The obligatory New Year post

I welcome in the New Year of 2018 with open arms, a friendly smile and a sense of relief. "2018; where have you been and why did you take so long in getting here?!"

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2017 bought way more than it's fair share of ups and downs. But we got there though. Slowly. Very slowly. Shall we take a moment to look back over what 2017 threw this way?

 

I started the year with Chloe; playing Mario Kart, binge watching shows on Netflix and watching the New Years fireworks on YouTube. Standard New Years Eve celebrations for Chloe and I. We have pretty much seen in every New Year together for the last three or four years.

 

For the first couple of months to the first half of the year, I just wasn't myself. Nothing was going particularly well. Quite frankly, 2017 was just a bitch. It basically took a massive shit on my face and just rubbed it all in. I was miserable, and the events that took place during the first half of the didn't exactly make it any easier to get myself back on the right track. But that's enough of that - let's move onto a more positive note.

From late July, things slowly started to change. My Gran and I had fully adjusted to living together, I was starting to get back into the gym again, I was starting to see more normality in myself. I started a new job and I was no longer comfort eating. My happiness was coming back.

  

Come September, my mum and step dad got married! It felt like they had been engaged forever so for them to finally tie the knot was amazing! James and I headed to London for Friendsfest (I shared two posts which you can view here and here), which was just brilliant! It was my first time off the island in two and a half years that wasn't a work related trip. Among other things, we also headed to ZSL London Zoo.

During December, I turned 21. To celebrate, a group of us went cocktail making. As with the chocolate making session we did for my 20th, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. You can take a read here on how I celebrated the day in more detail.

 

You'd expect me to say that I finished the year the same way I started it; with Chloe, in front the TV with a take away. We're having our belated New Years celebrations in a week so she could spend New Years Eve with her family and me with James. Instead, James and I spent the evening with a Chinese in front of the telly. We just about manage to stay awake to see the fireworks on TV.

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2018: The Year Of Coops!

The most part of this coming year, I will be spending it as a 21 year old. I've always seen 21 as being the age you have to start wising up, stop making so many reckless mistakes. I feel as though 2017 prepared me for calming down into adult life and I feel ready for anything life throws my way.

Although I've come a long way since this time last year, there's always room for general improvement. After putting in some serious ground work from half way through 2017, I feel I have a good foundation to maintain my current mind set and hopefully improve further throughout the coming year.

As for 2018, I have a good feeling about this year. In order for the upkeep of 2018 to be 'The Year Of Coops', I have some goals I'd like to achieve. So here goes.

 

• Healthy mind set. Generally speaking, this is pretty broad and could be interpreted in a variety of ways. Ideally, I'd like scrap the whole "I'll get on with it later and I'll have a rest for now" attitude that I have picked up. This mind set is exactly why I always feel like I don't have enough time in the day and always seem to have a list of things "I'll get around to when I have a week off".
• Healthy living. Also pretty broad. I want to eat better and I want to improve my gym habits. Since starting my new job, I still haven't found an ideal daily routine for myself yet so I would preferably like to start going to the gym first thing before work, or after work if I've got a free evening or plan on cycling into work. I'd also like to try my hand at a few new sports.
• Take a holiday or two. While I went to London with James a couple of months ago, I still haven't taken a holiday further afield for a decent period of time in years now. James and I have looked into booking a few trips throughout the year and are just finalising the last details. I have a post coming soon on our holiday plans for this year.

All in all, considering how 2017 started, I feel I've done well to get myself to a point where I'm genuinely happy again. I'm now in a job I enjoy with people who all have a similar mind set. James and I are going well, and it's nice being with something who shares the same interests. I've got a good bunch of friends and of course, family.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope the year of 2018 brings all good things and positivity.

Charlotte.