2018: A Year in Review
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As the excitement and promise of a new year begins, it’s good to take a moment and reflect back on the previous year. A lot can happen over the course of 365 days, some good, some bad, some happy and others sad. Each of those events, whether good or bad, has shaped who we are as people and guides our journey forward. Over the past year we’ve had interns and new bloggers join us, as well as old friends come back to share their thoughts and experiences again. #ASDNext would like to take a moment to look back at 2018 on behalf of our bloggers.
Along with a new year, January brought a new intern to #ASDNext. Marissa Bowley, a student at Lebanon Valley College who is studying communications, joined our team for the spring semester. Marissa was a huge help over the 5 months she interned with us, writing blogs, scheduling social media, helping with the poetry contest and creating graphics. It was a great experience for her and our team, and we very much appreciated all of the help she provided!
April brought an old friend back to us, when Archer started blogging for us after a short break. The warm spring and summer months also meant vacations and trips! Khylil, Out of Sync Woman and Archer all shared vacation pics and stories with us. Out of Sync Woman also started taking over the #ASDNext Instagram account, sharing pics of her adventures around Pennsylvania.
Our bloggers also shared personal stories about their hobbies, thoughts on getting out in the community, being more social, learning how to be more independent, as well as demands placed on them and difficult times they’ve experienced. In August, Ziggy shared a very personal blog about the passing of his father earlier in the year. Later in October, he shared another beautifully written blog about the tragedy that occurred in his neighborhood: the shooting of innocent people at a synagogue in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Archer shared his experience of losing a family pet, and Out of Sync Woman continued to share insights into managing her mental health and the sometimes complicated family relationships. While these things aren’t always easy to talk about, our bloggers willingly share their experiences in hopes of helping other readers who may be going through similar situations.
Just like any other year, 2018 was full of ups and downs, good times and bad, successes and failures. Through it all, the #ASDNext bloggers told their stories and shared their thoughts and feelings in hopes that their words would find their way to other individuals and help them in their journeys. We’d like to thank you for joining our bloggers on their journeys, and as we enter 2019 remember that with each new day brings new opportunities! From all of us here at #ASDNext we wish you a very Happy New Year!