2019 Review
As one of my first ever posts on this blog was a review of 2018, I think it only makes sense for me to review this past year. This year, I have made progress in different areas of my life. I'm continuously changing as a person, and there have been some serious ups and downs. I feel that looking back on the year as a whole will allow me to form goals to further my progress next year. I don't typically set new years resolutions as I think it creates unnecessary pressure, but there are definitely things that I want to achieve in 2020 to continue the journey towards feeling truly happy.
At the very beginning of 2019, my family was hit pretty hard. My nan passed away after a long battle with Dementia. This hit us badly and was a lot for me to deal with as this was the first death in the family that I had ever experienced. We all loved my nan so much, and the whole process of her illness was devastating, but we made the best of our time with her and shared many laughs over the years. This made January a really difficult month to get through, but we all got through it together. In a way, it brought everyone closer, which I know that's what my nan would have wanted; if I could force myself to take away a positive from this, it would be that.
January also had its positives. I was approached by a new female blogging community called House 21, who asked me to join their female blogging brunch events. They were setting up an online magazine and through viewing my Instagram content and personal blog, they asked me whether I would like to be a contributor and write posts for their website and I said yes! It has brought up many opportunities, such as being asked to write about certain topics, which motivates us to write about something new! Since then, I have attended their Magazine Launch Party and very recently was invited to their Blogging Awards for 2019 and I won an award! This is such a big achievement for me and I am so proud of myself for finally encouraging myself to write and set up a blog after wanting to for so many years. I won the award for the Best News & Opinion Blog Post for my post about the Alabama Abortion Ban.
Moving on to February, I faced another big challenge. At the end of 2018, I finally opened up to my GP about my struggles with my mental health and after several phone calls and diagnoses, I attended a 6-week course to get help for my severe anxiety. Going to the sessions alone, caused me so much anxiety, which I always thought was ironic. I tried my best to take what I could from the sessions, but as they were group therapy sessions I found it difficult to directly focus on what my personal triggers are and unfortunately, I didn't find the particular treatment helpful for me. I took what I could from the course and still tried to implement it in my life. I have spent a lot of time this year focusing on overcoming my anxiety by myself. I listen to podcasts about mental health, such as Fearne Cotton's 'Happy Place' and another podcast called 'Anxiety Slayer'. I also frequently use the 'Headspace' meditation app which has lots of different courses for specific needs, such as anxiety, depression, self-confidence and issues with sleep. I use the sleep features most nights to help switch off my over-thinking brain to wind down for sleep. I have found this extremely helpful, and this year I have made a massive leap in overcoming my anxiety. I now find myself able to do things that last year, I struggled to do.
I found a new love in 2019; yoga. I have fallen in love with it, but I don't practice it enough. As I have had a lot of late nights coming home from work, I struggle to find the time to fully focus on yoga. In 2020, I'm going to make sure that I practice it more because I really enjoy it and I find it really calms my mind and helps me to sleep better. There are so many free online classes which I have been using, and they're great! It's even better when you can exercise for free!
Later on in the year, my boyfriend and I went on our first proper holiday together. We went to Mallorca for 9 days in July and it was amazing. This was the first time I have been on a plane without my family, and the first time I have flown anywhere in 7 years. I've always been scared of flying, so when I went with my family I could lean on them when I panicked on the plane. So I was really nervous about the journey of getting there. But, it was really easy! It all went as planned and by the time we were going to get the plane back home at the end of our holiday, I wasn't nervous for the flight at all! I think I may have overcome a fear over flying, I will have to put it to the test in 2020!
Finally, after such a long time of learning, I have finally passed my driving test! I'm so happy that I have finally gotten over this milestone as it has been pulling me back from so many things. It also really impacted my days as I work 11 miles away from home, with no direct bus routes to & from either location, so travel took a lot of time out of my day. Thankfully now, that has changed. So at the moment, I'm trying to drive as much as possible so that I can get used to driving on my own in my little car.
