2015 was a fairly good year for me. I gained some clarity and learned to balance certain aspects of my personality. I've gotten better at knowing what and who I should and shouldn't spend time and energy on. 2015 had it's challenging moments as well, but I overcame these and made another successful trip around the sun. Here's some of my best and worst of 2015:

Worst of 2015:

1. I seriously injured my knee a few times this year. It hasn't been the best experience. The injuries are a result of past abuse and current recklessness with my body. It set me back significantly in my yoga practice and caused me to worry about my body in a way that I never did before. Perhaps it's been a good thing in that regards. I'm not indestructible and as I get older being kind and careful with my body should be more of a priority I guess.

2. I had my first acupuncture experience. ( thanks to the knee injury )

3. I had a small tumor removed. ( thanks to all that sunbathing )

Best of 2015

1. This year I spent a considerable amount of time contemplating how to become a kinder, more generous person. As part of this effort, I randomly and anonymously paid for a few strangers dinners. Nothing boosts the ego more than random generosity followed by a self-promotional blog post. I know this minor sort of thing doesn't equate to being a kinder or more generous person, but at least I can say that I made some honest efforts. That being said, I have a lot of work yet to do in this area in 2016.

2. I finally made it to Lanyu island in Taiwan. The island is as stunning as everyone told me it was. As our boat approached, all I could hear was the theme song from Jurassic park playing in my head. It's, it's, an island! I was able to do some diving ( considered to be some of the best in Taiwan ) and spend quality time with some of my best friends. I regret not buying this really cool neckless.

3. I did a lot of riding on my fixie.

4. I began my new role as a Communication Strategist for DDG and updated my website to reflect this and other work I've done over the last few years. This new role has been both challenging and rewarding. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with so many talented people and learn from the masters of Taiwan branding. 

5. I gave my first client presentation in Chinese. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but it was. I just have to remember not to use 很嚴重 in place of 很重要.

6. I hosted my first Greativities event and had a "great" time doing it.

7. In order to cut down on film expense, I picked up a used Fujifilm x100 and have enjoyed taking pictures with it this year. 

8. I did a week of Paleo diet, after which I decided I wouldn't eat meat, rice or noodles during my lunch in the future.

9. I received both Cheez-its and Triscuits from America. I ate both boxes in only a few days.

10. I bought the book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, mostly because I love the hardcover book design, but I also enjoyed reading it as well.

11. This is one of my favorite quotes this year.

12. After nearly 4 years of long hair, I got a hair cut at biba solan. This action was the direct result of a sort of, personal brand audit after one of my dear friends humorously referred to me as Fabio. I think Fabio is just fine actually, but it was a great time to reinvent myself.  

13. I started wearing the same thing to work every day.

14. I read a lot of Sam Harris and even purchased his Waking up presentation from Vimeo. If you don't know who Sam Harris is you should check out his TED Talk and explore some of his books.

15. One of the best movies I saw this year was Interstellar. I'm not sure why, but this movie had a huge emotional impact on me. I know not everyone loved this movie as much as I did, but I was really blown away. I felt the music was amazing. It's one of the few movies I've gone back to see again in the theater. 

16. I bought myself a Gogoro Smartscooter and wrote an article about it.

For the year ahead I don't have a list of resolutions.
I just plan on continuing to do what I have been doing, perhaps with a little more guacamole here and there. 

Happy New Year everyone!