2013: A Year of Firsts

2013 started weird for me. My new year’s resolution was to try 10 new things, last years was to travel to 10 new cities. Definitely a hard time to be positive with the lay off in November on top of that it is the winter which I hate.  But I got up, stopped feeling sorry for myself and started making things happen.

being laid off: admittedly this is not a new experience I would have picked. Being laid off at 23 you learn some valuable skills and lessons: perspective, penny pinching, how to throw dinner parties, how to reach out to your network personally and professionally, read more books, and the next new experience.

“We learn from failure, not from success!” Bram Stoker Dracula

got in shape: this one is important to learn but unfortunately it was never something I paid much attention to. By January 2013 I lost a couple pants sizes. People always ask “OMG How did you do that?!” It isn’t a secret people: exercise more, eat less. If an Italian American can moderately eat bread than anyone can do it.

became a manager: in February LivingSocial asked me back as Event Manager for Adventures. I had the amazing opportunity to manage 40 Event Coordinators. I worked with the most amazing, selfless, creative and entertaining people in the world- my Experience Coordinators. These people are without a doubt the reason Adventures was so successful. My job would have been impossible without them.

went skiing: constantly thinking “pizza, french fry” will only get you so far. Having a good teacher and maybe a cold beer to help the sore legs is recommended because you will use muscles you didn’t know you had.

white water rafting: this activity is not for the weak of heart. This is possibly the scariest thing I have ever done and I’ve been skydiving. The New River in West Virginia is class 5+ most of the time and has terrifying names such as “teacher’s pet” because it will keep you after school… indefinitely. Not sure I would do this one again but definitely worth it! #yolo (literally)

planned an event for 9,000 people: In Adventures we threw a two day festival called Beerfest. This epic festival was an event planner’s dream! 9,000 people, 2 days, 110 vendors, 50 staff and 40 volunteers. This was such a chaotic but amazing planning experience. There is nothing like sink or swim moments in events- they always cause you to learn and grow.

took on a new challenge: In July Adventures was shut down, luckily LivingSocial found a position for me in the Escapes Department. This was challenging for me as it was a technical position. I had to master Excel techniques and learn an entire new system that LivingSocial had created which required a creative QA process and problem solving skills. I am so proud of everything we did and how amazing the product is today.

went to two new music festivals:

Firefly and Lollapalooza became the clear winners for this new experience. Two totally different experiences- one camping, one in a hotel; one a three day festival, one a one day festival; one with 40 other people in a campsite, one with a handful of friends; one in a field and one in a city.

quit my job: LivingSocial has been provided me amazing opportunities for 2 and a half years taking me from the beaches of Hawaii to the beaches of Chicago, white water rafting through the New River in West Virginia and ziplining through the trees in Maryland and too much more to list. I could not be more thankful to the amazing people I worked with and learned from. But it was time for the next Adventure so I quit my job and accepted a position with Metropolitan Hospitality planning events at Citi Field for the Mets.

moved cities: The last experience of 2013 took me into 2014- I moved from DC to NYC making my long time dream official.

Now on to the next adventure… what you got 2014?