Chats Over Coffee #4
Goodbye 2024
This is Chats Over Coffee, a series of random journal entries from my journal to your inbox. There’s no rubric, no intro, no conclusion, just random musings. Enjoy <3
I’m always amazed by how quickly the time flies. One minute we’re ringing in the new year filled with hope and dreams. The next we realized it’s already the end of the year and we can’t seem to figure out where the time went. I had an interesting 2024. Good memories but also very bad ones. Very high glimmers and the lowest of dimmers. But nevertheless, here’s a small glimpse of my 2024 in bullet points.
The building cookout
For the first time ever my neighbors and I had a big Fourth of July cookout. We spent hours outside cooking, eating, talking, dancing, laughing, watching fireworks. I think it’s the first time I ever celebrated the holiday and it was amazing. I was teaching my mom the Cha Cha Slide when I turned around and noticed that one by one my neighbors were joining in. It was truly a magical moment and one of my favorite highlights of the year.
I’ve read 22 books (thus far)
This year I decided I wanted to keep a small goal of 24. I knew that starting law school after 2 years of not being in school would take up a lot of my time and I didn’t want to feel the “pressure” of my normal reading goal. I think setting a lower number was so liberating. My favorite of the year was of course Funny Story by Emily Henry. The past 2 years she’s become one of my favorite authors and I’m always so excited for a new Henry release. I think next year I want to re-read all my Henry books and try to rank them again.
I watched 67 films (I think)
I definitely watched at least 100 because I rewatched every Fast & Furious and Twilight movie at least 6 times each but sadly I forgot to count each rewatch on my Letterboxd. My favorite film of the year was Inside Out 2. It was so gut wrenching, funny, and relatable. I’m constantly amazed by the creativity and authenticity at Pixar.
Family Trip to the motherland
This year my family and I traveled back to the Dominican Republic to celebrate my moms 51st birthday. It’s the first time in 20 years that my mom has been able to celebrate her birthday with her mother and siblings and it was amazing. We spent a couple days at a hotel in the country side where we were the only guests. I know that sounds scary but it was actually so peaceful and fun. We went night swimming every night and shared so many laughs. I think we all agree it was the best trip we’ve ever done together.
I got accepted to and survived my first semester of law school
Geez this was a hard one. I started the year off finishing my applications, worrying about whether I’d be accepted, how to afford it, and if I was even making the right decision. Law school is definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and even though there was a lot of sacrifice and pain, I’m slightly proud of myself for taking this step. I still don’t know whether or not I passed or failed this semester but I’m just happy it’s done. 1 down, 5 more to go. Next semester looks like it’s going to be more challenging and bring on even tougher battles. But I think I’m slightly more prepared (I hope) for what’s to come.
Suite at the Yankees
I love baseball. It is my absolute favorite sport and each year I look forward to the new season so I can go to as many games as possible whether it’s little league, Double A, Major League and everything in between. This year I actually got to see the Yankees play from the presidential suite!!! It was such a luxurious experience and so fun. I will say, I can see the appeal of a suite but I miss being front and center for the action, feeling the energy of the crowd around me and racing to the concession stands before the next inning. 10/10 experience overall and I’m excited for many more suite opportunities in the future, but you will see me back in the crowd more often than not.
As years go, this was not the best by any means. It’d likely classify as a 5 on a scale of 10, but it was a year I’m grateful for nonetheless. I feel comfortable saying goodbye to it without feeling the overwhelming dread of not making an impact. It was a year of learning and pivoting which is going to be the recipe for the years to come (I think). Cheers to more memories and growth. Goodbye 2024.
