In this post, I'm going to reflect on 2017 and then set myself goals for 2018! (PSA: If you hate long rambling posts, do yourself a favor and leave now babe)
2017;
At the beginning of 2017 I set myself various goals for the year. All of the goals were small and achievable, yet I knew doing them would make me extremely happy, and to be fair to myself, I smashed 4/5 of them out of the park which I am very happy with. The main areas of 2017 that I want to focus on are;Travel
Despite not actually leaving the UK this year (sob!) I have been on a fair few trips throughout 2017 which has been so lovely!
I visited Edinburgh right at the beginning of the year. It was the first time ever visiting Edinburgh and I fell in love! Scotland as a whole has a very special place in my heart and Edinburgh is definitely somewhere I'd love to visit again.
I went to Leeds for the first time with two of my best gal pals for a blogging event. We stayed the whole weekend and it was so much fun, full of exploring, photo taking and constantly laughing our heads off!
I visited Winchester with the same girl's for Jess's birthday, which was such a good weekend. Winchester is such a lovely little town, perfect for a weekend of exploring. We stayed in the most beautiful Air BnB which you can see in Laura's post!
I visited London 3 times this year, the first time was a weekend with James, we actually went up for a gig in Alexandra Palace but then used the rest of the weekend to explore. The 2nd weekend was to visit my lovely friend Jess, one of my favourite moments of that weekend, and in fact the entire year was watching Moana on a rooftop cinema. And the third and final time was in December with the lovely Abi, to attend the #BlogosphereChristmasFestival (A belated post will be coming soon), which again was an amazing weekend full of laughter, swooning over Christmas lights and building an unbreakable friendship bond!
And finally a birthday trip with James to the Brecon Beacons. We stayed in a very cute cottage in rural Brecon Beacons, a time for us to completely switch off and relax - mainly full of drinking beer and playing Heads Up until our stomachs hurt from laughing.
Live Music & Events
If you know me well, you'll know that live music and events in general is my passion, moments that make me feel truly alive and that lights a fire in my stomach. 2017 was full of various different gigs and events that filled me with complete joy!
I was super lucky enough to see my favourite band twice this year. You Me At Six, my favourite teenage band, and still to this day my favouite band. I saw them in Cardiff with my friends Jake and Anna, then with James in Alexandra Palace (we got guest list tickets which was absolutely incredible, we also got backstage bar passes, so you can imagine how much my face lit up when all of You Me At Six was in the same bar as me, yes I was in the corner fangirling with my Corona!)
I saw Paramore for the first time, which was honestly one of the best gigs I've ever been too! I danced until my feet hurt and sung until my voice cracked, I can safely say, more than ever that Hayley Williams is my ultimate girl crush.
My lovely boyfriend randomly surprised me with two tickets to Justin Bieber for me and a friend, so myself and Laura went along to the Principality Stadium for the most spontaneous Friday night ever.
I attended Friends Fest with James, it happened on one of my least favourite days of the year, but regardless I had the best time and spending the day with James, laughing our heads off and seeing how many Friends quote's we could get into the day whilst practicing our photo poses filled my heart with joy!
During the summer, Cardiff hosted a ton of amazing events, and this year Depot In The Park was one of them. I went along with James, and it was a day full of drinking beer, dancing in the sun and eating good food. Dancing along to Sugar Hill Gang with a beer in my hand and my best friend by my side was one of my favourite moments.
And finally going to see John Bishop with my parents, I am a lover of comedians, I make sure I go and see at least one comedian a year and this year it was John's time to shine. Again another thanks to my lush boyfriend for getting myself and my parents tickets!
Mental Health
Ahhh the issue that is my very poor mental health. I am very open with my mental health and I've definitely realised the importance of talking about it, however this year I feel all I've done is talk about it, yet it hasn't improved.
If you know me personally, you'll know that I've had somewhat of a tough year (despite all the fab things that have happened, a large part of this year really badly sucked!). I am still dealing with the aftermath of everything that happened, and everyday I am fighting a mental battle with myself which is seriously taking its toll on my overall well being.
