My Top Ten Highlights of 2017

Happy New Year’s 2018! I have been very busy the past week spending time with my family and recovering from bronchitis. Today’s article is about top ten highlights of 2017. This doesn’t include anything lesson-related because next week I will post an article about some of the things I’ve learned in 2017.

1. I began writing regularly.

In 2016, I wrote a few scripts to perform with some friends and I wrote my first short story (in the literary sense as defined by Edgar Allan Poe by the length of his short stories). But in 2017, I aspired to finish my first novel. And the only way to that was to keep writing. My friend, Anna, indirectly introduced me to many great writing blogs that were an encouragement in my writing process. I must confess that I have been pretty lazy with writing since Thanksgiving. But, I mean, others say to take a break from writing ever now and then.

2. Part 2 of the Spy Series was produced.

Emma’s Escape, the second play in the Spy Series, was produced at my brother’s birthday in February 2017. The first play, Operation Stanhope, was about a double agent in a secret agent team. In this play, the double agent escapes from prison. I’m surprised at how the plays can be so simply stated.

3. I started Histories and Mysteries.

I’m super glad I started this blog to satisfy my desire to tell everyone about history and geography. Let’s just say that younger siblings aren’t the best listeners when it comes to what Winston Churchill was doing in World War I or the history of the United Nations. Thanks for sticking around, readers! I’m excited to share another year’s worth of history with all of you.

4. I finished my first college course.

I took two college courses with the Master’s University to finish some General Education courses. I took U.S. History, and had some new experiences including discussions with other students and writing college papers. That course was open book for all quizzes and tests, but the next course World History I wasn’t. I was studying for the longest time ever.

5. I finished 10th grade.

I always try to add this as a highlight every year. After all, that is 170 days of school completed. No more exams over that information. What a relief!

6. I tried my first NaNoWriMo.

I tried National Novel Writing Month in November for the first time ever. The first three days, I wrote at least 30,000 words to finish my first novel (YAY!!!). I spent the rest of the month writing 25,000 words on my secret project novel. It was a pretty successful NaNo for me with 55,000 words. I would definitely recommend any writer to try this writing technique out this year in November.

7. I finished my novel.

As I said in the point above, I finished my first novel in 2017. It was called The Lies We Believe until I changed the title to His Plan for Me for a very complicated reason which I will explain on my other blog. It took me one year from November 2016 to November 3, 2017. I was so relieved when I finished, and I celebrated by going to bed because it was ten o’clock when I finished writing. I had to disappear into my room a lot to finish that novel, and I also had to sacrifice my TV time.

8. I got a Wii U.

This is actually my brother’s Christmas present, but my dad took my Christmas money to pay for the other half of the console. We got some really cool Nintendo games (Super Mario 3D World, Mario Party 10, The Legend of Zelda, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Mario Kart 8, etc.) to play over the holiday season. I ended up playing on the console more because I am more of a console-type person than a mobile gamer type of person like my brother. But I am really bad at video games so I don’t play them too often unless I’m sure that I’ll win (or lose just to make the point that I‘m bad at playing video games).



9. I read my first young adult novel.



I don’t read modern trash (what I call young adult novels nowadays), but I was dying to read some of the canon continuation Star Wars novels. I got a young adult Star Wars novel for Christmas. Leia: Princess of Alderaan is a coming of age novel about sixteen year old Princess Leia. It was still a great novel especially because of Amilyn Holdo. You can read the reviews I wrote on these two books here.

10. I made it to 2018.

It’s always a good thing to thank the Lord for another year! We’re never promised even another second so a year is a great blessing.

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Comment below on your 2017 highlights. I’d love to hear about them! And remember, although we may make plans about what we want our lives to be like, God’s plan for our lives is final. That’s the lesson of my novel, His Plan for Me. Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” As long as we follow Him, we’ll find that His way is the best way. Just wait and see! You’ll never know what God brings next.