This is my friend Lara.
She’s a south Florida wedding photographer and getting married herself this summer.
As her Maid of Honor, I knew I had to plan something special for her Miami bachelorette party — this is a girl who has pursued higher education in England, explored democracy in Botswana during an election, spent a summer in Ecuador, and has traveled many corners of our beautiful world and shared it with others through her photographer’s eye.
No pressure.
This post is my way to figuratively place my highlights of the year in a pretty box, tie it to a balloon with 2015 written across, and let it sail into the stars. The box will have two tags on it. One will say, “The Year of Celebrations.” The other, “The Year of New Beginnings.”
Though I’m not typically a year-end round-up poster, 2015 was too exhausting (in the best way) and too bright to let slip into 2016 without some acknowledgement. It deserves a nod of thanks, a firm handshake, and a genuine smile.