Hello, lovelies! Happy New Year! (Is it too late to say that? )I planned on publishing this from the hotel room in Kentucky on our way to Michigan and Canada on January 1st, but I was enjoying my vacation. In the span of one week, my family went from Mexico to Canada without getting on a plane (which is one of the coolest things we’ve ever done!), so I didn’t have the mental energy to write this long-ass post. My years in review are some of my favorite blog posts to look back on and I wanted to take my time with it, so I’m sorry I’m three weeks late. 2019 was by far the best year of my life (thus far), so I doubt this post will do it any justice. The least I can do is try.
Past Years In Review
First Quarter // January – March
I declared my Anthropology minor – I had been wanting to do this since Freshman year but was discouraged to do it. After looking at my schedule for the next three semesters, I saw that it was completely feasible for me to add the minor and graduate on time, which is why I did it without asking anybody. It was easily one of the best decisions I made this year. I’ve learned so much, gotten opportunities and connections through professors, and made a great new friend.
I applied for and got my dream internship – I was incredibly stressed out about applying to an internship working with children with autism at the beginning of the year and was afraid of applying because I didn’t want to get rejected. I sent in my application in February, did a phone interview while I was in Florida in March, and got the internship!
I Took My Friend To Her First Broadway Show – I bought a friend of mine tickets to watch Rent at the Fox Theatre for her birthday. It was a really fun day and I still listen to the song You Matter To Me all the time.
I took a solo trip to Harry Potter World – I wrote a whole blog post recap on this, so I won’t mention too much here. I took a trip to Universal Studios for Spring Break. I flew down to Orlando to spend a day there plus a few days hanging out with my cousins. I had reread the Harry Potter series in 2018, which sparked the desire to go to Harry Potter World again. My excitement to go to Universal Studios was 65% Harry Potter World; 30% Marvel Land, and 5% the rest of the park. It was an awesome day and I managed to get through both parks fairly easily since I took single rider lines for everything.
Other Fun Stuff
My cousin Mahi visited from New York. We all went bowling together with our cousins.
I did Karaoke for the first time and ended up going twice with a different group of friends. It was so much fun and definitely want to do it again.
I dressed someone in a sari for the first time. My friend Julia and I went to my school’s India Night. She had a sari from when she did a language-learning program in Jaipur and asked me to put it on her. I am very proud that I managed to do it without watching a YouTube video. It was a really fun night full of amazing performances. We walked to a restaurant afterward to have pho and sushi in our very fancy clothing.
I started writing articles for my college’s Her Campus chapter. Here are some articles I wrote:
Other Photos From The First Quarter Of The Year
Second Quarter // April – June
I moved out of my first dorm room. Junior year was my first year living on campus after living at home, so moving out was bittersweet. My friend came over to help me pack and load my car.
I traveled to Europe and made the most amazing friends. Traveling to Europe has been one of my biggest goals since I was sixteen, and I actually managed to do it this year. That month I spent in Europe was by far my favorite month of 2019. I had so much fun and made so many memories with new friends. Here are a few memories from the countries I went to.
- UK – When I arrived in London, I took the Tube from the airport o Kings Cross Station. It seemed fitting that my hostel was there and would be my first stop in Europe considering the giant Harry Potter nerd I am. I did the majority of my London sightseeing near the end of my trip in June. I walked at least ten miles, and in between looking at all the sights, I would stop in book stores and hang out in them for hours. One thing I loved about London was that there were book stores everywhere. I’d just be walking down the street and pass two or three, which unfortunately isn’t the case in Atlanta. I didn’t realize this till a few weeks ago, but I actually went into the oldest bookstore in London without realizing it. It was a really cool bookstore too. It had five floors!
I also watched The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Near the tail-end of my trip, I saw that I hadn’t spent a good chunk of my budget, so I splurged on a West End Show ticket. It was so worth it.
- France – I had an amazing time in Paris, and a recap is coming soon, but here, I’ll talk about the two-hour wait to visit the catacombs. This was probably the least exciting part of that day, but it was the time I spent getting to know my new friends and future travel companions throughout that month. I’m not good at making friends, and the way that we all clicked instantly makes me very happy. They are the people who made the trip for me.
Related – London, Paris, & Swiss Alps | Travel Diary #1
- Switzerland – We were camping during our time in Switzerland and it was very cold. Even so, I ended up really enjoying the camping aspect of the trip (weather permitting). I remember after hiking all morning on the second day, my tentmate Kirsty and I were lying on the mattresses in the tent and our friend Megan showed up because her tentmate was taking a nap, and the three of us just laid on the mattresses on top of Kirsty’s sleeping bag, using mine as a blanket, staring up at the ceiling and laughing.
- Italy – We spent about a week in Italy and my favorite day was in Rome. It was hot and sunny and we ate such good food. After spending a wonderful day there, the five of us grabbed chocolate, chips, and drinks from the grocery store and sat in the seating area of our cabins snacking on food, looking through pictures, and trying to figure out the Italian card game I had bought.
