My 24 Favorite Moments of 2024 [PHOTOS]

2025 has officially arrived!

On New Year's Eve, I took a look back at some of the photos that I took in 2024, and I was reminded of some pretty awesome moments. After losing my brother in the fall of 2023, the start of the year was pretty rough. I just wasn't in a good place, in terms of my mental health. But, as the year went on, I feel like I finally started to heal a bit. I feel the best that I've felt in months, and I'm super hopeful that 2025 will bring more good things. In fact, I actually have a New Year's resolution to document all of the good things that happen!

Before we get to that, though, here are my 24 favorite moments of 2024:

1. Celebrated a decade of working at KHAK and living in Iowa

2. Stayed in a hotel overlooking the Grand Canyon

3. Got my Jiu Jitsu brown belt and my first stripe

4. Sang on stage with my friend's band on my birthday on Broadway in Nashville, all thanks to my wonderful travel buddies

5. Took my mom hiking at the Maquoketa Caves

6. Spent a few days in a gorgeous cabin in South Dakota with my hilarious family

7. DJ'd on Halloween dressed as Judge Judy

8. Toured the house from my all-time favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story

9. Got 4 new tattoos (all courtesy of Kane Cook at Evolution)

10. Saw some amazing live performances: Lainey Wilson, George Strait, Fall Out Boy, Zach Bryan, Cody Johnson, Hailey Whitters, and Sugarland

11. Was gifted a quilt of my old t-shirts from my mom as a surprise

12. Frolicked through thousands of sunflowers

13. Ate an elephant ear at the Iowa State Fair for the first time in almost a decade

14. Gallivanted through Downtown Detroit dressed as my friend's fiancé for her bachelorette party

15. Visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland for the first time ever

16. Successfully surprised Brain with a party bus for his 50th birthday

17. Hiked/drove through some amazing parks and national monuments including Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Custer State Park, and the Badlands

18. Took my best friend as my date to one of the most fun weddings of all time

19. FINALLY got a bed for my spare bedroom

20. Drank a delicious frozen Jack & lemonade at the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Tennessee

21. Took a random weekday off to go see Say Anything (one of my favorite bands in high school) with two of my favorite people

22. Tried In-N-Out for the first time ever

23. Pushed myself WAY out of my comfort zone and competed in Dancing With the Cedar Rapids Stars

24. Was diagnosed with ADHD and finally found the right meds, which has improved my life significantly!

Every day of 2025, I am going to take a picture of something that made me happy that day. Then I will label the photo with the date and the happy moment that it represents. Here is the very first one I did yesterday:

Do you have any New Year's resolutions for 2025? Let us know in the comments or by sending us a message on our station app!