As today is thanksgiving, I wanted to write a short post to look back on what has been an incredible year. Never did I imagine even four years ago, that I would be doing what I'm doing now. Back then, I was happily teaching my class of four year olds. I had been doing it for almost twenty years and really enjoyed my job.

But then the pandemic hit and everything changed. I started helping out with Legitimate because I had more free time. I began working with journalists and learning more about the industry. I really enjoyed being involved in a startup. And things just snowballed from there.

On January 4 of this year, we packed up and moved to New York. It's where we needed to be to grow the business. And it has been amazing. NYC is such a unique place. You never know what you're going to come across from one minute to the next. There's such a mix of people and it has a great feeling to it. It has been such an experience to be a part of the city, meet other founders and people involved in the journalism industry.

I'm thankful for all of the crazy things that have happened over the past year. Like having meetings in the World Trade Center, walking out our front door and seeing the Statue of Liberty in the distance, attending the St Patrick's Day mass in the cathedral, going to Washington DC and presenting in an office where you could see the White House out the window. It has been so much fun and I've really learned to just enjoy every moment.

I'm not saying that there hasn't been stress. There is no way you're running a startup with no pressure, worry, panic etc. But I've tried to manage this by telling myself how lucky I am to be doing this.

And the fact that I've been able to share the whole thing with my co-founder/husband has made it so much better! It has been incredible to be on this journey with him and go through it all together. And to have a family that is so supportive. It's what I'm truly thankful for.

So, as we come into the holiday season, I just wanted to take a second to look back over 2023 and appreciate what has been an amazing year. Startup life can be very difficult sometimes, so I want to really enjoy the ups and learn from the downs, to make the most of every experience.