Goodbye and Thank You 2008 *sniff*

My recent goal, with the start of the new year, has been to write out my 2008 accomplishments and at the same time, define the things I would like to accomplish in 2009. It is always hard for me to put into words my goals and desires, I can see them in my mind, I definitely have vision, but actually stating them and then publishing them on my blog allows me to fail. And that is pretty dang scary. (Listen, I already showed you something terrible this week, so cut me some slack! See bad photos below.) So I have not yet decided if I am actually going to let you guys read everything, but I am going to write about what I think were my most important accomplishments of 2008.

The winner of Katie Slater’s MOST important accomplishment of 2008 (not to demean or offend my small 2008 accomplishments) is…drum roll…… (okay, here it goes, don’t judge me as I am sure I am going to sound a wee bit crazy to some of you out there.) …

This year I finally allowed myself to listen to my voice. MY voice. That quiet call in my heart.

Is this cheese overload? Do you think I am totally crazy yet? No? Okay. Good. I’ll keep going…2008 was the year that I finally let myself turn in the direction that I had wanted to go, and I did it with conviction. I didn’t let anyone's voice get in my way. For me, it was a first.

So here’s the rundown of my accomplishments…
1. Listened to my voice.
2. Committed myself to going to the Grand Canyon. (Something I have felt pulled to do for years.)
3. Actually went on the trip with the Sierra Club, and survived! (Blog post coming about this, I swear!)
4. Gained a new sense of self and most importantly a sense of confidence and empowerment that I had NEVER experienced before. Truly amazing.
5. Decided that I needed to have a DSLR and bought one. (Thanks Chris! xo xo)
6. Reached out to friends, made myself really vulnerable – but received positive response.
7. Started (and continued) a blog.
8. Reached out further and didn’t fail.
9. Found a true passion.
10.Went kayaking.
11. Learned a sh*tload of stuff.
12. Reconnected with old and very special friends, made new friends.
13. Felt really, really happy.

As for info on the Grand Canyon trip, it truly changed my life, but I owe the experience an entire blog post so I won’t say much now. But here’s what I can say: looking back, I know why I had to go to the GC. It was in the canyon, drinking water infested with dead mosquito larvae; backpacking further than I ever have before; living 90 miles away from any sort of civilization for 8 days; living disconnected from my family, my children, and friends; stepping out of my comfort zone; and climbing up those last incredibly steep steps that I found an inner strength, listened to my own voice (again!), and breathed life into a completely undiscovered sense of self and confidence. For that reason alone, it was a most amazing year.

So I want to encourage you, my friends, if you are not already listening to your voice please go do what you have to do to find your voice, listen to it, and act upon it. Find the courage to take a scary step. Get out of your own way, because truly, YOU are the only person holding you back.

If I can do it, you can too. I have faith in your inner strength and courage. I know it's there. :)

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And lastly, as a goodbye to my 2008, I must express a deep, heartfelt, and tear-inducing gratitude to my clients, friends (old and new), hubby-hubster, and family. Thank you for your support, encouragement, feedback, patience, love, honesty, and most of all, time. I know that I am not really anyone special, or famous, or wonderfully talented but you all make me feel that way, and for that I am forever grateful and indebted. Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo.