A Decade In Review…and Happy New Year!

As we enter the new year (and the new decade) I was inspired me to reflect on the past ten years and how the twists and turns of life have brought me to where I am today. FYI: this may be my longest blog post to date…you’ve been warned! Ok…here we go!

2009 

I began my junior year of college at The George Washington University and that year I lived in my sorority house (shout out to Sigma Kappa! Did you know I was in Greek life?) for the fall semester. In January of that year, I attended Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration on the National Mall and got to go to the GW Inaugural Ball - a huge highlight of my time in DC! 

In the spring, I studied abroad for the semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I lived in a homestay for 5 months and my host mom did not speak any English! I took all of my classes in Spanish, ate lots of dulce de leche, tried matte, took tango lessons, discovered the vibrant Jewish community in South America, and took trips to Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile while I was there! Although this was before I ever had a blog, I got in my writing practice by sharing long and detailed monthly updates of my South American adventures with friends and family abroad. It was one of the best times of my life! That summer I staffed a teen tour to Israel with Young Judaea and began my senior year of college in the fall.    

2010

College was a busy, busy time in my life! Outside of my school work as a Jewish Studies Major/Organizational Science Minor, I was active in the musical theatre community, Greek Life, Hillel, a founding member of the first Jewish a capella group (Shir Madness!), and taught Hebrew school on the weekends. At the end of January, I attended a Shabbat dinner on campus where I met Michael (you can read more about that here) and what started as a casual fling our senior year quickly developed into a relationship with the love of my life. We became inseparable and spent as much time together as we could until we graduated that May. (Fun fact: Michelle Obama was our Commencement speaker!) Michael and I were moving to separate cities after college and I was devastated at the thought of having to live apart from each other (or even potentially breaking up.)  

Finding a job during the height of the Great Recession wasn’t easy. I applied to a number of fellowships, jobs and a couple of grad school programs (I even made it to the final round of Teach For America and I thought I nailed my model lesson but I got turned down at the very end.) It was very discouraging to have graduated from a great university, with an impressive resume full of academic and professional experience, without concrete post-college plans.

That summer, I was the division head for high school juniors at my sleep away camp (Camp Tel Yehudah) and I convinced Michael to work there with me. He had never been to my camp (let alone any sleep away camp) so part of me was nervous we might break up if he had a bad experience at camp... but it ended up being one of our favorite summers together! After camp ended, I moved to NYC to start graduate school at the Jewish Theological Seminary for a MA in Jewish Education. Michael was living in MA for law school so we began our long-distance relationship, which would last another two years.

2011 

I was awarded a full-tuition scholarship and a Jewish Pluralism Fellowship, which covered most of my school expenses. That year, I chose my grad school concentration in Jewish Day School education and worked several jobs teaching Hebrew school and babysitting during the week and weekends to support myself. I had lots of fun living in NYC and going out with friends on weekends. Michael and I tried to visit each other 1-2x per month and we spoke nearly everyday on the phone and Skype (this was pre-Facetime days.) In the fall of this year, my sister moved to NYC and we lived together in a cute and cozy (aka: tiny) one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side. We loved living together and hosting friends in our new home. That summer, I staffed another teen tour to Israel with the 92nd Street Y (I just couldn’t say away!) and traveled to Russia with Michael’s family for a wedding.

2012 

I kept very busy with my last year of grad school, juggling my course work with my student teaching of 6th and 7th graders at the Rodeph Sholom School a few days a week, and finding time to research and write my Masters Thesis on “Fostering Jewish Pluralism in the Day School Classroom.” When I wasn’t hustling in NYC, I was taking every cheap bus from NY to Boston (Bolt Bus, Mega Bus, Peter Pan, Chinatown bus, GoBus, you name it, I rode on it!) one weekend every month to visit Michael. I remember I would get so emotional every time we said goodbye and I remember crying when I had to board my bus back to NYC at the end of our weekends together.

That spring, I was chosen to be the student Commencement Speaker at my grad school graduation ceremony from JTS and I officially became a Master of Jewish Education! Over the summer I did a Hebrew language immersion program (Ivriyon) for teachers who teach Hebrew in Hebrew, went to the Firefly music festival with my girlfriends, and said farewell to NYC (at least for the time being...) because that fall, I made the move to Boston to be closer to Michael! It was bittersweet, as all of my best friends and family were in NY/NJ, but I knew it was a decision I had to make for the sake of my relationship. I did NOT want to do a third year of long-distance! 

