It’s August and the ball is STILL rolling.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a year this productive before. Well, not since my junior year of high school, but 2018 easily surpasses 2016, by far. All this year has been is nonstop. In fact, why not do a quick recap, shall we?
January: After three years of attempting the impossible, I finally uploaded my first video to my youtube channel (“Brooklyn’s Spotlight”). I’d say it was definitely worth the wait!
February: My family and I celebrated my parents 25th anniversary together and a couple days later, I finally decided to go on a soul searching adventure to discover the art of self-loving. I also accepted the challenge of going vegan and lasted four months before I had to stop due to health issues (ironic, I know). And though I didn’t originally do it for the animals, by the time I had broke, I was definitely more aware of their situation and am more conscious of how much meat I consume on a daily basis. And lastly, my twin sister, Chelsea, and I got called in for an audition for a new Netflix series called, Prince of Peoria.
March: After several meetings with the production of Prince of Peoria, we got casted as the recurring twin roles of the show! How exciting!! During this time, I started going to the gym more frequently and was sure to take ten minutes out of each day to stand in front of the mirror and find parts of myself I loved instead of pointing out all the parts I hated. Surprisingly enough, as my journey continued, the things I hated eventually became the things I loved most. I’m telling you, the fastest route to unconditional happiness is the art of self-loving and I stand by that statement with every inch of me.
April: By April, I started procrastinating over my school work and debated, as usual, dropping out of college entirely (obviously I didn’t, I love school too much). Other than that, it was the little things in life that kept me smiling like buying my own groceries or cooking my own food or finding the motivation to go to the gym or even getting an A on a test I never expected to pass. No matter how stressful school got, I was still loving life.
May: This was a big working month for my sister and I on P.O.P. We filmed two whole episodes and I kid you not, I have never been on such an amazing set before. Everyone was perfectly casted, from the actors on the show to the crew that helped film it, I have never felt so privileged to be working with so many kind and talented people.
June: Usually by the mid-way point of every year, there’s always that “what goes up must always come down” kind of feel, so by June I was fully prepared for this happy streak to end. However, to my surprise, as Augustus Waters puts it in The Fault in Our Stars, “I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up my friend” (Green, whatever page it’s on because citing is important). In other words, I finished my first year of college on the Dean’s List, that’s right, 4.0 all the way (including the summer intersession course I just completed)! Then I discovered this REALLY cool activity called weight lifting which actually sped up my weight loss journey by 80% and made going to the gym ten times easier because it was, and still is, something I look forward to doing everyday. And last but definitely not least, I met someone who gives me a true out-of-body experience. Never have I ever felt so overwhelmed with happiness that I literally wake up and thank God everyday for my morning breath. Not necessarily because it smells nice, but because it exists.
July: My oldest sister, Brittni, turned 22 and let me just say that watching her grow never ceases to amaze me. She is easily the most caring person I have ever known and I cannot wait to see what 22 has in store for her. I also got the opportunity to watch my favorite artist perform LIVE (and for free at that) at one of my favorite places on Earth!! Andy Grammar and The Grove? Yeah, best combination ever!! But my happiest moment was when I decided to follow my heart for the first time in my life. I allowed myself to fall in love with a boy who has a tree nut allergy, likes playing Fortnite on the weekends, cries during movies, sleeps till noon, smiles brighter than the sun, and speaks poetry through his ocean blue eyes; a boy who has a deep love for God, for his friends and family, and is so veracious and genuine that it really makes you wonder what world you were living in before him. I love him with a love I’m not afraid to say out loud and I flew all the way to Spokane, WA to tell him that. Spontaneous? Absolutely. But for him, I would do it a thousand times over.
Holy moly, what a recap! I wonder what’s to come in August! So far, Chelsea and I filmed our last episode on P.O.P for the rest of the season (coming to Netflix soon), I got a job as a sales representative for CUTCO, and another side job as a tutor in Math and English. Cheers to 2018 and all the happiness it brings!
Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you next time on the blog,
Be seeing you. xX
B.K Laurel 