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A Year in Review: 2018, the Year of Transformation

A Year in Review: 2018, the Year of Transformation, thoughts featured by top US lifestyle blogger, Jessica Crum

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Necklace | Necklace | Bodysuit (wearing size 4) | Jeans | Boots | Lipstick in shade “Dusty Rose”

A Year in Review: 2018, the year of transformation.

From my business, to my marriage, to friendships and my faith. Sharing my highlight-reel recap below, but first please remember: we all have to deal with various struggles and challenges in life. Of course, most of the time we only showcase the good times on social media, which is what leads to insecurities, unrealistic expectations and feelings of jealousy and sadness. So I’m here to say that 2018 was a great year, but it came with a LOT of hardships as well. Things were not always perfect, even though my Instagram feed might make you think otherwise. I strive to be a constant source of encouragement and motivation, but that doesn’t mean I don’t go through the same struggles each one of you do. One day I hope to have the courage to dive into the hard times as well, but for now, don’t let social media fool you. We’re all in this together. We’re all trying to navigate through life’s ups and downs, and we seldom really know or understand the struggles and hardships other people are going through. So in 2019, I hope we can each become a little more compassionate, empathetic, patient and thoughtful of each other. Be the light in a world that so desperately needs it!

A Year in Review: Best Career Moments

  • Grew my business far beyond I ever thought possible. I started out the year with 30,000 followers and am ending it with close to 150,000. THANK YOU! I hope you all know how humbled I am that you trust ME. That you care enough to follow my life. I would not be where I am without each and every one of you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for making all my dreams come true. You guys are my people, my tribe, and I’m so thankful that God has blessed me with this platform. I hope I am always able to encourage you, motivate you and give you the confidence you need to take on this world. YOU are amazing. You are beautiful. You are worthy!
  • Secured a partnership with my very favorite boutique, Pink Lily Boutique. I am honored to represent a company that actually cares about it’s customers the way they do. The owner, Tori, is an absolute angel and puts her heart and soul into every aspect of this company. She is the ultimate #girlboss and such an example to me that with hard work, determination and a great team to back you up, you can reach any goal you put your mind to. They also flew me out to Nashville to shoot their fall look book and what an honor that was! I can’t say enough good things about this company, and look forward to sharing more of their adorable looks with you guys this coming year.
  • Got to work with Boho Rococo, not once, but twice this year! I was so excited about this collaboration, and still on cloud nine that I was able to be the first-ever influencer they worked with. If you’re new around here, Boho Rococo takes authentic vintage Louis Vuitton bags and makes them one-of-a-kind by adding little details such as fringe, braided straps, hand-paint and more. They were able to make me a cross body bag and a backpack and I’m obsessed with both of them! I get stopped so much when I wear them out because they’re such a show stopper. Definitely recommend if you’re on the look for a unique bag this year.
  • One of the absolute highlights of my year was my road trip with College Vault. I was invited to travel across the west coast and represent Texas Tech University on the #CollegeVaultRoadtrip. We started in Las Vegas, woke up at the Grand Canyon, went to Joshua Tree State Park, then to Palm Springs, CA and ended in Los Angeles. I met some of the sweetest girls I’ve ever known, experienced once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and got to represent my college wearing the cutest College Vault apparel. To say this was a dream is an understatement. I am SO thankful for this opportunity, for Texas Tech trusting me to represent them, and for College Vault for putting on the best road trip a girl could ever dream of.
  • One of the biggest successes I had this year was securing my partnership with Vici. They have been a company I’ve shopped at since my early college years and have always LOVED their clothes. They’re the type of company where you go to their website and literally add 100 things to your cart. Since I had been such a loyal customer for years, I was so excited and extremely honored when they reached out to partner with me. This has been a partnership I truly value and love sharing all their stuff with you guys because y’all love them as much as I do. Stay tuned for many more Vici try on’s to come in 2019 and all the exciting things they have planned this year!
  • Covered my first #Nsale – whew. I’m tired just thinking about this, lol. Talk about a lot of work, but man is it worth it. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale happens in August each year and the deals are so good you just can’t help but shop it. I spent hours on hours prepping blog posts, try on sessions and posts for you guys and was so happy to see you share your purchases! Stay tuned for more this year!
  • Another huge success this year was being invited to Camp MacKenzie Childs in Aurora, NY. I will never forget seeing my first MacKenzie Childs piece in my grandmother’s house growing up. Although I didn’t understand the history of the company (which you can read more in this blog post), I always knew I wanted a piece of my own one day. I was so incredibly humbled when I got invited to tour the MacKenzie Childs production studio, meet with the CEO and Creative Director and spend a few days with my fellow blog friends. The entire trip I kept texting Clayton saying, “Is this a dream?” because I couldn’t believe I got invited to do something so amazing. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life! I can’t wait to continue my partnership with them and share with you guys some of the amazing things they have coming out this year!
  • I was also able to work with another brand I have loved for years – Vestique! They even flew me out to Charlotte to shoot my girl, Katy’s, second collection with them. This is another team of girls who are just amazing in so many different ways! To see how much they’ve expanded their brand over the past few years is inspiring and so incredibly motivating. Plus we were able to host an event in Charlotte and meet so many of you, which was another highlight of my year. I truly mean it when I say I appreciate every single one of you. Whether we’ve ever talked or not, I consider you a friend and appreciate your support more than you know.
  • In 2018, I was finally able to get my skin under control with the help of Tula. If you’ve ever struggled with skin problems, you know the toll it can take on your confidence. I started using Tula in October and have never looked back. It has completely transformed my skin, and I love representing a brand that truly WORKS. Stay tuned for some exciting new product releases this year I know you guys will love!

