2015's been a fun one, full of excitement, confusion, winning, losing, growing, and growing pains. I did some pretty cool things with cool people, but the most memorable highlights of the year are the things that have taught me life lessons and given me a real sense of accomplishment. Here are some of my proudest moments...and hardest lessons.

I organized my first large group photoshoot. Getting to photograph my friends in Take Out Kidz in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to was an actual dream come true. You don't know how happy and free I feel when I stand behind a camera. I'm so glad I get to capture people's beauty. It's my favorite thing in the world.

I launched this website. I spent countless late nights tuning and perfecting this baby of mine. And even more time editing photos and telling stories on the blog. It consumes all my free time, but I love it. Studio Sophy is my creative outlet, and it's something I couldn't be more proud to call my own.

I learned to travel on my own. Fulfilled my lifetime dream of traveling the world. (Well...close enough for now.) Swam in the Mediterranean Sea, climbed Mount Vesuvius, visited long-lost family in Paris, had class inside the Colosseum, lived my Sound of Music dreams, hiked Cinque Terre, got lost in Venice, spent a weekend in Budapest with my best friend...so many adventures that have not only showed me the world, but also who I am. I'm not afraid of going out there alone anymore. I finally know what it's like to feel free, depend on only myself, hear my inner voice, trust my own instincts.

I learned to prioritize and say "no." At the beginning of the year I overworked myself and suffered and realized how important it is to make time for me. So I did. And in turn, life rewarded me with good friends and a special someone. By the end of the school year, life was splendidly good. Being in SLO with my favorite people doing what I loved...it was the happiest I'd ever been.

I also failed at things, had some existential life crises, and learned from them. I decided my life wasn't going to be easy. As you grow older, you realize life is less about "doing cool things" and impressing others, but making yourself happy and having control of your own life. And once you figure that out, you're golden. The things that truly make me happy: being independent, making art, and spending time with people I love.

Some more highlights that still have me smiling: weekend trips with friends, hearing the words "good job" from an architecture professor, getting inspired by role models, driving a campus car, teaching art classes, creating my first cinemagraph.

I feel like this year was a very ponderous one with life-changing experiences that taught me to tone down my crazy life and think about what it means to be an adult. It was a year of dreams coming true, but also a transition year. Now that I've fulfilled the (more or less superficial and materialistic) life goals I had as a teenager, it's time to start dreaming again. Luckily in two days I'll be back in school, free to resume the life of bliss I left there and figure things out from there. I want to start the next decade of my life doing everything I want to do without losing sight of who I am.

I guess some resolutions wouldn't hurt either.

This upcoming year I want to seek a life that's far more meaningful than picture perfect. To produce art I'm proud of, and fulfill myself with worthwhile work. To take pleasure in the simple things. And to share real experiences with people I love.

Cheers to sweet '16!