Related – Florence, Rome, & Venice | Travel Diary #2
- Vatican City – Honestly, just staring at the ceilings the entire time I was there was my favorite part. I was able to see the Sistine Chapel, but in all honesty, all of the ceilings were gorgeous. I was staring up the entire time.
- Croatia – This was the start of me eating three-course meals in Eastern Europe because it was so inexpensive. We had so many amazing meals in Croatia. You can tell in the pictures.
- Hungary – We ate dinner at a street market in Budapest our first night, then our tour guide, Fran, took everyone to a Ruin Bar. It’s basically a bar inside an old ruin and the entire place is decorated with recycled trash. It was really cool and I took some awesome pictures of it.
- Poland – We visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, and it was surreal to see a place we learn about in history class. Krakow, Poland is also a city that still stands out in my mind even though it was the destination I was least excited about compared to everywhere else. I loved the time I spent there and the city had a great vibe. I definitely want to go back the next time I’m in Europe. (Also, pierogies)
Related – Croatia, Slovenia, & Hungary | Topdeck Travel Diary #3
- Czech Republic – Prague is by far the prettiest city in Europe. It had the most gorgeous architecture and I think I took the most photos there out of all the cities.
- Slovenia – We explored Postojna Caves as an excursion, and it was different from everything else I did on that trip.
- Germany – I don’t really like hamburgers and rarely eat them, but I ate at least three in Germany and they were the most delicious burgers I’ve ever eaten.
- Denmark – My friends and I went to one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, built in 1843. Tivoli Gardens was the theme park that inspired Walt Disney when he was creating Disneyland. As someone who loves going to Disney World, I could definitely see where he drew inspiration from. We pretty much just rode roller coasters all day, seeing some sights in between (We were allowed to reenter the park in the evening).
Related – Copenhagen, Amsterdam & London | Travel Diary #5
- The Netherlands – Our first night in the Netherlands was my favorite. We ate a bunch of fried food and walked around the beautiful city at night.
My back pain went away. I feel like this is all I talked about since January 2018. Having chronic back pain was the most humbling experience of my life. I have a much greater understanding of what people with physical pain go through than I did before. I can’t describe to you how much this ate away at me every day. Not even physically. My mental fortitude to withstand it was crumbling. At the beginning of 2019, I decided that if it wasn’t gone by the end of the year, I was willing to get surgery. But thankfully, it magically went away during my trip to Europe. I remember wearing my back brace for the first few days but stopped by the time we were in Italy. It was amazing. I had zero pain during the long bus rides between countries, after genuinely crying sometimes after driving for 30 minutes the year before. I am so fucking happy to report that I haven’t worn my back brace since June (I found it buried in my closet when I was cleaning it out during winter break), and I pray I will never have to go through that ever again.
I started my internship – I spent a week chilling at home after coming back from Europe, then went straight to training for my internship. I spent the rest of my summer as an intern working with children with autism with severe behavior. It was hard and exhausting, but I loved every second of it. It gave me so much clarity on what to do once I graduate. Looking back at how I felt about my future this time last year, this internship made all the difference. I can’t tell you how much I loved working there. I don’t care much for the corporate side of things, but I loved working with special needs kids every day in a way I can’t describe to you. I’ve known this is the career I want for years, but last summer undeniably affirmed that this is what I want to do with my life.
We took a trip to Savannah, GA – Normally, my family takes two big trips a year. One in the summer and one in the winter. We used to take more when I was younger, but now my brothers and I have different Spring Breaks, which messes with that. Since I was working five days a week and my dad had more business than usual, we didn’t take any big trips. We did take a weekend trip to Savannah, GA to spend the day at the beach. It was a really fun weekend with a few hiccups (I will write a blog post about traveling with someone with special needs someday, so I won’t go into it now), but it was a fun trip overall.
Other Fun Stuff
My cousin visited and I met my niece for the first time.
I literally drove back to Atlanta to watch Endgame the day before it came out with my brother. I straight up bought tickets for the Thursday night before they came out, so we could be the first to watch it and to watch it together.
We surprised my friend Feza for her 21st Birthday. Her sister let us in. Feza was literally in her bed watching Netflix when I jumped behind her. It was a really fun day and I got to hang out with my friends before heading to Europe.
One of my favorite aunts visited from Bangladesh.
We celebrated my grandparents’ 51st Anniversary
We celebrated Pohela Boishak (Bengali New Year)
Some Other Photos From This Quarter:
Third Quarter // July – September
The rest of the summer was pretty routine. I worked at my internship five days a week until the day before classes started, so it was pretty mundane. Here’s some stuff that went on those few months
I spent the 4th of July at my friend Kat’s Lakehouse. It was a really fun night. Her parents drove us around in their boat, we caught each other up on our lives, and I spent the night before driving the hour back for work the next morning.
Akash came to America and moved in with us. A very close family friend of ours moved to Atlanta in July and lived with us for a few months. He’s in Canada right now, but he’ll be back soon. It’s really great having another brother in the house.
