January started off big. I traveled, spent time with family, saw old and new friends, and built relationships with existing friends.

The first weekend in January I had a sleepover with five of my friends. We went uniconing (where you get soft-serve ice cream and smash it onto your face. Look at my Instagram, it is really funny), watched romance movies, and stayed up all night talking. It was so fun. I don't know why they call them “sleepovers” when you don't even sleep! The next day, I went with my entire family on my dad's side, yes... all 11 of us, to the indoor water park about 4.5 hours away from my house. We had so much fun. I loved being in some kind of water. Inside, it was 80 degrees and sunny. Outside, it was 30 degrees and snowing. The weekend was so much fun hanging out with family and having a great time riding water slides and swimming.

The second weekend was Surf Expo. I love Surf Expo. I got to see all of my sponsors, I got to see my friends on the Allstar team and was introduced on the stage, and I got to eat dinner with my friends at WaveJet (the motorized surfboard). My friend Shea Lopez was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame, so I got to see him, his children and wife, and his brother, Cory. I hadn't seen Cory since summer and I hadn't seen Shea since September when he worked with me before Easterns. Overall, Surf Expo was a huge success for me because I made some new connections, built existing relationships, and got a bunch of new stuff from my sponsors.

The third weekend was a weekend at home. I played indoor soccer and hung out with my family. That next week, I was playing soccer. During my first game of the season, I got called for fouling and got a yellow card! Apparently, I had seriously bodychecked a girl into the wall right after I had just run over two others on the field. Did I mention I am the youngest player, 13, on the U17 team? Hahaha! Also, I was the first name down in the book of yellow cards for the season. Because I got a yellow card, my dad got me ice cream! That was a good week.

Last weekend was the Georgia District ESA Awards Banquet. I got to see all of my friends I hadn't seen in what seemed like forever but was really like a month (it was still too long). For the season, I finished 1st in: Jr. Womens Longboard, Girls Shortboard, Menehune Bodyboard, and Open Bodyboard. I got 2nd in Menehune Longboard and 4th for Open Shortboard. I was awarded two scholarships and was named the Iron Woman. I feel like I did better than 2012, but this year I would like to win Menehune Longboard and come in top 3 for Open Shortboard.

Even though it has been cold and miserable, I have still trained. I wake up every morning at 5 am on my own. Every other week, my personal trainer, Meg, comes and works with me. It may be cold and I may not be surfing, but I am training hard so that I can be ready for the new season.

January has been a fun month, but it has been busy. School started back, surfing stuff started back, and the pressure is already on to keep winning comps. Overall, a great start to the new year!