December 22, 2015. 9:09 pm.

December 22, 2016. 4:18 pm.

One incredible year of Strikes of Luck, which until recently, was Serendipity: A Lucky Strike.

Things that have changed:

I'm a senior in college. I went to Edinburgh, and now I'm back in Greenville. I've visited more coffee shops than I ever thought possible. I've written and photographed more. I went to multiple countries in four months. I've made friends through real life and Instagram. I've embraced my creativity, adventures, and connections.

Things that have stayed the same:

I still love my Passion Planner. It holds my entire life. I've told people so many times that if I lost it, I would spontaneously combust (my words exactly). If I want to know anything about my life in the past year since I arrived in Edinburgh, I can flip to that month, that week, that day, even that hour. It's my schedule savior and my dream catcher. My Passion Planner holds my every move.

If you've met me, or even followed this blog or my Instagram, you know that I love schedules, but that I also have been incorporating spontaneity this year as one of my "adventures" for myself. While schedules structure me to classes, meetings, and extracurriculars, the time blocking also allows me to see the openness in my schedule (when that exists).

The first photo that I ever posted on Instagram.

How does my Passion Planner relate to my blogging goals?

Since the beginning of the blog, I've kept an extensive list of topics, musings, and ideas in its pages with little check boxes to put a little check in for completion once I've posted. When I originally put myself on a blogging schedule, I also recorded those goals in the calendar pages. I've grown through my Passion Planner, and so has my blog.

Creativity- I write quotes or doodles in the free space. I write topics and words and feelings.

Adventures- I write down where I go and when I go there. If there's time for exploration, once I've completed the adventure, I also record that.

Connections- Every time I meet a friend or make a new one, I write down where I met them or where we hung out. I make connections between people and places in the pages also.

One planner, one blog, one person. That's what this year created for me: opportunity. When I wrote that first post, when I made the Instagram, when I made the initial post on Facebook. That was one year ago. I really cannot believe it because it seems simultaneously short and long.

Here's to 2017. May there be another Passion Planner, more blogging, and more creativity, adventures, and connections.

Lucky Strike of the Day: I spent the afternoon at Due South Coffee, drinking a mocha, writing, and working on some photography for an exciting blog surprise tomorrow. Stay tuned!