In 2016, I was just a kid figuring life out. As I looked through everyone else’s 2016 posts, and I revisited my life 10 years ago, I realized that while I am in every way better now, the world was so much lighter—and joy never felt complicated then. In a way, life in NYC was a party, and I was just trying find my place at it. I was at ELLE, covering things like Taylor Swift’s Fourth of July party (featuring Tom Hiddleston), remaining a spokesperson for twentysomething virginity, and just figuring out who I was and what it means to move in this world with some certainty about the things you stand for and the person you want to be. I really liked that girl and who she was becoming. She was well meaning, not the best dressed, but extraordinarily thoughtful. She really, really cared. I try to look back at that era with kind eyes and a tender heart; we’ve all gone through a lot since then. Anyway, swipe through some throwbacks if you want. I had my studio apartment and a lightness of being that has been represented with the heaviness of wisdom, but that’s ok. #2016