December 31, 2018

2018 in Review

Whew! It's been a whirlwind year! And just like that, we've gotten to the very last day of 2018. It's crazy how much time flies, isn't it? I think I'm ready for 2019 to start.


2018 had a lot of low points for me personally - just when I thought it couldn't be worse, something else would happen. The tears I have cried this year... I wouldn't wish them on anyone. But through the pain, shame, being brought to arguably the lowest points of my life, I have somehow held on. I can only attribute it to God's grace. A verse I held close to my heart this year was:


So many days I felt like I was drowning under the weight of life. So many days I felt like it was a struggle to try and keep my head above water. And this verse helped me hold on. There are a couple of things about it: it doesn't say "If" you go through deep waters, but "When." We will all go through tough times in life (some very long stretches), but we must remember that in those times, God is with us. Emmanuel.

TRAVEL
Not only did I do quite a bit of traveling this year, Little Miss Cocoa came along, and traveled internationally! I shared a Traveling with Baby series; as well as our Family Cruise Vacation series. Honestly, I had a couple more posts to share about our cruise, but I got tired :p I have 2 confirmed trips for 2019 so far (one to Canada) and another within the US.

BLOGGING/YOUTUBE
I kinda got my blogging mojo back. After a long time struggling to even touch my computer, I've been consistent with posting at least twice a week. I'd like to increase my post frequency in 2019 - let's see about climbing to at least 120 posts next year, shall we? This year, I put up about 60 blog posts, but I remember back when I put up 200 posts a year - good times. I'm also looking forward to getting sponsorship and making real money from blogging in 2019.

The 5 most popular posts from this year were:
Why I Have Not Been Blogging
Traveling With a Baby - Airline/Flight
Traveling With a Baby - Diaper Bag Checklist
Old Love And New Love
New Year Goal - Losing Weight

I also got back into posting on Youtube. As much as I would like to put up weekly posts, I have to be honest about whether it's really feasible. Taking the time to film and edit videos for Youtube can be tasking - especially as a full-time working mum. We'll see. Fingers crossed!

INSTAGRAM
I should include all Social Media, but I'm most active on Instagram. I love that TopNine.co allows you to see your top liked posts on Instagram. I would like to reach 13,000 followers on Instagram next year. If you're not following me already, you can find me @BerryDakara

LIFE
My darling Little Miss Cocoa turned 1! I never shared photos because I didn't really take any - the second photo on the top row of my Top Nine collage above is from her birthday party though. I started dreaming again. I got a new job in the nick of time. I lost all my pregnancy weight (and then gained some back). I had the idea for the Goal Getter Guide and successfully executed the idea within 2/3 weeks (get your copy here). I lost friendships - I will blog about the losses at a later date. I cut my hair! I got into more debt, but I have a better money mindset which I talked about here.

At the beginning of 2018, I thought I heard from God that this would be my year of Restoration. I honestly believed that things/people I lost would be restored to my life - they weren't. But I, as a person, am being restored. It's a painstakingly slow, and often painful, process. My spirit is being renewed and restore to God, after being lost in sin. The repercussions and subsequent discipline has been hard to take. But in them, I have learned lessons to guide me going forward. And that, is something to be thankful for.

Thank you for staying with me through the year. I look forward to a great 2019!

7 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! I'm excited for 2019!

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  2. Cheers to a successful 2018, 2019 will definitely be great for you. please I can't wait to see pictures from cocoa's bday

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    Replies
    1. Amen, and Happy New Year to you too! Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of photos last year. Maybe this year.

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  3. Thanks Nyema! Happy New Year to you and your boys!

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