Merry Christmas + New Traditions

For my final Blogmas post, I wanted to do something that has become somewhat of a tradition over the last few Christmases.

Each year, I like to spend a portion of Christmas Eve reflecting on the accomplishments of the year and remembering my triumphs and growth (or in simple terms, feed my ego). This way, I spend Christmas Day in a completely positive mood, and celebrate wholeheartedly.

If you’ve read my ‘Goodbye Lemons‘ post, you will know that 2017 has been one of the most difficult years of my life, and I’ve already taken the opportunity to say goodbye to those hardships- this post will not go into any detail, so if you’re confused, read it first.

Instead of reflecting in silence, I figured it would be fun to put pen to paper (or… text to screen) and share my musings with you, and (hopefully) inspire you to do the same.

 

When I think of the person I was this time last year, I do feel quite proud of myself.

While I’m still the same in essence, my perspective on life and the people around me have changed completely. I’m more accepting of the world and it’s downfalls, and have made it through this year as a much stronger, and braver person.

Throughout the year, I decided to make more of an effort to sacrifice some of my wants to satisfy the needs of others- particularly at home. Through doing so, I’ve gained a totally new outlook on the tangibility of ‘things’ and have stopped wasting my time on things that don’t add value to my life. Through this, I’ve actually started feeling like a proper adult- which is both lovely and completely terrifying.

My extended family dynamic has seen its ups and downs this year, but when I look at where we are now, I know that we are truly in it for the long haul- and that’s something I’m truly over the moon about.

As far as friendships and social situations go, I feel that 2017 really saw me let my guard down. I’ve never enjoyed being socially vulnerable, so I used to approach new people with quite a hard-headed persona which in many ways, kept me from making very many real friends. While I am filled with regret for not letting people see the real me back in school, I now look to 2018 with the hope that I will continue on this track and finally be able to show someone my heart.

University was quite the struggle for me in the beginning, but I am now immensely proud of all of my achievements. Despite everything that threw me for an emotional loop this year, I’ve still managed to finish it with the best academic results I have EVER obtained. They were quite a shock to me, but I now know that if I continue working hard and pushing myself, my career dreams may actually be in arms reach when I graduate.

And finally, 2017 has really taught me the importance of opening up and being honest. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be sharing my insecurities and personal difficulties with the internet, but I’ve done it, and the response has been absolutely mind boggling.

The feeling that knowing MY words have actually resonated with people gives me is something that I will never be able to explain. Having people go out of their way to reach out and tell me that they’ve read my posts to their daughters, or that something I’ve said has induced self-confidence is honestly the most rewarding part of doing what I do.

I do not monetise my content on this blog and probably never will- YOU are the only reason I’ve continued doing this. Blogging isn’t sunshine and rainbows all the time- it can honestly be pretty brutal – but it’s your feedback and kind words that keep me going.

I’ve wanted to do blogmas for YEARS, and I am immensely proud that I’ve finally done it without skipping a single day. While this is the final post and I will not be uploading daily anymore, I am beyond excited to bring you new content in 2018. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be here.

So to everyone who has supported me on this crazy venture, I thank you.

To my friends, who have guided me through the difficult days, I thank you.

And to my family, who has supported me from day dot, I thank you.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

 

Until next year,  😉