epic Hero (hosted by Aragorn). It was also my most viewed post this year on my blog. Thanks to all who commented! ^_^
~ Five most popular posts…
- The Snippet Tag // Created by MOI
- Small is Beautiful // A Celebration
- Book to Movie Wishlist
- Five Enchanted Roses // A Review
- Strangest Browser Searches {September Edition}
~ I somehow managed to reach over 80 subscribers…so, um, that’s AWESOME. 🙂 Thank you to all who read and comment on my blog. You rock! ❤
~ Also this year, I wrote 86 posts. 86 GUYS. That’s a TON for me.
Movies ~
I saw a lot of good movies this year! Some are new this year and some I just saw for the first time.
Zootopia ~ 5/5
Aww, this is possibly the best animated film I saw this year. It was just so cute and fun and HILARIOUS. XD
Captain America: Civil War ~ 5/5
You can read my full review here, but basically IT WAS NOT OKAY. BUT ALSO AMAZING. It’s complicated…
The Tourist ~ 4.5/5
I really, really liked this one! It had a lot of action and wit and I DID NOT see the plot twist coming…There were a few suggestive parts and language, so I bumped it down a half star, but otherwise, totally fun!
Napolean Dynamite ~ 5/5
Guys, I think this may be the funniest movie I saw this year. IT’S JUST SO HILARIOUS. My sense of humor could be described as lethally sarcastic, which is why I found it so funny. Definitely a must-watch!
Finding Dory ~ 5/5
I actually didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. It was no Finding Nemo, but I still loved every minute of it. It brought back maybe a bit of nostalgia, since I remembering watching Finding Nemo a lot when I was younger. 🙂
Lord of the Rings trilogy ~ 5/5
I have to give these all five stars. I just have to. They’re SO. GOOD. I don’t really have to say much else. If you haven’t watched them, DO IT. NOW.
Doctor Strange ~ 5/5
You can read my full review here. But mostly all you need to know is that it was EPIC. I totally loved it. There were a few sprinkles of weird stuff here and there, but all in all, it was a GREAT movie.
Trolls ~ 4/5
This is probably the movie I liked the least this year. And it’s not that it wasn’t good or anything. It was. Though had I been younger, I think I would’ve enjoyed it more. But there was a lot of references to the 80s which was fun to see. 🙂
School of Rock ~ 4.5/5
This was hilarious, is all I can say. All the school kids are awesome in their own way and I really liked their relationship with Dewie. It was just a fun movie to watch.
Reading ~
So, I kinda feel like I…failed…in the reading department this year. Don’t get me wrong, all the books I read were (for the most part) SUPER GOOD. I just didn’t read very much is all.
I only read 35 books this year. That’s not too bad, but I feel I could’ve read more. A couple of favorites from this year…
Goals for 2017 ~
Writing-wise ~
I’m really trying to focus on polishing up Imprint, but I do plan on doing either JuNo or NaNo, depending on what’s going on those months. I plan on sending out a query sometime at the beginning of January to a publishing house. I don’t know how it will go, but I’m excited to find out!
Also, I’m trying to outline a new trilogy! O_O It’s kind of weird, now that the Imprint trilogy is mostly written. (Of course, there’s still a bunch of work that needs to be done on all three books, but still.) I’m excited to start this new series.
I also got a Wattpad account and I have more than a dozen ideas for some novellas and short stories I may or may not post on there. We’ll see. 😉
Reading-wise ~
Since last year’s reading was a bit of a bust, I’m setting my a bit lower this year in hopes that I’ll be more motivated to reach it. My Goodreads challenge is set for 50 books. We’ll see if I can make it!
Blogging-wise ~
I really want to connect with more bloggers this year. I follow so many blogs, but I never really interact with the authors, so I’m going to try to comment more and make new friends. 😉
Life-wise ~
The most important thing I’m going to try and focus on this year is digging into the Word. I feel like for the most part, I’ve been neglecting God’s Word. I’m on a mission to change that and become more immersed in the Bible than I was last year.
Other, smaller things ~
~ I should probably get a job of some sort. I don’t know.
~ I need to drive more, despite my sheer dislike of it. And that’s made harder by the fact that I live in a cold, icy state, where driving is dangerous this time of year. 😛
~ I also am trying to find ways to share my musical abilities with others. I’m not much for being the center of attention, but I would love to be an accompanist or play in an orchestra maybe.
Short & Snappy 
I love hearing from you! ^_^