July 2016 Favorites
I know I'm a few days late writing/posting my July recap but I figured" better late than never" so here it goes...
July was an EXTREMELY emotional month for me full of ups and downs. I was anxiously awaiting this month to come and go since early 2016.
In February I made one of the hardest decisions in my life. I cancelled my wedding which was to take place on July 16th. As you can imagine, this weekend was full of tears, frustration and luckily some smiles as I was able to face what was to be one of the happiest days of my life and put it behind me. I am not going to indulge on the details around my relationship with Adam but I can tell you that I am a believer of "everything happens for a reason". Adam and I had an amazing relationship for 9 years that included moments I will never forget (living in Salt Lake City, buying our first home, securing dream jobs, etc) and shaped who we are both today. Luckily, we have been able to maintain a relationship through the hardship. A lot of people wonder how this is possible but it works for us and at the end of the day that is all that matters. If there is one thing I learned through the past few months you HAVE to do what makes you happy and focus on those things. For me, Adam is one of those things and I'm grateful for that.
After going through something this difficult, I have learned that only YOU have the opportunity to control your destiny. I had two paths I could take after going through this: 1) feel bad for myself, continue to cry and be sad OR 2) put the past behind me and continue to live the life I was given to its fullest. I choose #2 and as a result I am sharing my favorite July moments with you.
Rather than sit at home and sulk on the weekend of July 16th I traveled to Washington DC and New York City by myself. As Jess Lively says, I let "flow and adventure" take over and it was liberating. It was important for me to prove to myself that I could successfully travel on my own. I had to build up my confidence and get back in tune with my independence. I did just this!
While in Washington DC I was a complete tourist. This was my first time in the city and I only had 2 days so I walked and explored as much as possible. I toured all of the monuments, White House, Spy Museum, Air and Space Museum and Ford Theater (where Lincoln was assassinated). I averaged ~14 miles of walking each day! On Sunday morning I took the Acela from Union Station to Penn Station in New York City. I highly recommend this form of transportation between the cities - it was easy, reasonably priced, convenient and comfortable (free wifi and much more room than on an airplane). I only had 1/2 a day in New York to sight see and I had my heart set on touring the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I was at the 9/11 Museum for almost 2 hours. It was an emotional and moving afternoon for me - I'm just happy I got to honor all of those who lost their life on that tragic day.
July ended with a week long vacation at Cape Cod with my family. My Aunt and Uncle have a house in Brewster which overlooks the Cape Cod Bay. Our days were full of exercise (check out this new trail I found in Wellfleet: Great Island Trail), sun, beach, food, drinks and Cape Cod Baseball (Go Whitecaps!). It was nice to end the month surrounded by my family full of support and love.
As you can see, July was a busy month for me (emotionally and physically). I explored new cities and learned a lot about myself during one of the hardest months thus far in 2016. The most important thing is ... I SURVIVED! I focused on what makes me happy and executed on it. I proved to myself I can do anything I put my mind to and so can YOU! It starts with a change in your mindset - focus on the positive and anything can happen.
