It seems crazy to me that we are welcoming in 2017 and saying goodbye to 2016! The older I am getting, the faster the time is flying by. 2016 is been a bag of mixed emotions for lots of people, myself included. 2016 has been an absolute whirlwind and I have experienced lots of things that have changed my life in many ways. I remember sitting down and writing a similar post to this last year, stating that 2015 was the year my anxiety decided to truly show its face in my life. This is something that has still been affecting me in 2016, if not more. I celebrated my 21st at a time where my anxiety was at its highest this year. It was a time that I felt trapped within myself, and felt like there was no way out. Although I have kicked its ass a lot of times too. This year I experienced the holiday of a lifetime, travelling to California for 2 weeks stopping at 6 different places to explore. Something that in the past would have caused me my highest levels of anxiety. However I survived without a single panic attack. My families health has also had its ups and downs, although at the moment everything seems to be ok again. I also got back into the routine of going to the gym more regularly which has helped my confidence and overall mental health.
This year is going to be very important in terms of my future. 2017 is the year that I will finally graduate university and enter the real world of working life. I am so excited for this to happen. As much as I have enjoyed this past year of uni, it hasn't always been smooth sailing. So finally being able to go out and work at something I love will be amazing! We have also booked our family holiday to Cyprus which is also going to be super exciting. My brother, Emma (his girlfriend) and my parents are all going, so it's going to be perfect! Last year I made some resolutions, which I thought would be interesting to reflect back on.
Be fitter - This is a resolution that I have probably stuck to the most. Ironically I thought it would be the one I was going to break first of all. I have really enjoyed attending the gym and feeling physically and mentally fitter.
Get out more - This is a difficult one for me. 'Getting out' and putting myself in new situations is something that causes me the most anxiety. Although, I have really managed it this year. I had an amazing trip to America in the Summer, and I have attended lots of different theatre shows and concerts too.
Make time for myself - This is something that I haven't done as often as I would have liked this year. I am quite dedicated to my university studies, so struggle to set time aside for myself outside of uni work at times. Although I do try to take an hour for a bath every night!
Work on my photography - Being a 'proper' blogger this past year has helped me achieve this goal. I love photography and was even lucky enough to receive a whole studio lighting set for Christmas this year. So hopefully this is one I can continue to work on!
This year's resolutions are..
- Continue to enjoy photography!
- Don't sweat the small stuff!
- Live in the moment more!
- Be fitter!
I wanted to just include a variety of images from the last year at the end of this post, as it's always nice looking back on posts like these!
Hope you all had a lovely christmas and happy new year!
Lots of love,