2013 

I started my first full-time job after graduate school as the Israel Programs Coordinator at Northeastern University Hillel in downtown Boston. I loved working with college students and helping them connect to Judaism through Israel! I recruited hundreds of students for Birthright (a free, 10-day trip to Israel) and staffed the trips twice a year. There was no Hillel Director when I started working, so my job required me to be very self-motivated and I took on a lot of responsibility beyond my job description. During this time, I worked a lot of nights and weekends, organizing weeknight events, running Shabbat dinners on Friday nights, and staffing Sunday bagel brunches. Although I did not have the best work-life balance, I made a whole new group of friends (many of whom were also other young, Jewish professionals) and was happy with my decision to move to Boston. 

On a personal note, I was thrilled to be done doing a long-distance relationship. I now lived in Alston and Michael lived about 10 minutes away in Cambridge, while he finished his final year of law school at Boston University. It was a zillion times better than living a 4.5 hour drive apart and even though we were both busy with work and school, we got to see each other wayyyy more! That spring Michael graduated from law school and spent a whole lot of the summer studying for the MA and NY Bar exams. I kept busy outside of work with step aerobics classes, book club, and becoming involved with the Jewish community. That fall, Michael and I moved into our first apartment together, a one bedroom in Brighton, MA. In November, we got engaged after a very romantic, surprise proposal on the Boston waterfront - I was on cloud nine! 

2014 

I spent a lot of time wedding planning from afar (we got married in NJ) and loved every moment of it! We didn’t have a wedding planner so I became my own and didn’t let any detail slip through the cracks. It was a year full of celebrations - from our l’chaim with friends in Brooklyn, to our engagement party with family in NJ, to not only one, but TWO bridal showers (one in NJ and one in MA) and a bachelorette party in Fire Island. To say I was on a high would be an understatement. We attended five of our friends’ weddings that year and in mid-September, we tied the knot! Our wedding was a dream come true - you can read more about it here. 

Professionally, I was thriving! The Jewish student engagement at Northeastern University grew exponentially and I was leading over 160 students to Israel every year. I also staffed an Alternative Break trip to New Orleans and attended several seminars and professional development events all over the country. Aside from my trip recruiting and organizing, I also advised two student groups and supervised a cohort of interns. However, the anti-Israel BDS movement on campus also began to grow stronger and I found myself tangled up in a complicated, political mess. I tried not to let that stress get to me (although it ultimately did lead me to look for new job opportunities) and I took on more responsibility as I became more senior. I was managing major on-campus events with hundreds of students in attendance and I represented Hillel at several national conferences and high-level board meetings. This year, I also began working for a non-profit organization called Volunteers for Israel (VFI), as their National Campus Coordinator and squeezed in my work for them whenever I could.   

2015 

During the spring, Michael and I traveled on our 2-week honeymoon to Thailand with stops in Hong Kong and Cambodia. It was absolutely epic! We ate street food in Bangkok, explored the farmer’s markets of the Thai countryside, visited beautiful Buddhist temples, spent a day at an elephant sanctuary, bathed under magnificent waterfalls, and rode motorbikes all over Koh Samet island. My travels didn’t end there - in the summer, I traveled to Azerbaijan and Greece on a young leadership mission with American Jewish Committee (AJC.) 

After three years of working for Hillel, I said goodbye and took on a new role at Gann Academy High School, teaching 9th and 10th grade Jewish Studies and creating and running a teen philanthropy program for Boston-area students. I was busier than ever, as I continued working part-time for VFI and became involved as a lay leader with AJC, ADL, and CJP. On weekends, Michael and I hosted friends for lively Shabbat dinners, went on trips all over New England, and ate our way through the Boston food scene. 

2016

In February, Michael and I found out that we were pregnant! But that didn’t stop us from having fun - we loved cheering on the runners in the Boston Marathon (even if I was fake drinking the whole day - ha!), I traveled to LA for my bestie’s baby shower, and we had a lot of beach time in Fire Island. My morning sickness wasn’t terrible, but I remember having to pull over during my commute a few mornings and run to the bathroom while teaching my 10th grade class when I got sick a few times. I came home from work exhausted and napped almost everyday. I finished out the school year at Gann Academy and then, after almost 5 years of living in Boston, Michael and I moved to Brooklyn! It was a bittersweet transition to leave the city where we first moved in together and where we got engaged, and to say goodbye to our amazing group of friends.

