It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s the new year! As some of you may know, New Year’s Eve is my favourite holiday. There’s just something about setting off fireworks to celebrate list-making that just makes it the best day ever. What did you accomplish this year? What will you do differently next year? New Year’s resolutions? There’s so many lists that my face just becomes that heart-eyed emoji.
So let’s start off 2016 in the best way possible. With a list of:
FTT Year in Review (2015)
As I am working on my 3rd year of university now, I must say that 2015 has probably been the toughest balancing act between school full-time, my part-time job, social life, boyfriend and part-time blogger. (When I first created The Full-Time Tourist, the “full-time” portion was a reference to being a full-time student and “tourist” was supposed to be me exploring Toronto and other stops during my studies.) That being said, I am still so amazed at how many of you are reading my blog- especially those reading from other countries (which makes me even more excited to visit there)!
Thank you so much for following me on my adventures in 2015 and I can’t wait to tell you all about my escapades this year!
Visitors: 773 (!)
Views: 1,617 (!!)
Top 5 viewing countries: Canada, U.S.A., Australia, Brazil & the U.K.
Top 3 viewed posts:
How to avoid crowds in NYC – One of my favourite posts on The Full-Time Tourist this far, and I’m so glad to see it’s one of yours as well. I was celebrating my 21st birthday (which isn’t as big of a deal in Canada as it is State-side) and decided that a trip to a new city was the best way to celebrate! Of course, many people think that celebrating my birthday in NYC is a must as well, so here are some tips and tricks to seeing NYC sans tourist crowds.
Windsurfing the Gorge – If you want to learn how to jump like the windsurfer pictured above, this is the post that will tell you the basic parts and lingo of windsurfers so you can knowingly nod along during your first windsurfing lesson. Otherwise, this post is great for those summer feels.
The 7 best ways to see Niagara Falls – Another one of my faves about the best ways to see Niagara Falls because there is simply no one way to fully appreciate the strength and beauty of the falls than to experience it up close.
Top 5 Instagram (@thefulltimetourist):
1. Looking over Niagara Falls in late August.
2. Brooklyn bridge in mid-August.
3. Non-travel related new hair selfie
4. That one time where I saw Zac Efron and the 11-year-old in me died.
5. Being the real-life Rapunzel in Central Park mid-August.
5 Resolutions for 2016:
1. Travel more. As this is my last summer in university and my fate beyond graduation in Jun 2017 up in the air, it’s probably best for me to set aside more time for travel this year. Of course this means…
2. More blog posts. I’m still working on finding my voice a bit, and writing more and getting feed back as to what you guys want is definitely something I am hoping to work on in the new year. So expect more blog posts of better quality this year!
3. More InstaStories. I really like the idea that Instagram is more than just a photo sharing site. And if you’ve ever talked to me in person or asked me about my InstaInfluences (yep, that is a made up word), you would probably know that Caroline Calloway’s Instagram is a goldmine for #inspo. (Linked one of my favourite posts from her.) So this year, I will work on adding more stories to my Instagram feed because those posts are my favourite.
4. Cook at home more. Although I was eating at home plenty earlier this year, let’s just say that something about parents visiting, trying to see friends and the boyfriend, going to Quebec, doing 8-10 interviews a week for class/campus newspaper, working between 20-25 hours per week and having two 2,500-word feature drafts and three essays due in 3 weeks that really forces a gal to eat out more. And as I am gluten intolerant and am borderline vegetarian, eating out can get expensive.
5. Try to make more ‘me’ time. Although I fully expect this semester to be as busier than the last, I need to plan ahead more and be sure to set aside some time for me to do yoga, read, see friends and journal more. Because sanity trumps all.
What were your favourite Full-Time Tourist posts this year? What would you like to see more/less of next year?
