The last time I wrote a mid-year mark article was 2021, can you believe it?! Perhaps that’s testimony to how busy the last four years of my life has been. I have some free time on my hands now though as I’ve closed the chapter on residency, and am undergoing a period of transition. With that said, I thought it fitting to resume personal blog entries and revive this mid-year series.
Continue reading “2025: Mid-Year Mark”
This has been another whirlwind year. In 2021, I learnt that being happy and content is a daily decision which requires effort, and that being grateful even in the midst of crisis is an act which will eventually beget more blessings. As such, I give thanks for everything– the ups, the downs and the in between. For me, 2024 has been beyond spectacular in the grand scheme of things, and today let’s recap it all. Also, today commemorates EIGHT years of Adventures from Elle! Give thanks.
Continue reading “2024 Year in Review”
Where to start? What a year it has been! For starters, Adventures from Elle turned seven (7) years old yesterday, which means it’s been seven years of intentionally exploring Jamaica and recording it all in this public journal. When I started Adventures from Elle in 2016, I had no idea it’d bring me this much joy, or allow me to meet or e-meet so many persons, or even have paid opportunities and collaborations. My blog has brought a lot of meaning to my life, and I’ve seen growth in my audience, style of writing and more. I’ve also managed to keep my blog alive with new posts every Friday despite often having weeks or months on end with no new adventures. With that said, here’s a recap of my 2023.
Continue reading “2023 Year in Review”
Last year was the first year that I didn’t write an end of year review. In retrospect, I’m sorry that I skipped that tradition given that Adventures from Elle celebrated five years of existence in 2021 and had received recognition on national television and in the local paper. However, I couldn’t bring myself to write a recap publicly. 2021 was one of the most difficult years of my life, personally and professionally. The pandemic was at its peak with the delta CoVid-19 variant in circulation between August to November 2021, and I still don’t feel as if I’ve fully recovered from that trauma. However, I’m happy to report that I’m in a much better place emotionally for 2022, and my workplace + life in Jamaica are mostly back to normal. I celebrated SIX years of blogging on Adventures from Elle this month too. With that said, let’s recap 2022.
Continue reading “2022 Year in Review”
The ability to reflect on the past and use it to plan for the future is one of the abilities which sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. I reflect at the close of every chapter of my life, be it relationships, leaving an old job, ending an academic year and certainly, at the mid point of every year. I’ve been sharing mid-year reviews since 2018 to summarize what I’ve been up to so far and where I’ve reached in my goals. Read on for a few life updates and what to expect from Adventures from Elle for the rest of 2021.
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What a year! 2020 was not what we were expecting, and I still find it hard to wrap my mind around the one million deaths and counting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, my relatives and friends all ended 2020 alive and healthy, and the few who were infected recovered nicely. For me, 2020 was a year filled with many disappointments and challenges, but it was also a year of immense personal growth and a modest amount of blog growth too. Today I take a look back on the year that was in terms of personal life, adventures, blog growth, milestones and 2020’s top posts.
Continue reading “2020 Year In Review”
Mid-year posts have become a trend for me two years in a row, and by the title of this post you can guess I’m writing a third. I began Adventures from Elle on December 28, 2016 and I wrote end of year recaps for 2017, 2018 and 2019, slightly changing the format each year. I try to be as candid as possible without belabouring the not-so-glamorous parts of my year. Mid-year recaps, however, keep me accountable on what has been good or bad about the year so far, allow me to identify what I’d like to improve on or accomplish before the year ends and gives insight on the adventures I have my eye set on for the rest of the year so you have an idea what posts to expect from me.
Continue reading “2020: Mid-Year Mark”
2019 had its challenges but it has been the best year of my life yet. I accomplished everything I wanted to, and then some. I pushed myself and had a lot of “wow, can’t believe I did that” moments. It was an amazing year of growth, risk-taking and change. Adventures from Elle turns three today too and 2019 has also been my blog’s best year ever, tripling last year’s views and engagement. 🎉 I’m all for reflecting at the end of the year so read on for a succinct recap of our 2019.
Continue reading “2019 Year In Review”
Last year I wrote a post titled “2018: Mid-Year Mark” because I wanted my readers to know I was alive and well despite two months of inactivity. Life was busy and I just didn’t have any shareable experiences to publish so it was a personal sort of check-in post, made complete with the goals and plans I had for the remainder of the year. You can check that out here if you’re interested. This year my blog hasn’t been inactive at all– in fact it’s probably the most active it has ever been. I made time for writing and travelling rather frequently while completing my medical degree, but I quite enjoyed putting together that post and thought I’d do one for 2019 even if we’re 21 days past the midpoint of the year.
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Hey there! So many drafts but no published posts since April 26. For the first time since this blog’s inception in December 2016, I missed a month in writing on WordPress! It’s not anything I’m proud of but if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a medical student so life gets really busy sometimes. With no travel posts to write at this time, I thought it fitting to reunite with my blog through a more personal post and check-in as we near the mid-year mark of 2018.
Continue reading “2018: Mid-Year Mark”
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