Just before our move, we took a fun babymoon to Lake Como, Italy (you can read more about that here.) I ate pasta and gelato and got to sun bathe along the lake everyday - it was heaven! We had four days to find an apartment in NYC and after searching in Manhattan for two days without any success, we decided to open our search to Brooklyn. We stumbled upon the most quaint, cute, peaceful neighborhood in Park Slope and both of us instantly knew we were home! We tried to do as much as we could to make our apartment feel like home before I gave birth. We did a backyard makeover, set up Adina’s nursery, did a living room refresh, and created a home office! Of course the highlight of the year was the arrival of our precious first child - Adina Lila who was born on 10/26/16!

2017 

Although I absolutely loved being a mom, it was the hardest thing I had ever done. My traumatic birth experience, the sleep deprivation, ‘round-the-clock newborn days, and stresses of breastfeeding caught up with me fast, and I suffered from postpartum anxiety. I was one of the first ones of my group of friends to have kids and I didn’t know many people in Brooklyn yet. As a new mom in a new city, I felt very isolated at times and I began following motherhood accounts on Instagram as a way to feel connected to community. This was also the first time in over three years that I wasn’t working a traditional 9-5 job (although I would argue that being a mom is the hardest job out there) so I started to crave an outlet outside of being a SAHM to Adina. I began sharing more of my own experiences as a new mom on Instagram and in May of that year, I launched my blog ArielLoves.com. It was the perfect way to combine my passion for writing and photography with my new season of motherhood.  

Slowly, I began making friends in my neighborhood and building a local community in Brooklyn in additional to the one online. By the time Adina turned one, Michael and I found our groove as new parents. We traveled to Aruba when she was 4 months old and to Grand Cayman Island when Adina was 6 months old. Michael and I also took our first child-free trip right before Adina’s first birthday. Our trip to Arizona will always hold a special place in my heart! I continued posting to my Instagram and blog regularly, and squeezed in my work for Volunteers for Israel during Adina’s naps and at night.  

2018 

Early that year, we traveled to Florida with Adina to escape the NY winter. Shortly after we returned, we found out we were expecting our second child! My pregnancy was pretty smooth but I was completely exhausted chasing around an energetic toddler. Michael and I celebrated our 30th birthdays in the spring with a memorable party with family and friends. We traveled to Fire Island a bunch throughout the summer and marveled at how Adina loved the beach! In the fall, she started attending a preschool a few mornings a week, just before she turned two. It was a rocky start with some rough drop-offs but she quickly fell in love with her new friends and teachers. Michael and I took a fun babymoon to Quebec City and Montreal and did what we do best - ate our way through Canada!

The highlight of 2018 was the birth of Noa Ella on November 12 (two weeks after her due date!) I loved my birth experience and was so happy that I had chosen to switch practitioners, switch hospitals, and work with a doula this time around - I felt so much more empowered than I did after my first birth! Adina took to being a big sister so well and showered Noa with so much love, but the adjustment from one kid to two was not so easy for me. I felt very pulled between the needs of my two-year-old and the needs of my newborn. After nearly five years of working for Volunteers for Israel, I passed on the baton to be able to devote more of my energy on my family and focus on my mental health. 

2019 

Our first full year as a family of four! In the beginning of the year, Adina began going to school for five mornings a week, which helped me find a little more balance as a mom of two. In February, the four of us traveled to Mexico and I went to Florida in April with the girls. We also sleep trained Noa, potty trained Adina, and moved the girls into the same room and by springtime, we settled into our new routine. I had fun with our matching shark family costumes and the girls’ hungry caterpillar costumes! Over the summer, we went to Sesame Place and the Poconos and Adina began taking ballet and swim lessons. Noa grew into her own bubbly personality, chatting off everyone’s ears and smiling non stop - her first birthday was so special! Chanukah with the girls this year was also unforgettable - we decorated our whole home, the girls got new Chanukah books and toys, and we wore matching pajamas everyday for weeks!

Adina and Noa have developed such a strong bond and absolutely adore each other. Michael and I celebrated on 5th wedding anniversary September (how has it been 5 years?!) and we did all of the fall things (pumpkins patches, apple picking, you name it!) In the fall, I started saying yes to more blogging opportunities and attending more in-person events (often with at least one child in tow.) I had my first public speaking appearance about blogging and photography, was a special guest on a national podcast, and got to collaborate with some amazing brands!  

I am grateful for all of your support this year and for you following along on our journey. I can’t wait to see what the next decade will hold. I hope I’ll be back here writing a recap again in 2030. In the meantime, thank you for being with me along the way!

Thank you to Marion Haberman for inspiring me to write this post!