New Year, New Projects and New Doors!

Hello kind krafters!
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I hope you are all doing well and enjoying these last few days of 2017. I don’t know about you but 2017 has been a tough year for me. Juggling my class schedule trying to get it right in order to graduate this year, dealing with new challenges and people in a professional capacity, dealing with a lot hurt and heartbreak on a personal level, and getting very, very sick, have all been difficult, exhausting and painful. At the same time, 2017 has brought so many new and exciting things. I made new friends, and saw acquaintances develop into flourishing and fulfilling friendships. I began a professional partnership with AllTrails that let me spend my summer experiencing all of the nature my city has to offer. I camped alone for the first time, and further solidified by confidence and comfort in the outdoors, especially as a solo female adventurer. I read a lot of books, watched a lot of great movies, cried a lot of tears, and let loose a lot of loud belly laughs. 

On top if the difficulties, it was definitely a year of adventure…and more than a few selfies!

​It has been a wild, crazy, happy and heartbroken, exciting, and fun filled year. And as we move into the end of this cycle around the sun, I am excited to see what the next year will bring. I’ve never been one for resolutions. I usually make a list of goals I hope to keep in mind and try and focus on in the year, but a list of resolutions never really work for me. I think it’s because I have always favoured trying to attempt to go with the flow and let the year take me where it will, while keeping certain values, hopes, and goals in mind, instead of setting out a list that I always end up straying from and then feeling bad about. But that’s just me, and I know resolutions can be a powerful tool for many people. It all depends on who you are, and what you know about yourself. So I encourage you to take some time to figure out which approach is better for you, and go from there!

Looking forward to more hikes with this boy in the coming year. 

​So what am I thinking for this new year to come? Well new projects, new experiences, new places, new people, and new doors opening. This year I will for the first time move away from my home and my city. In a week and a half I get on a plane and fly across the country to live in Haida Gwaii for 3.5 months. In the spring I graduate, finally finishing my undergraduate degree after 5 years of classes, essays, and studying. From there, I don’t really know, as I’ll be faced for the first time with the openness of no more classes, and the vastness of opportunities open to me. And, I am excited to announce this year will also offer the opportunity of a variety of new projects, the first of which will include expanding my AllTrails Internship project by adding in bus route information to each trail page, making these wild places more accessible to everyone. 

And always excited for more and more views like this. 

And so, with the end of this year, I move towards an end to a lot of pain, and a lot of excitement in the form of the events of the last year of my life. But so to, do I look towards an opening towards a new set of opportunities and a new chance to do what I can to be happy, and pursue what I love. I hope you all are ending this latest year around the sun on a positive note, regardless of what the past year as brought you, good or bad. And I hope you all can look happily into the coming year, and spend as much time as you can making space for what you love, who you love, and what makes you happy. It is not always easy, and neither is life, but I hope you all will join me in ringing in a new year of new projects, opportunities, experiences, and chances to make your soul sing.

Stay Kind and See You All Next Year!
<3 Niki ​