Emma Josephine

2021 has been a year of change, growth, reflection, and transformation for us all. I owe thanks to so many beautiful people for making this year so special and for helping me to grow on a professional and personal level. Here’s a look at just some of the memorable moments from this year:

Graduation

This May, I graduated from college! To be quite honest, this goal to graduate a year early was a decision I made on a whim my sophomore year. I truly have so many people to thank, because I couldn't have done it without the unconditional support and encouragement I received from others.

Thank you to my family, friends, professors, advisors, and bosses for nurturing my talents, helping me to grow and improve, and providing me with so many valuable opportunities.

Career

I had an exceptionally gratifying internship at Planned Parenthood my spring semester. Everyone there is an absolute darling, and I loved getting to learn more about reproductive rights and write blog content for their Stories of Self initiative.

After meeting my mentor Patrick through my other internship, I was lucky enough to work for his company Marin Skincare as a Digital Marketing Assistant.

Patrick and his partner Amber are such intelligent, hardworking, all-around wonderful people. They live and breathe compassion and kindness, and their business is an extrapolation of those values. They’re personal development junkies just like me, and naturally, have imparted so many valuable pieces of wisdom. With their help, I’ve instilled mindsets like the growth-oriented mindset, aiming for continuous and never-ending improvement, and have learned importance of speaking to people like a friend. It’s honestly been a blessing working for them, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have been a part of their company.

Patrick, Amber, and I painting the Marin HQ office

Lastly on the career front, I owe a huge thank you to everyone who gave me their time to ask for career advice. (You all helped me so much!!)

Thank you to my internship supervisors; Patrick and Amber from Marin; and all of my informational interviewees (too many to list lol) who gave me their time to ask for career advice. And especially Sam Heapps, for your continued support and for being my accountability buddy!

Family and Friends

Come summertime, I was fully vaccinated and eagerly awaiting to soak up the sun with some of my favorite people. We were able to travel again and partake in some of my favorite pastimes – sailing, shopping, and laying on the beach. The time spent with my loved ones and our reflective conversations made me even more thankful for my family and my best friends, and how blessed I am to have them in my life.

I also went to my first concerts post-pandemic! Honestly, concerts are my lifeblood — the positive energy in the crowd just lights up my soul.

Thank you to my amazing family and best friends Desi, Ana, Katie, and Iris. Special thank you to André for inspiring me to stage dive at the No Pressure concert, it was euphoric.

I also went to the P.volve studio for the first time in-person! I had a personal training session with Maeve McEwen, a senior trainer at P.volve and one of my major inspirations. She led me through a sculpt and tone workout that activated (and burned!!) every single one of my muscles. She is an absolute powerhouse and I feel so grateful to have met her. Stay tuned for a post about my entire experience at P.volve! (Spoiler alert: it was amazing!)

Little Moments

I’m also grateful for those little moments that can really be a reality check; a moment for me to step back from whatever problem I’m dealing with, and to think about all of the blessings I have in my life (and likely that you have, too.) When it comes down to it, it really is all about perspective. Sometimes we can get frustrated with ourselves, others, or our circumstances – and that’s totally okay. We’re all just doing the best that we can, and we’ve all been through a lot, especially in the past two years.

Let’s recognize everything we have to be grateful for, and extend so much compassion and love towards one another.

So many people have blessed me this year. Thank you to everyone who taught me something, showed me love, helped me, shared their kindness with me, and everyone who made this year so special.

My heart is so full<3 Here’s to an AMAZING 2022.