I set my word of the year as “flourish” in 2023, and in many ways, I feel like that was a success. There was some genuine heartbreak along the way, but even in the midst of it, I felt so serene—and oddly prepared—thanks to all of the work I’d been doing in therapy and on my own time. Because I had set up my environment to be supportive (and because I was willing to ask for extra support when I needed it), I could flourish through every season this year. I am so proud of myself and also so grateful for the help and encouragement along the way.

Wishing you all a very happy new year! 💕 

Friends & Foes

Best Tennessee friends left behind: Jim, Jacquie, James, and Christy
Best new friend in Ohio: Lauren
Best BFF: Tyler, always
Best brother: Adam, always
Best new therapist, and not just because she complimented my brows one time: Ashley
Best community: basically all of the Souls streamers and their respective communities, but specifically the cuties of Twitch and YouTube who watch @LilAggy with me most nights (I got asked to be a moderator! It has been super fun!)

Best person who will haunt me for the rest of time: whoever was dressed as Winnie the Pooh and slowly trudged through an abandoned part of rural Tennessee in the pouring rain on January 22
Best worst temporary coworker, who managed to call me fat and unlovable while smiling and making a mess of my paperwork: Doreen

Home & Abroad

Best city abandoned forever: Crossville, TN
Best thing I did for myself before moving: playing the Minimalism Game, twice (I purged 1,000+ belongings in total, and I cannot even tell you how life-changing it was)
Best thing I decluttered: probably the lavender toga and coordinating purple sash I made for an eighth grade party celebrating all the Latin we had learned that year
Best thing I absolutely did not declutter: the Laura Ingalls Wilder dress, apron, and bonnet that my grandma made for me when I was young
Best mini road trip: Chattanooga, TN, to go to the aquarium and bully my friend into getting pedicures with me
Best reminder that I need to travel more in 2024: this blog post

Health & Wellness

Best life change overall: learning to ask for help, oops
Best result of asking for help: getting out of debt completely
Best new hobby: helping other people declutter and get organized—being bossy and helpful at the same time
Best physical health investment: that very trendy Stanley water bottle that holds 40 ounces and actually keeps me hydrated somehow, gross
Best mental health investment: the revamped chocolate croissant from Panera (or maybe the Calm app? hard to say)
Best worst illness that I wasn’t prepared to experience in my thirties: SHINGLES. ON MY FACE AND HEAD.

Entertainment

Best TV show, which I will bully you into watching: Only Murders in the Building (affectionately referred to as “the Murder Cuties show” by me)
Best movie, and yes, I dressed up in pink to watch it in the theater: Barbie
Best new-to-me musical artist: Emei
Best Emei lyric that I will always scream-sing in the car: “Who’s your therapist? . . . Fire your therapist.”
Best book that I actually enjoyed (instead of hate-reading): The Book of Boundaries

Best streamer, and not just because he made me a chat moderator: LilAggy
Best streamer to introduce me to “gyatt” and other Zoomer slang: BanjoTheUncle
Best cozy content gamer: OlaOh (please, please, please check out her short-form content on YouTube, too)
Best simplify-your-home content on YouTube: The Minimal Mom
Best manifesting-your-dream-life content on YouTube: all of those crackling fireplace videos, which I use while saving up to buy my dream home with a fireplace in the bedroom, eee 💕

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Best previous editions of Skirts Awards: 2019, 2018, 2014, 2013, 2011