Although it has been extremely difficult, it has been a very big eyeopener and I've learnt a lot. I know when I need time by myself, I know when I need to be with people to take my mind off things, I now have a clearer insight into what triggers me to panic and cause crippling anxiety. I am going to use all of this in 2018 to help shape my mind to a more positive mindset and really take the time to work on my mental health as a whole.
Career
This isn't really something that I wanted to speak about that much, if you've read my Falling Out Of Love With Life post you'll know why. However, my career has been a very prominent and ongoing issue throughout this year, so I feel like it does at least need to be mentioned or I wouldn't be speaking honestly, and after all honesty is the best policy.
I've had an incredibly shit year when it comes to my career, and this is a very big factor of my poor mental health. However, I am slowly getting back on my feet and I have created a five year plan to get some perspective of the path I need to take to get to my end goal. Despite the fact this may change various times, it is fine, I've got a rough idea and for the time being that is good enough for me.
22nd Birthday
2017, the year I turned 22. The week of my 22nd birthday, was probably the best week of this entire year for me. Despite something terrible happening (The Manchester terrorist attack, which really effected me), it was the happiest I've been all year. I spent the week with all of my loved ones, laughing, drinking, eating good food, being spoilt with amazing gifts and generally having the best time ever! My 22nd birthday was my favourite birthday ever, and one that I won't ever forget.
Friendships
Another extremely high point of this year was friendships. This year I have honestly realised who my true friends are - I think I truly realised this when I was in my darkest period, and if anything it just goes to show who is truly there for you when you need them the most. Despite not actually seeing some of these people through that dark period, I knew they were there for me.
I have made very strong friendships this year, and they are friends that are going to be with me for life. I am very lucky to have various friendships all over the country, and although this is sometimes a negative thing because I can't just pop round for a cup of tea, it means those moments together are even more special. I ensure that I constantly show my friends how much I appreciate them, and everything they do for me.
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And that in a whole is 2017, an absolute whirlwind of a year, and for sure, one that I won't ever forget. Now for a fresh start, I've been waiting for 2018 for a while now, after everything bad happened, I have to say I'd sort of given up on t2017 and longed for a clean slate, how very cliche. Now for my 2018 goals, I've got a good feeling about 2018 and I'm hoping it is going to be the best one yet!
2018
Continue my 2017 goals; I already have a lot planned for next year in terms of live music and events, and there are trips that I need to get booked in. Overall, I loved my 2017 goals and doing them made me so happy, so this is something I'm always going to make a priority.
Slow Down & Keep It Simple; This is something I've actually started working on already, no time like the present and all that. In the last half of 2017 (after everything went wrong), I felt like life was just slipping away, time has been going extremely fast and I've felt myself not being able to get a grasp of anything. This has caused me a lot of panic and anxiety. In 2018, I'm going to focus on living a much simpler life. I've already deleted all social media apps from my phone to avoid constant comparison with others, as this is a huge issue for me. I'm going to do basic life things like drink more water, eat more vegetables (also try and stick to 2/3/4 vegetarian meals a week to help me transition in full time veggie), and get outdoors more. All very basic things, but things that in time will greatly help me.
Get Professional Help For My Mental Health; Although this is something that may not actually happen during 2018 as I will be on a very long waiting list, I want to at least take action. I am going to get counselling to help deal with everything that has happened in 2017, and help me not to beat myself up about it everyday and to ease my anxiety and depression. Although this is something that does scare me despite going to counselling various times in my life, it is a step I need to take to be able to finally move forward.
Be Positive; I'm sure you're getting the theme of 2018 by now, but it is very focused on self love and making positive movements for my well being. Again, something I'm trying very hard to do already. I find it very easy to get stuck in a negative mindset, I'm very easily influenced by things that happen around me, and other peoples moods. In 2018, I want to attempt to change the way that my mind functions, and ultimately be able to automatically think positively rather than thinking everything is terrible. I'm a fight or flight person, and 2017 has been the year of flight. 2018 is going to be the year of fight!!
And there we go, a roundup of the whirlwind that was 2017 and my goals going forward for 2018. I have to say, if you've made it this far then congrats babe. I did promise i was going to ramble on, and I never break a promise!
I'd love to know how 2017 has been for you, and what your goals for 2018 are?