A Year in Review: Best Personal Moments

  • I started out the year in Paris for the very first time with my family and it was truly a trip of a lifetime. Oh what I would do to live in Europe for a year!
  • Grew more in my marriage this year than any other year. We went through several trials (blog posts to come), but rooted our marriage with Christ as the center and came out stronger than ever before. I am so thankful to spend life with my best friend who encourages me, pursues me and pushes me to be the best version of myself. I can honestly say I love him more and more each day and I’m so excited to see what the Lord does in our marriage this coming year.
  • Gained so many amazing new friends. At the end of 2017, I lost a friendship of many, many years (who I truly cherished) over a disagreement. I was honestly devastated, and struggled a lot at the beginning of the year with so many questions. I second-guessed a lot of friendships and struggled trusting people for awhile. But God truly was able to transform my mind and blessed me with some of the best girls I’ve ever known. He put people in my life who genuinely wanted to be there. Who encouraged me, pushed me, motivated me and loved me for me. I was able to focus on the friends who put in an effort, and realized the beauty of simple friendships. Life is hard enough, friendships shouldn’t be. I learned to let go of the past, and move forward with grace, forgiveness and strength.
  • Watched my sister-in-love (and best friend) go through IVF. After many tears and many, many prayers, she got pregnant and baby Grace was born on December 28, 2018. This was by far the highlight of my year, especially after seeing the struggle she went through to get pregnant and just the miracle God blessed us with. Gracie truly brought our family joy we’ve never experienced before, and I can’t wait to watch her grow over the next year.

A Year in Review – Travel:

In 2018, I traveled to 3 countries, 14 states, and 24 cities. I went on 40 flights, 6 road trips and 1 tour bus. Listing the following places I went below:

Paris, Los Angeles (three times), Cabo, Seaside/Rosemary Beach (three times), Scottsdale, Charleston, St. Louis, Turks & Caicos, San Diego, Nashville, Austin (several times), Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs,  Dallas (several times), Auburn, Oklahoma City, Los Gatos, Napa, Aurora, Boston, Vermont, and Charlotte.

Shira Melody Jewelry 1 Shira Melody Jewelry 3
2019 Goals:

Create a better work/life balance. Spend more quality time with Clayton. Pray more, worry less. Wake up earlier. Work out at least three times a week (even when traveling). Drink more water. Don’t take things too personally. Put effort towards friendships who matter and not worry about the rest. Do more things that truly make me happy. Travel as much as I possibly can. Prioritize my faith and live each day reflecting Christ. Show grace, even when it isn’t deserved. Attend my first ever NYFW. Serve others as much as I possibly can. Take my career to the next level. Understand I can’t do it all, and that’s okay. Live each day in the moment!

Happy New Year, my sweet friends! I know I say this over and over, but I really can’t thank you enough for your continued support over the past year. Whether you’ve been following me since the beginning, or just started a few days ago, I am thankful for each and every one of you. Thank you for trusting me to share what I love, caring about my family, and becoming my real-life friends. I wish I could give each one of you a big bear hug. Cheers to 2019 and all the fun things I have in store for y’all!

XOXO Jessica

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Love this. I’m so proud of you and the wonderful woman you have become. As a mom, I couldn’t be more proud. Love you most. Mom

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