I got the worst haircut ever. I honestly have mixed feelings about it. Sometimes I loved how it looked, like in the picture below, but I mostly just complained about it. The lady cut it too short, but I kind of wish she had gone all in and cut it even shorter because it would’ve looked better. I loved the haircut I got in January, but I hated this one. I do plan on getting bangs again someday because I liked the look of them (though I didn’t ask for them in the first place).
We threw my friend a bridal shower – The first girl in our friend group from middle school got married last year, and we threw her a bridal shower (because apparently we’re old enough to do that now). It was lots of fun and took a lot of planning. I made a few games for the event and one of them is still the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen. I made this “game show” type game where you had to guess the Disney couple (because my friend loves Disney), but we didn’t have a buzzer, so we put an empty Coke bottle in the middle of the floor and each team would stand far away on either side and whoever ran and got the bottle first would get to answer the question. And my friends took it SERIOUSLY. (There were minor injuries)
My friend Stellah FINALLY started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender with me – You don’t understand. This was ten years in the making. I had been hounding her to watch my favorite show for years and I’m happy to report that she fell in love with it. We finished Book 1 and Book 2 last year, and are starting Book 3 this month. On a different note, I hung out with my friend Stellah so much in 2019. We were practically inseparable in high school, but life and distance got in the way once we got to college. I hung out with her at least three times a week before she graduated in May and almost every weekend in the Fall semester when I drove home. It made last year so much more fun.
My mom went to Bangladesh and I got to take care of my family for the first time. My brother has autism, so this was a huge deal at the time that my mom could leave him to go to Bangladesh. Those three weeks were exhausting and hard, but I got through it and it gave me a lot of assurance that I could handle it in the future.
- Related – 5 Things To Do When Life Gets Hectic (+ What It Was Like Taking Care Of My Special Needs Sibling)
Started my final year of college – 2019 as a calendar year was my favorite year of college so far. I made new friends, I went out more, and I just genuinely enjoyed my day to day life. I’m kind of sad that this chapter of my life is almost over and that I couldn’t enjoy it for longer.
Other Fun Stuff
My brother and I watched Spiderman: Far From Home with our cousins. They’re not Marvel superfans like us, so they were judging me and my brothers’ over the top reactions to everything. Then we all went to Waffle House at 1 AM for dinner
I went to the Shawn Mendes Concert. This is actually my second time going to a Shawn Mendes concert because my friend, Kat, loves his music and got tickets for her birthday and invited me to come with her. He is genuinely a really great singer live, and Alessia Cara opened for him.
I hung out with my friends a lot. I have a very close-knit group of friends, but it’s a struggle to get everyone together regularly because we all have different schedules and go to different colleges. There were these few weeks in July where we got together every single week, which never happens anymore. It was honestly kind of a miracle.
My mom and I missed each other both Eids and both our birthdays. I was in Europe during Ramadan and her birthday, and she was in Bangladesh during Korbani Eid and my birthday. We wore matching outfits in different continents.
Some Other Photos From This Quarter:
Fourth Quarter // October – December
We celebrated my friend’s dholki. This was another fun wedding event for my friend that happened in October.
Halloween Festivities – Halloween was my favorite holiday growing up, but I don’t do a lot for it anymore, but I did a lot of fun fall activities in October for the holiday.
We had a really fun barbecue with family friends in November. The weather was gorgeous and the company was amazing.
I sang in a concert for my school – I joined Women’s Glee Club last semester to fill the experiential learning requirement to graduate, and it ended up being full of music majors and I was in way over my head. I remember in the audition placement the first day, I told the conductor that I don’t know how to read music, but I still managed to get an A in the class. The concerts were super fun, and I enjoyed it enough to join again this semester.
Hosted my friends for my birthday – I didn’t do much. We just hung out and ate food for six straight hours, which counts as a great night for me because getting people together takes a lot of scheduling.
We went on a cruise to Mexico with our cousins. – I have officially gone to all three countries in North America, which was on my 25 before 25 list. I also went on my first cruise. I’ll write a whole recap on it eventually, but basically, we ate good food, watched funny shows, and ran around the ship with our cousins. Yup. That sums it up pretty well. My immediate family and I also visited the Mayan ruins in Tulum, which were a sight to see.
Some Other Photos From This Quarter:
Well, that was my year. It wasn’t perfect. There were plenty of stressful or boring moments, but overall, I had more fun, did things I was scared of, and learned more about myself. One of the best parts of last year was that I read so much more! I always had a book open and reading 100 books a year just made my day to day life so much more enjoyable. I also traveled to 15 new countries, which is an accomplishment in its own right. I highly doubt 2020 will beat last year but cheers to hoping it will. I’ll see you next time!
(This post was originally supposed to go up on Tuesday, but WordPress was causing a lot of problems with my images, which is why it took so long. Sorry, it’s late. My goal of posting every Tuesday consistently didn’t last long.)
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What were the highlights of your 2019? What was your favorite memory? Did you travel anywhere cool?
Your year seems wonderful! Thanks for sharing ?