Looking back, and forward

A blog post about 2014 triumphs and 2015 goals you say?! How bloody original of you! I'm so sorry, I know you've already seen a million of these posts and each one is as boring as the last but I thought I would jot mine down anyway, for shits and gigs, not that anyone gives a toss but hey ho!

As many of us do when a New Year comes round I have been looking at the year just past, what I did, the people I've met, the good memories (and some of the bad) as well as the prospect of the year ahead. Simultaneously, I have created a list (bloody love lists!) of all the things I want to achieve in 2015. Will it be the best year yet? Probably not, but I figure if I keep my expectations low, it can only get better!

On a side note: Apologies for the over usage of the word "I" in this post, I hate self obsession because lets face it, no body really likes reading something about someone else, its god awful and boring, and yes I am starting to loose sight of why I'm writing this post now, I I I I!! However, this is a personal blog so it's kind of what you're supposed to write about. Anddd we're back...

2014. My favourite experiences, achievements and memories:

Got my first, real proper job.

I know it seems like a no biggie but this was a big achievement for me. I am so crap at interviews and when coming to the end of my 6 months interning I was starting to panic, I was literally applying for anything I could in marketing, PR, buying, merchandising, admin, the lot! So when I got my job at House of Fraser Head Office for the Multichannel team I cried like a baby! I was on the phone to the HR man when he told me and he had to stop and ask if I was OK, and like a blubbering freak I blurted '"Yes, I'M JUST SO HAPPY!". I've worked there for 8 months now, which is scary but I never dread or hate going to work and the people there are lovely which definitely makes it so much easier!

Moved house twice.

This was probably the most traumatic experience I think I've had thus far, for anyone looking to move to London, be careful and keep your wits about you to avoid this! Me and my flat mate were due to move out of our old flat in August, we started looking well in advance but something was always wrong and we still didn't know London well, so opted for the East. We wanted an independent landlord because having gone through an agency previously we didn't want a repeat of that nightmare. We really wanted a shared house/flat which is so hard to find for 2 people together which narrowed our search significantly. Every time we went to a viewing the tenants either didn't think we were a good fit (most frustrating thing ever) or it wasn't right for us. Most of them were all so so dodgy as well, with landlords that literally couldn't speak any english. We then looked for 2 beds but that was too expensive or the cheap places were absolute shit holes. We went to speed flat mating to meet people to share with but that was unsuccessful. Finally, we found a place that was bearable for the time being. Turned out it wasn't. It had no lounge, the landlord was a complete crook who my dad threatened to kill multiple times, and everyone who lived there was not an ok human. We promptly got back on the search and 3 months later we're all moved in to a great flat on brick lane. I am working on a full length post about this because I think housing in London is quite hot at the moment and people would learn from what we went through so keep a look out for that! 

Visited new places.

This was both national and internationally. I was lucky enough to holiday in Cayman (second home), Ibiza and Majorca. Then the less exciting places I visited in the UK was Maidenhead, Reading, Windsor, Newcastle, The Lakes and York, thrilling! 

Had some Celeb run-ins.

I saw David Gandy in M&S for his pants launch. I saw Mario from TOWIE at Ocean Beach in Ibiza. I went to a house party in Hackney where I found myself playing beer pong with Kit Harington aka Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, this was definitely up there with one of the best nights of 2k14! I saw some amazing acts in Ibiza but my favourite by far was Haim who's live performance was very entertaining!

Got quite crafty. 

I learnt how to make friendship bracelets again. I had learnt when I was little but I decided to rekindle the art. I also bought a loom from Tiger (best shop ever) and knitted myself and others loads of wooly hats! 

Had some YOLO moments. 

Went to a strip club in Ibiza, which was actually very fun. Did a photoshoot, which scared me to death but ended up really enjoying myself. Tried new foods and broadened my taste spectrum. I do realise these are really mundane but spontaneity is not my strong suit!

So those were my 2014 highlights. On a last note of this section my Best Book of 2014 was 'How to win friends and influence people' because even though I read some incredible Fiction, this book taught me a lot and made me look at life a bit differently. Some other favourites were the book thief, catcher in the rye, the fault in our stars and the curious incident of the dog in the night time. 

It was a great year with a lot of good memories and I will look back on it fondly.

2015. Goals and ambitions.

This is going to be a straight up list of things I hope to achieve in 2015. A lot of these are for personal gain, but that's what you're twenties are all about!

• Write a book: I am starting a writing course next week. This has been a dream of mine for quite some time so I'm hoping to make it a reality this year and I'm excited to get the ball rolling.
• Read more: This goes hand in hand with the latter. Books are incredible things, and as I got a 3 month subscription to Audible as a Christmas prezzie there is no better time to get stuck in. 
• See a bit more of Europe: I am lucky enough to have travelled to America, Asia and bit of Africa but never really experienced much of Europe. The places currently on my hit list are: Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Sweden,Vienna and Munich.
• Watch more live music: I've already booked tickets to see Hozier in June and am on the lookout for my next ticket purchase. 
• Learn Ukulele: I got two for christmas (there was a Christmas list mix up!) I've already kind of learnt Somewhere over the Rainbow so I'm getting there.
• Learn Spanish: I have a growing number of cousins who all live in spain. I have been to Barcelona and Madrid, where they live countless times, so it's about time I learnt what on earth they're all talking about. #lostintranslation
• Learn how to do make up/hair properly: I can't see this happening any time soon but after discovering more and more beauty blogs I am going to attempt to be a girl and learn how to do these things correctly instead of looking like a tramp 90% of the time. 
• Run 10k: Bit ambitious considering I haven't exercised in god knows how long, but it seems like a good thing to do, especially if it's for a good cause.
• Go to a festival: I didn't make it to one last year so I am ensuring that I get my bum to Bestival for a weekend of drunken fun and music. 

Personality wise:

• Become more inquisitive and exploratory: I am terrified of all new activities so facing that fear and saying yes to more things that scare me will be getting over a big hump.
• Don’t be afraid to ask more questions: If you don't know me well, you'd think I was really rude because I usually just sit in silence, but it's because I'm so shy and unsure of what to say so I'm just going to start asking the first thing that pops into my head and see what happens. 
• Stop having panic attacks about dying and growing older and just enjoy life: Enough said. 

Hope you all had a great New Year and I wish you all the best for the coming year!