My emotions on New Year's Day can traditionally be described as tempestuous. Christmas disappears from my house that day, and I'm left feeling sorry the Holidays are over. And this year, like most, as I was putting bulbs back into their boxes, I was stunned by how quickly the Holiday Season came and went. At the same time, New Year's Day is also a day of exhilaration and anticipation. It signifies a new start, a new stage to command, a new time to create and make make new memories. Although I never set true resolutions, I do always start a new year determined to be my best self and work towards the dynamic goals I have set for my life.
The biggest development in 2016 was the launch of this blog. In wandering into this form of communication I have wandered into an entire online marketing industry. This project has been so fulfilling to me and has allowed me to learn and develop a passion for branding, web design and photography. I have regained an amazing balance in my life of providing eye care as well as having a way to apply creativity, and I honestly thought that balance was gone for good when I started devoting 99% of my time to optometry. Now I am starting to see my hobby turn into a small side business, and I could not be more excited!
So what's on the set list for 2017? I plan on continuing to grow and configure new customizations for The NorthernMagnolia.com. This year you will start seeing some of my colleagues in the medical community begin to contribute to the site. My intention and hope is to continue to build a community where you can come and find personal style and lifestyle contributions as well as find a collective of contributions from female medical professionals to provide you insights and recommendations.
I also can't believe I get to share another item on the docket for 2017. My good friend/business partner and I are planning to launch a company that we have been imagining since 2014. We are taking our knowledge of ocular health and applying it to developing products we know will have a positive effect on our patients and anyone who wants to use cosmetics that contain non-irritating, pro-health ingredients. We're in the research and development stage and hope to begin bringing our first product to market this year.
I also want to take this time to thank you from the bottom of my heart and wish you all the happiest of Happy New Years! Your following means more to me than you know. Most of you started supporting me at the launch of the site when it was pretty sloppy and way below any professional standard. I am so grateful you have continued to return and can't wait to see where this next year will take us! Cheers to a Happy and Healthy 2017!
XX,
Nicole
