2017: Year in Review

2017 has been a wild ride to say the least. I have travelled all over this incredible planet, made friendships that will last a lifetime and really focused on what’s important to me. Dreams have come true and the grind continues for the future. Here’s to being present and embracing every single adventure!

CareerI have one semester left of my undergraduate degree and I have been working my ass off for the last 4 years. The grind is just beginning. I’ve grown immensely as an actor and human. I got to play one of my dream roles and work alongside my incredibly talented peers. This year also marked my first speaking roles on camera and I can’t wait to explore the film world even more. My love for the arts grows every single day and the importance of producing work with a message becomes increasingly important to me. I love telling stories and my life work will centre around that idea.

Photography has always been of interest to me and this summer I studied Photojournalism (and fell in love). The power of a photograph to create change astounds me. One photographer I really grew to love and deeply appreciate her work is Lynsey Addario. She’s definitely a huge inspiration to me. Addario doesn’t shy away from the difficult subjects and is constantly finding creative way to evoke a reader response. I look up to her.

TravelSo many of my travel dreams came true in 2017. I had the opportunity to walk through the souks in Morocco, take in the vast mountains in British Columbia, eat the best fries on the streets of Amsterdam, get caught in the pouring rain in Rome and bask in the sun of Mallorca. I felt incredibly blessed to have visited so many beautiful places and these experiences will forever be etched on my heart. I have seen some incredible sights. Every time I travel I learn so much about myself and the world around me. I think it has provided me with the best education. However, it didn’t come for free. I consistently worked 2-3 jobs at a time to make my travel goals a reality. Trust me though, those long shifts are worth seeing a Moroccan sunrise from a hot air balloon or settling in for an award-winning broadway show in NYC. You make it work. If it’s important to you — you will find a way.

I was fortunate to jet-set across the world and country but I also had the privilege of escaping in NS too. I visited Windhorse Farm on Nova Scotia’s south shore and left with an incredible amount of gratitude and solace. I also stayed at Oceanstone Seaside Resort, The Halliburton and The Boscawen Inn. Each of these experiences provided me with the opportunity to write about beautiful NS. I’m so grateful for these experiences and all that they afforded me. It has been fundamentally important to my well-being to get away and take time for myself. Find your ‘thing’. Do it.

My travels of 2017 are scribbled on the tattered pages of my journal. They were amazing. Those pages hold the best and worst moments of my year. The wildest experiences of those trips with remain on those pages (for now). It was a blast!

Friends & LoveMy family and friends are so important to me. Whenever I have the opportunity to spend time with my family — I love it. Take advantage of this time while you have it. I’m so fortunate to be surrounded by so many loving people. I’m grateful for the new friendships I made this year and looking forward to seeing where they take us! I met people from all over the world this year and had the opportunity to work with some super rad humans this summer. My heart has also experienced some incredible highs and lows. Ask my roommates… they’ve picked me up off of the kitchen floor balling my eyes out. I don’t understand why we have to experience heartbreak but that’s life, eh? One thing that the heartbreaks of 2017 have taught me is that your true friends are always there for you. It’s okay to be hurt, sad and feeling a little lost but it will not last forever. My friends have picked me up, loved me and helped me navigate this crazy world. Special shout out to my mom for listening to me vent and cry on the phone for hours. I will always cherish that. And when you least expect it, good people will come into your life and stay. Be patient.

I’ve spent my year taking care of myself, focusing on my work and loving as much as possible. My yoga practice grew immensely. I got outside whenever I had the opportunity to do so and spent time by the ocean. I had SO many positive experiences this year. Those are the experiences I’m choosing to focus on. But it would be naive to think that this year has been all light and love. I’ve had some really hard times, I’ve struggled with a number of different things but that doesn’t make me weak. It makes me so strong. I’m not quite ready to say that I’m thankful for the good and bad this year. But I will say that I’m sure it will teach me something. I’m grateful for all of the lovely humans in my life. I can’t wait to see what 2018 will bring. Let’s go into it wide-eyed, open-hearted and brave.