how i manifested a year beyond my wildest dreams

last jan I said it would be a building year

our new kitchen!!!!!

Hello dear readers!

Pardon the December silence, our major renovation work started on November 26th and I did not anticipate how those four weeks of intensity would throw my life upside down.

I write to you on the other side of said craziness which concluded with a week in Michigan at my parents’ house, which was delightful, and then jumping back into a non-stop sprint of five 12-hour painting days, which I would not wish upon my worst enemy.

Finally, last Thursday we moved back into our nearly-done-renovation and yesterday, we spent the day putting things away and trying to find some semblance of normalcy.

As someone who is very sensitive to their environment and loves beautiful things, living in a construction site for the past seven months has been a CHALLENGE and I am so excited that there is now at least an end in sight.

The goal is to wrap this whole thing up by the end of January. The carpet goes in tomorrow and then the week after, our builder will finish off all the remaining jobs like installing the fireplace and hiding our gas meter and adding a decorative border to the plaster hood—these are essential works!!!

Not to drone on about renovation minutiae, but I share these things as an explanation for why I didn’t write for a month as all my creative juices have been used up on important decisions like oval or round knobs for our kitchen.

the bathroom!!!!!

The thing I’m most excited about the renovation concluding (other than having a lush space to bask in) is to have that creative energy back to use on other things.

Basically since the end of January last year when we decided we were going to get married in New York, I’ve been on a super-powered-treadmill-combined-with-whack-a-mole to execute the tasks of planning an international wedding, purchasing a flat for the first-time, renovating said flat, navigating an immediate family member’s cancer diagnosis (and ultimate victory against it-thank God!), trying to grow my freelance writing career, and in October going part-time at my full-time job to start a talent and creative agency.

So when it came to all the delicious end of year things that I absolutely adore—goal setting, resolutions, intentions, moodboards—I couldn’t even imagine mustering up the energy.

I felt the pressure to try to cram them in before January 1st, but then removed any stress about them by deciding that I would be celebrating New Year’s this year on February 1st. This way I will have the month of January to ponder my existence and do all those amazing reflection activities I have bookmarked. Expect a HNY text from me on Feb 1!

However, the one thing I did do is look at what I wrote last year about what I thought this year would be like.

I wrote an essay on January 17th, 2024 and titled it “The Building Year.” The phrase became almost a mantra—or perhaps a manifestation—as I repeated it to myself through the year. It’s a building year. It’s a building year. It’s a building year.

And my goodness, that it was!

Every year to me has a distinct feeling or phrase that drives it. I haven’t put my finger exactly on what I think the phrase for this year will be, but “the expanding year” does hold some resonance… more on that once I carve out some space and time to sit with it all.

Anyways, I wanted to share “The Building Year” with you in case it speaks to you in some form.

The Building Year: Jan 17, 2024

This January feels different than other Januaries. First, because I did not enter it with a bang, sprinting in with my resolutions. In fact, I did not resolve to do anything. I crawled into the new year, spending the majority of the first week in bed, weak from food poisoning and fighting off that gnarly bug that everyone seemed to have.

But the crawl turned into a walk and then a steady trot. Then, an accidental sprint. As though someone had unknowingly leaned up against the speed controls of my treadmill. Somehow, by the 17th of January, I had more writing assignments than I had for the whole of 2023.

This is a dream. One I have dreamed of since I was a little girl, who so desperately wanted to be a writer. I retired this writing dream in college, so desperately afraid of being told I was a bad writer that I didn’t take one writing class through my four years in Ann Arbor. I did not reach towards the dream with any sort of rigor until last year.

When speaking about this year to come, G and I have called it a building year. It is different in nature to 2023, which was a foundation-laying year. Last year required excavation—pulling up roots in Spain and then desperately trying to put some down in a new place and find my footing. This year now with a solid foundation settled—a sense of community in Edinburgh, strong friendships, a greater sense of self, an amazing relationship—I feel that I am now able to roll up my sleeves and get working.

But as with any great pursuit, I’m keen to know what it’s all for. What does this all mean? What am I building towards?

When I start asking these questions and wanting to know more, I have to pull myself back into the present. This is building. I am laying bricks, to build something, and what exactly it is will reveal itself when it’s time. Brick by brick first.

All I can do is focus on the exact moment that I’m in. And to enjoy the process of building. Stay present with every brick—and byline.

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I re-read that this morning and laughed at all the things I hadn’t known when I wrote it.

Clueless to the fact that we were going to get married only two months later—we made that decision a week after I penned “The Building Year.” At that point I also couldn’t have imagined the apartment and the *literal* building we would be doing.

But what I had been right about was the writing. This year I took my writing seriously and grew in conviction about my story ideas—when an outlet declined a pitch, I was committed to pitching it until it found its home.

It paid off. In 2024, I published 12 articles—marked by my firsts for Vogue, The New York Times, Financial Times, Elle, and Fast Company. Seeing my name in print for those places is beyond any dream I’ve ever had. Still to this day when I think about it, I just can’t believe that it has actually happened.

I don’t know yet what this year will hold—but I’m so grateful for the one that just occurred. I’m also grateful that last Jan I didn’t know what exactly “The Building Year” had in store for me, because I probably would have freaked out.

Whether you’re having a building year of your own, or perhaps a foundation-laying or an expansion year, I’m excited for all that 2025 holds for each of us. And if you feel like sharing, let me know if you have a phrase or feeling about what’s to come!

Sending all my love,

Sarah

P.S. Happy early February 1st New Year!