Highs and Lows of 2017

Highs (Listed in No Particular Order)

1. Winning Tickets to the Joanne World Tour

I have always loved Lady Gaga's music, I really wanted to see her in person. After the Super Bowl every radio station was talking about her and how she was going to go on tour. I love participating in radio contests and have won tickets to shows in the past, so I decided that I was going to try to win tickets to her show. Low and behold, I was caller 25 on Power 96.1 Atlanta. I won the tickets at the end of February and I was told that I would be called to pick up the tickets in October. Well, October passed and I had not received a call, so I called the radio station and they told me to come in and get my tickets. I won two tickets and I had the choice between sitting in upper level seats or standing in General Admission by the stage. I chose the upper level seats. JUST KIDDING. My best friend and I had the most amazing time time!! The show was supposed to start at 7:30 but she didn't actually go on stage until 8:42 P.M. We had no complaints, we never imagined we would be as close to the stage as we were. Lady Gaga blew me away. I was a fan of her before, but now I am OBSESSED. She put on one hell of a show. I am now saving up to go to Vegas to see her at her newest residency show that will begin in December of 2018.

2. Various Vacations
I was blessed to be invited to two of my friends' vacation homes, I accompanied my mom on a business trip, and we were gifted with an all-expenses-paid trip to Florida by my sister who won the trip off the radio.  I am grateful to have gotten the chance to spend time with my loved ones in beautiful places. These are memories that I will never forget.  Thank you to Julia and Jenny for inviting me to your beautiful homes, thank you Mom for letting me tag along on your business trip, and thank you to my sister, Marianna, for giving me and mom the trip that you won off the radio.

Jenny and I in Seaside, Florida

Matthew, Jenny and I at the beach!

Family and friends in Highlands, North Carolina

 

Beach in Florida

 Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I may or may not have cried when I went into Hogwarts. Harry Potter was one of my favorites as a child and it was so special to me to go there.

 MY FIRST TIME EVER IN NEW YORK! I loved it

3) Spending Time With Family 

My family comes first no matter what and I consider some of my friends to be my family. I was blessed to make lots of memories with them this year and to have lots of quality time with them.

One of my Bestie's Wedding!!

BIGGEST LOW OF 2017

  My Grandfather Being Diagnosed with Cancer and then Dementia

     This is something I never thought would happen to my mom's side of the family. I lost my paternal grandparents to lung and colon cancer and I had high hopes that my maternal grandparents would continue to live healthy lives. My grandpa was diagnosed with cancer in late spring or early summer. My mom flew to Mexico in August to go visit him, my grandma, and her siblings. Two weeks after my mom's arrival, my grandpa changed in many ways.  He stopped recognizing my mom and he was very confused about where he was, and he would start something but then he wouldn't finish it because he forgot what he was doing. He was extremely active for many years, he loved to go on walks, and he loved to read and now he can't really do those things anymore. His dementia diagnosis is something that has haunted me everyday these past four months. Not that cancer is less important, but his type of cancer is slow growing and not fatal. His dementia is hard for me to talk about. I don't want to accept that my favorite and only present grandfather that I have ever had doesn't recognize his own daughter anymore. After my mom left, he talked about her as a visitor and said, "I really liked that young girl that came and stayed with us. She likes to eat a lot, but we should buy her a plane ticket to come back and see us." I want to go see him and I want to help my family, but this is something that is so hard for me to accept. I don't know what to do. I am still in denial about it. I don't know if I will break down when I see him. I want to be there for my family and I hope I can go visit them soon.

     To say that this year was bittersweet is an understatement. I am grateful for the time I have gotten to spend with family, the vacations and the blessings but I am heartbroken at the same time that my grandpa was robbed of his good health. I also experienced and witnessed other good things and bad things this year, but these are things that I feel like sharing with you all. I would like to say thank you to Kimberly, my best friend, for being my rock this year. She is my hero. I can tell her anything. She is a true friend. Thank you all for reading. May 2018 be a year of good health, little stress, and success for you and for me. Best wishes to you all.