2016 in Review and Looking Forward to 2017

With 2017 just around the corner I wanted to write a recap on 2016. 2016 was a good year, for me at least and a lot of exciting things have happened. So here you go!

Exciting Things That Have Happened to Me This Year:

• My family went to Ghatlinburg and my mom, my brother and I hiked a mountain and saw some gorgeous waterfalls. It was an amazing experience.
• I went down to Indianapolis with a college group from my church and handed out food and water and talked to the homeless. It was a very eye opening and unique experience.
• This is small but it was a great experience too. I helped out at my church's food pantry for an evening. It was a fun time.
• I had my first book professionally edited. When I gave Weapon Icean over to my editor I thought it was only 90% but when I got it back it was like she'd filled and helped fix all the holes, making it 100%.
• I published my first book! 2016 will go down as the year I published my first book and I will always look on this year and remember the excitement and rush of it.
• I wrote my first sequel for nanowrimo. It was grueling and difficult and sometimes I wanted to give up but now that it's finished and I'm working on revisions I'm so happy I didn't.

My Top Favorite Movies of 2016:

• The Legend of Tarzan (the live action Tarzan that came out. I didn't see it in the theater but I did rent it and loved it!)
• Moana (because I love Disney and Moana had to be on of Disney's best movies in the last few years. I loved everything about it and can't wait to buy it!)
• X-Men Apocalypse (this was the first X-Men movie I've ever seen in theaters and I loved it so much! Not just because it was X-Men but also because it was the perfect wrap up of the new X-Men trilogy).
• Assassin's Creed (I just saw this on Christmas but I really enjoyed it. The plot was pretty simple but I loved the action and Michael Fassbender did such an amazing job).

My Top Favorite Books of 2016:

• This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab
• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
• Lodestar by Shannon Messenger
• Vicious by V.E. Schwab
• Starflight by Melissa Lander

My Top Favorite TV Shows of 2016:

• The Vampire Diaries
• The Originals
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Angel
• Stranger Things

Looking Forward to in 2017:

• The new Riverdale series on the CW. I haven't read the Archie comics but this how looks so awesome!
• The new Legion series about Professor Xavier's son. Not only is this X-Men but I've always liked and been interested in the character Legion.
• The Lost Boy series by the CW and the Vampire Chronicles that will be coming out in Fall 2017! Can't wait for those!
• I turn 19 next year! It's a scary thought but also exciting. 19 is such a big number... I loved being 17 and 18 was pretty good but 19 feels daunting. Nonetheless I'm excited for the new age.
• The end of The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf era. This is a bittersweet looking forward moment. This may sound stupid but The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf have gotten me through some pretty bad times. They've gotten me through days of none stop anxiety and panic attacks and have sometimes been the only thing that could make me truly happy. I will miss these shows and these characters so much!
• Start a new college group at church. My church's college group has been through a few rocky times (for me at least) and next week their rebooting and starting a new group that I hope to get involved in and enjoy.
• The fact that we're going on a special and magical vacation in February. I think you can guess where we're going (Disney!). We plan to surprise my three younger brothers since the other one already knows. It's going to be so fun and exciting!
• Edit and publish the sequel to Weapon Icean. I wrote the sequel in November and am in the middle of revisions and edits. This year I plan to send it out to my editor and get it published.
• Publish my Tales of the Lonely short story collection. I feel like it's finally ready to be edited and I would love to share my short stories with you guys!
• Write a supernatural book that has either werewolves or vampires or some other cool supernatural creature in it or maybe all three. If you can't tell from my list of TV shows and books I'm a supernatural kind of girl and I really want to write a book that reflects that love.
• Sell at least 30 copies of Weapon Icean. I don't know if this will happen but it's my hope and my goal and I plan to try my hardest to make that goal happen.

Books I Can't Wait For In 2017 (you can find this list on my TBR 2017 Goodreads Shelf):

• The Gatlon School for Vigilantes by Marissa Meyer: Superheroes, vigilantes, villains and Marissa Meyer. Sign me up.
• A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. This is going to be awesome!
• The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2): I loved the first one in this series and can't wait for the next one!
• Wires and Nerves by Marissa Meyer: this is going to be epic! I loved the Lunar Chronicles series and I can't wait to dive back into that world with Iko.
• Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab: This Savage Song was magical and dark and I can't wait for this one.
• Keeper of the Lost Cities #6: Ever since starting Shannon Messenger's Keeper series I always look forward to her next book in the year ahead.
• Wanted by Betsy Schow: Her first book Spelled was magical and funny and quirky and I'm excited to see what she does in the next one.

And there you have it guys! The highlights of 2016 and the excitement of 2017. I can't wait to see what the new year holds!

What were some of the best parts of 2016 for you and what are you looking forward to in 2017?