So 2019 as a whole has been pretty mixed for me, I have had some really low and really high points. I think that I have made a lot of important progress for myself this past year and hopefully, I will carry on with this through 2020 to be the best version of me that I can be. As I said, I don't typically set resolutions, but I do have a few goals for 2020:
At the very beginning of 2019, my family was hit pretty hard. My nan passed away after a long battle with Dementia. This hit us badly and was a lot for me to deal with as this was the first death in the family that I had ever experienced. We all loved my nan so much, and the whole process of her illness was devastating, but we made the best of our time with her and shared many laughs over the years. This made January a really difficult month to get through, but we all got through it together. In a way, it brought everyone closer, which I know that's what my nan would have wanted; if I could force myself to take away a positive from this, it would be that.
January also had its positives. I was approached by a new female blogging community called House 21, who asked me to join their female blogging brunch events. They were setting up an online magazine and through viewing my Instagram content and personal blog, they asked me whether I would like to be a contributor and write posts for their website and I said yes! It has brought up many opportunities, such as being asked to write about certain topics, which motivates us to write about something new! Since then, I have attended their Magazine Launch Party and very recently was invited to their Blogging Awards for 2019 and I won an award! This is such a big achievement for me and I am so proud of myself for finally encouraging myself to write and set up a blog after wanting to for so many years. I won the award for the Best News & Opinion Blog Post for my post about the Alabama Abortion Ban.
Moving on to February, I faced another big challenge. At the end of 2018, I finally opened up to my GP about my struggles with my mental health and after several phone calls and diagnoses, I attended a 6-week course to get help for my severe anxiety. Going to the sessions alone, caused me so much anxiety, which I always thought was ironic. I tried my best to take what I could from the sessions, but as they were group therapy sessions I found it difficult to directly focus on what my personal triggers are and unfortunately, I didn't find the particular treatment helpful for me. I took what I could from the course and still tried to implement it in my life. I have spent a lot of time this year focusing on overcoming my anxiety by myself. I listen to podcasts about mental health, such as Fearne Cotton's 'Happy Place' and another podcast called 'Anxiety Slayer'. I also frequently use the 'Headspace' meditation app which has lots of different courses for specific needs, such as anxiety, depression, self-confidence and issues with sleep. I use the sleep features most nights to help switch off my over-thinking brain to wind down for sleep. I have found this extremely helpful, and this year I have made a massive leap in overcoming my anxiety. I now find myself able to do things that last year, I struggled to do.
I found a new love in 2019; yoga. I have fallen in love with it, but I don't practice it enough. As I have had a lot of late nights coming home from work, I struggle to find the time to fully focus on yoga. In 2020, I'm going to make sure that I practice it more because I really enjoy it and I find it really calms my mind and helps me to sleep better. There are so many free online classes which I have been using, and they're great! It's even better when you can exercise for free!
Later on in the year, my boyfriend and I went on our first proper holiday together. We went to Mallorca for 9 days in July and it was amazing. This was the first time I have been on a plane without my family, and the first time I have flown anywhere in 7 years. I've always been scared of flying, so when I went with my family I could lean on them when I panicked on the plane. So I was really nervous about the journey of getting there. But, it was really easy! It all went as planned and by the time we were going to get the plane back home at the end of our holiday, I wasn't nervous for the flight at all! I think I may have overcome a fear over flying, I will have to put it to the test in 2020!
Finally, after such a long time of learning, I have finally passed my driving test! I'm so happy that I have finally gotten over this milestone as it has been pulling me back from so many things. It also really impacted my days as I work 11 miles away from home, with no direct bus routes to & from either location, so travel took a lot of time out of my day. Thankfully now, that has changed. So at the moment, I'm trying to drive as much as possible so that I can get used to driving on my own in my little car.
So 2019 as a whole has been pretty mixed for me, I have had some really low and really high points. I think that I have made a lot of important progress for myself this past year and hopefully, I will carry on with this through 2020 to be the best version of me that I can be. As I said, I don't typically set resolutions, but I do have a few goals for 2020:
- Put more effort into writing and blogging content. I lost my way with it a bit in 2019 but I'm going to put more time into what I love.
- Move more. I want to do more exercise as I let it slip over the last few months, more Yoga, Squash and lots more walks.
- Focus on me. I need to learn to put myself first and love who I am. I'm going to carry on meditating and being mindful to make sure I'm doing what is best for me.
- Move-in with my boyfriend. We have been saving for a while now and hopefully, in the next few months we will be moving in together. 🏠
Overall, I have a lot that I want to change over the next year, to continue on my journey to be a happier me. I hope you all have some good things to look forward to over this year and keep doing what makes you happy!
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