2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

IT'S ALMOST 2020 WHAT ON EARTH! SO much is about to happen, BUT before that, let's take a look back on the fantastic year that 2019 has been! A year of travel and adventure, 2019 was one of my best yet. Let's see shall we?

JANUARY
Started the year off strong going back to school pretty early on, the first week on January or something like that, quarter system probs... As always the weather was beautiful in Savannah, surprisingly warm, we enjoyed some beach days, park days, and plenty of bike rides. In addition to having a car in Savannah for the first time, I proceeded to get PLENTY of parking tickets... definitely not a highlight of the year...

As I do every year, I celebrated my BIRTHDAY! I turned 21 this year and had an ABSOLUTE BLAST! Winter quarter wound up being a party-full few months. So being 21 definitely had it's advantages.

FEBRUARY
February kicked off with midterms and me being busier than ever. Regardless of all the fun I was having, this quarter was a TOUGH one, lots of work, many long nights, and just doing my best to get the job done while...

Still not knowing how to say, "no" and doing MANY photoshoots and fun collaborations with friends. Which although I do love, man oh man was I BUSY! I did get a lot of good blog content out of it though hhaha... that's always a perk.

MARCH
The first bit of March we spent counting down the days until Kate and I flew abroad to ITALY for our spring break before we went to live in the south of France for spring quarter.
We went to Rome, Florence, and Venice!! We ate our weight in gnocchi and gelato and walked more than we ever expected, Rome tired us out for sure as did getting lost on literally every train we ever tried to take to get to our next destination. I loved every second.

Shortly after our Italy trip was LACOSTE!! We got settled, and fell in LOVE with our little medieval village in Provence. Taking drawing, fibers, and art history classes, I've never found more inspiration than when creating art in Lacoste.

APRIL
Still in France, we had our school trip to Paris! However I went a weekend early to stay with Saunders for a little bit! He had been living in Paris since September, and I wanted to be able to spend time with him as well as getting a sense of the local vibe.

Paris was BEAUTIFUL! I've never been anywhere like it. Every street, every alley, and every building was so stunning. I could spend some serious time in Paris. That trip flew by WAY too fast.

Our parents met us in Paris towards the end of my school trip and then we went to NICE! Although I'm not much of a tennis fan myself, seeing the French Open in Monte Carlo was one of the cooler things we've all done I think we can agree. After spending a few days in Nice/Monte Carlo with the fam, we rented a car and drove along the coast back to Lacoste where I got to show the whole family (minus my sister, emma, rip she broke her leg) my special home away from home, Lacoste.

MAY
In May, some friends and I went back to Nice to celebrate Sophie's 21st birthday! We had a GREAT time! Ate some incredible food (more gnocchi and gelato of course...) did lots of window shopping, and went to some crazy bars and clubs. Europeans really know how to party!

I continued to really soak up every moment I had left in Lacoste as it was coming to a close. My favorite part of my time spent in Lacoste was my travel portfolio class, we went to new villages almost every class. Fontaine de Vaucluse was easily my favorite place, it was incredibly magical.

This is one of my favorite film photos from my whole collection of Lacoste film, Liam took it right before I got on the bus to leave Lacoste for the last time. The view of the valley behind me was soooo beautiful and looking at it one last time I was trying to hold back tears, yet still so full of joy with my love for Lacoste. It was hard to leave, but I'm so grateful for my time spent there.

JUNE
After coming home from France I almost immediately got gum surgery, ew... but then I moved to Brooklyn! Where I'd be working an internship in New York all summer at Flagpole! I loved Brooklyn, I lived with my two friends Rachele and Gui, we had the best time together. I miss them so much!!

JULY
Still working hard at my internship, July was FULL of fun! I experienced Fourth of July in Brooklyn, we watched the fireworks from the perfect spot on top of a hill in DUMBO! Which was SO much fun.

I also went to my first Pride parade! Which was crazy because it was actually WORLD PRIDE! We had SO much fun, the parade was amazing and the whole day was so full of love and joy!

But in true Olivia form, I had a minor meltdown and had to escape New York for a little bit. Surprising my family, I came home for the weekend to get back to nature and slow things down for a bit. It was so nice to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, I really needed that refresher.

AUGUST
In August I wrapped up my internship and said goodbye to New York. I wanted to stay longer, but there was this whole thing with our apartment and we couldn't stay... That sounds sus but I promise it was just the Airbnb lease ending. I will really miss New York. I'm not sure what my plans are after school, but I'm sure I'll wind up there at some point and I cannot wait.

SEPTEMBER
Time to head back to school! Ready to start my senior year! But wait... what's this?? Another HURRICANE?! For the citywide evacuation some friends and I fled to my roommate Ana's grandparents house in Highlands, North Carolina for almost a week! We had so much fun, did some hiking, did some swimming under waterfalls, and even visited Asheville and my old camp, Camp Merrie-Woode! It was the perfect prequarter vacation!

But then of course, school had to start at some point! So a week or so later, we were back in Savannah ready to start our SENIOR YEAR! And boy oh boy has it been a lot... Only one quarter in and so far fall quarter was the hardest, yet most fun yet! I'm looking forward to continuing it in a matter of DAYS! But NOT ready for it to finish! Yikes!!

OCTOBER
Not much to say for October besides Halloween, which of course was fun, but WOW this month was just stacked with so much endless work and also the month from hell for my skin. Finally getting fully allergy tested, and to find out what? Not much honestly... This year has been very tough on my super sensitive skin. Hopefully soon I'll have answers!!

NOVEMBER
In November I headed home after the tough quarter and got to experience fall for a split second before going to New Orleans with our family for Thanksgiving! New Orleans was so so much fun, part of my dad's side of the family lives there. We had an absolute blast! We stayed in the Bywater neighborhood, it was colorful and full of so much life! We were only there for a week which simply was NOT enough! Hoping to make it a tradition for future Thanksgivings!

DECEMBER 
Again, for more quarter system probs, once I'm home for Thanksgiving I basically just stay home until the new year. So what a better way to fill my time than to get a job! I started work at Paper Source in the beginning of December for their holiday season and just finished up as I'm heading back to Savannah for the new year! It was fun! Despite the sore feet and back... it was fun!!

Besides work, I spent lots of time with family for the holidays which obviously was great as always! We did plenty of festive things from parties to seeing holidays lights! One of the best years with the family for sure...

Overall this year was spectacular! I'm SO looking forward to next year! I don't want to look too forward to next year in this post because I WILL be coming back in a few days with a post all about resolutions and looking forward and such. So thanks for looking back with me, com back soon to look forward!! Thank you all for a great year, see you next year ;-)  xo, O <3