All across the internet it seems everyone is cursing out 2016. Anticipating a better 2017.

Honestly, I can’t complain because 2016 wasn’t a particularly bad year for me. In fact the last two years I’ve kind of been kicking major keester in the “achieving personal goals” department.

In 2015, I decided to downsize, move into a van and start a podcast/blog. Blah, blah, blah.. I know that’s all I talk about here on, DudeInVan.com (Go figure) My point is, that was a goal and I accomplished it.

In January, at the beginning of 2016, I was working in corporate television. My new obsession.. I mean goal was to get back to producing radio. After months of people telling me walking across America was a bad idea, a friend called me a asked if I would consider riding a bicycle across the country instead.

I said "YES!” immediately, but most people don’t know this part.. I held off from committing to the trip because I was waiting to hear back from a radio station that I thought I had a chance to work at in the Northern Midwest. In February, I was listening to the radio show, I applied to, and one of the cast members compared my broadcasting experience to a “Subway sandwich maker”… That’s when I realized I wasn’t going to get a call.

The plan was to quit my corporate job to find a new job, as a Radio Producer.

At the end of March I gave my employer a six week notice. By mid-April I bought a bicycle and on the first week in May I was on my way to California riding my stead.

I learned a lot about myself and I met bunch of really great people along the way.

I contacted a bunch of radio stations as I traveled through 12 states. A few places replied.. most didn’t. At the end of the trip I had a couple of interviews over the phone between Colorado and California.

After miles of peddling from the East Coast to the West Coast, as crazy as it sounds, I accepted a Radio Producer job at the end of my trip.

So, I can’t speak for you, because 2016, for me, went as planned.

I have no regrets. I don't believe in looking back. What I am proudest of? Working really hard... and achieving as much as I could. -Elena Kagan