A Year in Review: 2015 Highlights (Part One)

What a difference a year makes. This time last year we had no idea where we were going to be living, and here we are, nearly seven months into our year in Chicago. Even with all the stress, 2015 was a great year. 2015 was also the first full year that I blogged, which made it so much easier to look back on what we did this year than when I did last year’s year in review.

January
We kicked off the new year by going on a Caribbean cruise to Honduras, Belize, and Mexico. Although I missed celebrating New Year’s Eve Russian style, it was so fun to celebrate on the Emerald Princess. I also loved waking up on January 1 in Belize and starting the year off by going on an adventure. It was a trip Christopher and I needed after months of residency interviews.

February
We spent most of February waiting for March to arrive, but it was still a fun month. We went to see Odysseo, which was created by one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil but also includes horses. We also got our first taste of winter weather for the year with a few ice days.

March
March was the month we had been waiting for since the beginning of medical school. It started off with a massive amount of snow (for Texas) and constant thoughts about Match Day. Match Day finally arrived, and it took me a while to process God’s plan for us. All I can say now is I should have never doubted those results because we are exactly where we need to be right now.

After the stress of Match Day, we needed to get away, so Christopher and I took a seven-day road trip from San Diego to San Francisco to celebrate the end of medical school. It was definitely the right trip at the right time, and one of these days I will get around to finishing the recaps!

April 
In April, I visited Chicago for the first time ever to find a place to live. It was such a frustrating experience, but thankfully, everything worked out. It really helped me to feel better about the move after I saw the beautiful city.

May 
May was one of the hardest months of the year. We spent most of the month preparing to move, and I had a hard time coming to terms with leaving my job. That is still the hardest part of living here—I miss my wonderful job and amazing coworkers.

The best part of May was Christopher’s medical school graduation. I was so proud to see him walk that stage and officially become a doctor!

June 
We moved to Chicago on June 1, and I instantly fell in love. We had a week before Christopher started intern year, so we spent as much time as we could exploring.It was so crazy how quickly Chicago started to feel like home.

Come back on Wednesday for the second half of 2015!