Firstly, hello. I wish I could say the reason I haven't written in so long is because I've been rushed off my feet with work and therefore I'm just so tired all the time (although, that would partly be very much true) I guess the real reason is just that I haven't had the inspiration, or the motivation. I guess I haven't done for a long while. But I'm feeling reflective today, for whatever reason, about everything. Just about life in general. But mostly about what's happened in the past twelve months - and how much really has changed. And actually, on the whole, for the better. I know everyone goes on about it, but it's because it's true. It IS crazy how much a year can change things.
Compared to this time last year, I am visibly a lot happier. I'm sure everyone close to me can see that. I wasn't in the best place then, for a number of reasons, but it wasn't until I decided to make a few changes this year that it all changed. I mean, I'm not saying I'm one-hundred per-cent exactly where I'd like to be right now, but I certainly feel like I'm heading in the right direction. Although, it's hard to believe whilst I'm currently lying in bed, close to death with a cold, cuddling my hot water bottle and drinking my twentieth cup of tea of the day, (not really, but it's probably close) luck has definitely been on my side in 2016. I'm leaving it a much stronger person (and a Real Proper Adult, apparently) and with a bunch of amazing memories.
Here are my highlights:
1) I got a job. My confidence has grown an unbelievable amount this year, and I've got my job to thank for that. Okay, so working in retail isn't what I want to be doing for the rest of my life - but it's undoubtedly helped me to find my feet. If you told me last year that I'd be left to run a shop completely alone some days, and that it wouldn't even phase me, I probably would have laughed. I've always been an incredibly shy person and coming out of my shell is always something I've had to work hard on. Even now. But it's something I've got a lot better at this year and I'm very happy about that.
2) I turned twenty-one. What, so I'm an adult now? Like, a proper one? Ha. I'm nowhere near. Or maybe I'm just in denial. I don't like the sound of being an adult even though I technically am one. However, I did spend my 21st birthday in the best way I could have ever imagined, because I got to spend it in Italy!!! Going to Italy was always high up on my bucket list, so when my boyfriend told me that he'd booked it all in secret for my birthday - you can only imagine my excitement. (Hint: it involved A LOT of squealing.) He's definitely a keeper, I thought. I'm so excited for all the food, I thought. We spent a week seeing all the sights that needed to be seen around the Amalfi Coast, had a fascinating trip to Pompeii and were in awe of the beautiful scenery of Sorrento, Positano and Capri. It was a holiday I'll never forget - actually, I wrote all about it here.
3) I went on my first holiday abroad. I know what you're thinking - she's twenty-one and NEVER BEEN ABROAD? Like, SHE'S NEVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE? The fact is, that no, before I went to Cyprus in April this year, I had never been abroad or on an airplane. Apart from a Year Nine school trip to Belgium, but that doesn't really count. And it was probably one of my most treasured memories of 2016 overall. It made it even more special that I experienced it all with my boyfriend - I mean, the first holiday abroad together is always going to be a real test of your relationship, but I ended up loving every single minute of it and I fell in love with Paphos as soon as I stepped off the plane. I have definitely well and truly caught the travel bug - now I'm always itching to get away and explore the world.
4) I saw my favourite bands live. They might not be as big of a deal to most people, but gigs are absolutely my happy place. I don't think I could get through a year without them. Watching a band you love performing all the songs that mean something to you, there's no other feeling like it. This year, I was lucky enough to see my favourite band, Mumford & Sons, at British Summer Time Festival in July and I also recently got to watch (and sob my heart out to) Biffy Clyro singing my absolute favourite song of all time: Many Of Horror. I saw Bastille do their first ever show at the O2 arena, I got to see Ellie Goulding for the eighth time in March, and probably best of all - I won tickets to see Coldplay at probably one of their most intimate gigs ever, courtesy of Absolute Radio. I'm actually still not over that.
5) I started studying a new degree course, and I'm loving it. By now everyone probably knows about the time I went to uni for a year to study Journalism, and I hated it, so I left. That's old news. It's done. It's in the past. I have not even a single ounce of regret, because this year I started studying for a Sociology degree, and as geeky as it sounds, I'm loving it. I had always found the subject interesting when I studied it as an A-Level, but I guess Journalism was always what I thought my heart wanted me to do. Maybe it still is. I don't know. I'm still not sure exactly what I want to do, and I'm 21. Don't worry about it too much, kids.
6) I did more of the things I love. This year I re-discovered some old hobbies that had somehow got lost in the chaos of life, and it feels good. I've read so many amazing books, (Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell; All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven; The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson; The Book Thief by Markus Zusak; Faceless by Alyssa Shienmel; Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell are what I'm talking about, among SO MANY others) I found my passion for photography again when my boyfriend bought me the most beautiful red Canon camera, and lately I've started baking cakes again. You need to do the things you love, life can get rather draining otherwise.
2016 has been good to me - so much so that I don't know how 2017 can top it. I'm looking forward to seeing what it brings though!
P.s, Merry Christmas, and all that.
Xx