End of the Year Thoughts

Looking back on 2018, it’s been one of the most challenging yet rewarding years yet. I wanted to take some time to reflect on both my personal and organic life. It’s true that so much of my personal life is my organic life, but there are still some moments that I like to keep private.  

First off, the organic industry skyrocketed in the best way possible in 2018. More companies are now producing organic products. Also, organic products are being sold in many places and they are also becoming readily available. It makes me happy to witness the growth.

In 2018, Amazon fully integrated with Whole Foods Market after their purchase in 2017. I still have mixed feelings on the purchase of Whole Foods by Amazon. However, the greatest benefit is that they lowered some of the prices on certain organic foods. If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can get discounts on sale items when you check out at the register. What I like the most is that they are also making organic food more accessible and cheaper for consumers. You can now purchase more organic products on Amazon.com. I love that you can now buy a wider range of organic products on Amazon because I think the future lies in consumers purchasing everything from the comfort of their home. My only wish is that Whole Foods Market stays true to organics and that they won’t replace organic products with natural counterparts just to keep the price down. Only time will tell.

Natural Products Expo West 2018 was the best one that I have ever attended! The convention grew so much this year! It’s so great to witness the growth of the convention because that means the organic industry is growing. My wish for the future is that the organic industry continues to grow. Hopefully, that will eventually result in all of our food being grown the organic way. Then, we can eliminate the term “organic” as well as health food stores because all of our food will just be food. In my heart and soul, I know that is coming! Hopefully in the next few years or in my lifetime we will see that change.

This year, I had major growth in my organic life. I realized that this year was my 9-year anniversary of living an organic lifestyle. I can’t believe it has been 9 years! I have never felt so healthy and happy. I just can’t ever imagine my life without this organic passion of mine. In 2018, I had some amazing opportunities to work with some awesome organic companies. I learned even more about the organic industry. I love learning new aspects about the organic industry because I want to have as much knowledge as I can so I can further my organic passion.

As far as my personal life goes, this year I got to see four amazing people in my life get married. Out of the 4 weddings, I was a part of 3 of them. All of them were special, but the most special one was assuming the role as maid of honor at my sister’s wedding. At her wedding, I got out of my comfort zone and said a speech in front of 100 plus people. I didn’t just say a speech but I sang through it as well. My sister is part of the theater world and since she is so special to me, I created a speech using song references to Broadway shows.

Only for her would I get up and speak, let alone sing in front of that many people. The reason I am talking about my speech is because that was one of the many challenges for me this year. Standing up in front of a crowd (even though most of them were my family) is not my specialty. Putting yourself in the position of doing things you aren’t comfortable with is where your growth comes from. Moving forward in my life, I will continue to put myself in situations where I’m not comfortable because that is where you experience the most growth. I’m not talking about walking into danger or anything like that. But, just doing things that scare us the most will help us grow and build character. After making the speech, I realized that the fears and thoughts will always be there, but I am stronger than that and I conquer anything.

The Natural Products Expo West in 2018 was the best one that I have ever attended! The convention grew so much this year! It’s always fantastic to see the growth of this convention because that means the organic industry is growing. My wish for the future is that the organic industry keeps on growing and eventually all of our food will be grown that way. We can get rid of the term “organic” and we can get rid of health food stores because all of our food will just be food. In my heart and soul, I know that is coming! Hopefully in the next few years we will see that change.  This year, I had major growth within my own organic life. I realized that this year was my 9-year anniversary of living an organic lifestyle. I can’t believe it has been 9 years! I have never felt so great in my life. This year I felt healthier and happier than I ever have. I just can’t ever imagine my life without this organic passion of mine. In 2018, I had some amazing opportunities to work with a few organic companies. I learned even more about the organic industry by working with these companies. I love learning the different aspects about the organic industry because I want to have as much knowledge as I can to further my passion.

Also this year, I met some amazing people. Going into a new year, you just never know whom you are going to cross paths with. The people that come into our lives do so for a reason. There are no coincidences or accidents to meeting them. It was all supposed to happen. I am so grateful to everyone that I crossed paths with this year. Whether it was for a moment, a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or for the whole year, THANK YOU for impacting my life in some way.

Symbolically, New Years is a time for change and for new goals. What we all forget is that every single day of our lives is a chance to start a new goal and for change. We don’t have to wait for the New Year to do so. Just because the number at the end of the year changes at 12 am on January 1^st, it doesn’t mean that we will automatically be new people and that our goals will magically be fulfilled. You can do that any day of the year. Don’t forget that!

In 2019, I hope to see more growth in the organic industry. I hope that our broken food system starts to change for the better and that organic food becomes even more accessible to everyone.

2018 was an extraordinary year! Even though this year was extraordinary, it also came with a lot of challenges and tests. I think I was thrown almost every curveball in the book. Regardless, I am living proof that I can survive anything that was thrown at me because here we are at the end of 2018. I am walking away from this year stronger, smiling, happy, full of life, and feeling younger than I have ever felt in a LONG TIME.

I am so thankful for the growth, the open doors, the closed doors, the happiness, the pain, the heartbreaks, the people I met, the places I traveled to, and just everything! I am so thankful to my family and friends for supporting me in my endeavors. Also, thank you to those of you who have made a difference in my life. For 2019, I just want to keep sharing my organic passion and knowledge with you all. I want to keep creating a life filled with gratitude, happiness, love, adventure, and empowerment. I want to continue to make a difference in peoples lives.

“Thank you for the adventure 2018, now go have a new one!”-UP

I wish you all a HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL, PROSPEROUS, and ORGANIC New Year! I can’t wait to see what 2019 brings!

Love,

Sara, “S.O.Eats”