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ashlee o'neil
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A Short Reflection on the Year: 2018 edition

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It ‘s taken me a little more time than I care to admit to fully put my thoughts together about this year. In all honesty, I needed a little bit of time to absorb everything, what I learned and what I hope to accomplish in the coming year. Honestly, when you’ve kept your foot on the pedal all year, you don’t think about all the good that’s been happening since you’re so focused on what lies ahead. That not to say, that looking forward is bad but it’s important to look back every now and again to appreciate how good things are.

Before I began writing this post, I went through my 2017 recap. After reading through the post, it made me smile knowing that I accomplish majority of the things on my list, and I was able to relive some of the highlights from the year. So, it only seems fitting to do the same this year.

If I was to sum up the entire year in one word I would probably choose “growth” — I grew in my job, my relationship, and my photography skills. I would be lying if I didn’t say it was tough to find balance between everything, and there were some very low points, but in the grand scheme of things I’m so incredibly blessed. I won’t bore you with the details, but I’m just blown away by the people I’ve met and the memories made.

In honor of last year’s tradition before looking back, I want to layout some of my goals for 2019:

  1. Improve my physical well-being

    This is probably the most stereotypical resolution of them all but it’s the area that I struggled to keep up with the most. I’ve looked into joining the gym near my apartment, Wicker Park Fitness, and scoped out Groupon for any deals, I actually found a really good deal for Brooklyn Boulder if you’re a local Chicagoan looking for a new experience. Not to mention, I’ve heard really good things about ClassPass.

  2. Advance my knowledge on botany

    This one is more just for fun, but I want to learn more about indoor plants. It’s a fun hobby that I’ve began last year and I would. We already have a decent collection in our apartment but I think it would be fun to add some larger plants to the collection. My favorite place to buy plants is The Sill — they also have a large amount of blog post on how to take care of your plants, like this one: Top 10 Plant Care Tips

  3. Plan a creative shoot at a photo studio

    This is a personal goal I’ve had for a while. I’ve been wanting to shoot in an actual studio for a while but it’s been extremely hard to narrow down the creative direction I want to take. I want to work with more professional models and test the waters in more creative shoots.

  4. Travel to three new cities

    It’s always fun to plan trips in the new year, we already have a trip to Washington, D.C. planned for the spring and a girl’s trip to Arizona later in the next few months. Not to mention, a family vacation over the summer.

  5. Create new habits for use of technology

    I’ve gotten into some pretty bad habits with my phone. We’ve had a love/hate relationship over the past year. But I’m working to get better at the amount of time I spend on my phone, like deleting apps that are time-wasters and be more mindful of when I’m looking at my phone.

  6. Read two new books each quarter

    If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to send them my way. I’ve currently working through The Devil in the White City and After — they are two very different genres but I think it’s good to read something a little more light-hearted because some days can get pretty heavy.

  7. Spend 30 mins each Sunday to plan out groceries for the week

    I start laughing to myself when I think about the fact that I put this on the list. But almost every time I go to the store, I feel overwhelmed because I don’t want to continue to buy the same thing yet I kick myself for not making a list so I’m more well-prepared.

  8. Rebrand and design my person website

    I’m really excited about this particular project. I’ve already started to lay the groundwork but it will be fun to slowly evolve this site into something a little more functional.

Now here’s a look back on some of my photo memories of 2018:

January

February

Explored the Garfield Park Conservatory with Rob. Highly recommend a visit if you’re in Chicago, it’s such a cool space.

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March:

Ran the Shamrock Shuffle - March 25th

April:

Work trip to Los Angeles, California

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My coworker and I flew out to Los Angeles for a few days to overlook a video shoot with a local production studio. It was my first time in California and I was excited to experience the west coast.

Group vacation to Denver, Colorado

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May

Kicked my photography business in high-gear. I started to take more risks, reach out to new people and explore new avenues of photography that have led me to where I am now in my career.

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August

Took a two-week trip of a lifetime. We started in London then made our way to the Amalfi Coast, spent some time in Poland and then finished the trip with a short visit to Iceland.

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September

When I realized I love doing stylized shoots. Honestly, it was my first experience in it and I had no idea what I was doing but the jolt of creative energy I got taking these photos…I knew I had to do it again, and again, and again.

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Summary

I won’t lie to you all, at some point I started add content to this post. While there were plenty more activities that took place, I can honestly say it was such a good year. And now that we’re few months into 2019, I’d say the new year is off to a great start.

Cheers!

 
Sunday 03.31.19
Posted by Ashlee O'Neil
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