2019 in Review

How is it already this time again?! I just went back and re-read my 2018 and 2017 year in review posts, and it's so wild to think that last year at this time I had NO idea what 2019 was about to bring. I almost wish I could go back and tell January 2019 Jane to buckle up for a wild ride... but that would probably have taken a lot of the fun of the adventure and given its twists and turns away. So here we go, reflecting on the year that led me to a new job, new city, and so many other new graces and gifts. Let's jump in.

Best Moments of 2019
New Years Eve in Costa Rica
Easter in China
Improv Classes with Sarah
Weekly Bible Study with my SF Girls
Skiing in Park City
Seeing Dear Evan Hansen in New York City
Celebrating my parents' 25th Wedding Anniversary
Emcee-ing the Girls on the Run Spring 5K
Reaching 10,000 people with the #CultivateConfidence program
Miss California 2019 - seeing my friends surprise me in the audience 😭
Winning Miss National Sweetheart 2019 (still in shock about this...)
Traveling to Whistler
New Job with Reform Alliance
Moving to DC!
A week in San Diego and Santa Barbara celebrating weddings!
Paid off my college loans wooohooo

Some of my favorite things this year...

1. Corepower Yoga
I finally jumped on the bandwagon. I love it.

2. Downton Abbey
During/before/after my move I watched all six seasons. Clearly, loved it.

3. FaceTime
I spent so much time this year FaceTime-ing the people I love. Especially after moving, FaceTime has allowed me to stay in close contact with people I love all over the country. If we haven't spoken in a while, let's get an FT date on the books!

4. Hoopeston, IL
The sweet town where I competed for National Sweetheart! The people of Hoopeston were so generous and wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better town to visit, or people to meet. Go Cornjerkers!

5. Compass Coffee
I love you nitro coffee.

6. Dave Ramsey Budgeting
Speaking of coffee... I spend way too much on it. I am a pretty serious under-spender, but I'm trying to save for some big trips next year - so I've started budgeting and tracking every. Single. Purchase. Yikes. Working on it!

7. The Rosary
Big moves team!! I have been praying and praying to develop a devotion to our mother, and this year I truly felt like Mary was all around. My word of the year was "Fiat," my dad and I got stuck on a layover and got to see the Tilma in Mexico City on January 3, I served as Miss Marin County, and began the 54 Day Rosary Novena. Our Mother points us to Christ so beautifully, and her prayers have helped me to love and know Jesus more this year.

8. Rent the Runway
Okay, another splurge. But there's something so much fun about getting dressed up. Plus, it's more sustainable than me buying new clothes every month! Rent the Runway is a subscription service that delivers four pieces of clothing at a time (basically old school Netflix for clothes). You can return or keep them for as long as you want. I've borrowed so many cute dresses, and it makes it easier to get dressed for work and to try out new styles. I highly recommend! Check it out here.

Big Moves

I MOVED! To my favorite city in the world!! I couldn't be happier and I love being in DC so so much. My new job is incredible, and I love spending my days surrounded by brilliant people who are fighting hard to right the injustice in the world and to protect the human dignity of our brothers and sisters who are stuck in the criminal justice system. It's a complete honor to be a part of this work and I'm so grateful.

Word for the Year: Fiat

My original word for the year was "Fiat" - based on my absolute favorite chapter of scripture, Luke 1. The "Fiat" was Mary's "Yes!" to God when she was asked to bring his son into the world. My goal for this year was to give God my yeses, enthusiastically and generously, like Mary. There were many times when it would have been easier to say no, when I desperately wanted a break or felt like I just wasn't up to the challenge. But my word of the year kept me accountable. If it was good, true, and beautiful; if it allowed me to praise, serve, and love God and others, the answer was "Fiat!"

In the past few weeks, I've been reflecting and I realized that another word for this year would be "relationship." This has been a year of new friendships, rekindled friendships, and new relationships that have filled my life with so much joy and love. Actually, now that I think of it, these relationships were made possible by my "Fiats." Honestly, I don't remember a time in my life when I've had so many wonderful, joyful, hilarious, adventurous people in my life. 2019 has been a year of Fiats and relationships, and I'm so beyond grateful for the people in my life.

(Curious about my 2020 Word of the Year? Check it out here!)

The Best 10 Pounds I've Ever Gained

I've written about this before, but I am so grateful for Intuitive Eating. For the past seven years, on and off, I have spent a ridiculous amount of energy fighting to make my body look a certain way, and this year I just said enough. These past four months have required me to remind myself often what really matters to me. And, honestly, none of it has anything to do with the way my body looks. Other major plus sides to listening to my body include my face completely clearing up (it's such a miracle, I would have done this years ago if I had known!), getting better sleep, having more energy, and I think being a much kinder and less hangry person to be around.

Most Important Lesson Learned

This year I learned (was reminded) that God's plan is absolutely superior to ANYTHING I could dream up.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

Isaiah 55:8-9

Once again, I thought I had it all figured out. I put so much effort and energy and focus into Miss California, and placing 1st Runner-Up was one of the most bittersweet experiences I've had in my life. It was hard to move past that dream - a dream I've had and worked towards non-stop for three years - and accept that the door was closed. I trusted that God had it handled and was protecting me and guiding me to what was next.

Then, a month later, I went off to Hoopeston to represent California at the National Sweetheart pageant. It was crazy fun, and then I won! I was overcome with His goodness. I had felt so exhausted and weak, and I thought I hadn't done well at all. But again, He was proving that my success is not my own. It's all from Him and through Him - both the perceived success and perceived failures. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. 

And THEN I got a job offer that would rock my world. It's important to note that this job would not have happened unless I had competed at Miss California this year - I met my current boss through her daughter, who was Miss Marin Teen. I moved to DC, a dream three years in the making, where I now get to work with super cool people on an issue that is working to change the lives of over one million people in the next five years.

God used this - my dreams, my relationships, my interests, and my goals - to craft His perfect story. So yes, as Ye would say, "it's on God."

Here we go, 2020. A new year, a new decade. I'm so excited to see what's next and to jump into the next year in my new city. God is good, and He is taking perfect care of us. There are some really, really, REALLY exciting things coming up in the next few months - things that fill me with more excitement than I've had in a long time - and I can't wait to give it all to Him and watch Him work.

Please know of my prayers for you as you celebrate the end of this year and jump into the next one. 

Love always,

Jane