14 Things in 2014
The wanderer returns after a much longer blogging break than intended, but believe me when I say that I have been buried under boxes, organising to the point of distraction and so preoccupied with homeware that it borders on the insane. Aside from that though, I wanted to start this year as I mean to go on, by blogging. This is the year for The Sopho Diaries and I want to pour so much more time and effort into this whole blogging malarky, it's my one little thing that I love to do and that little break showed me how much I missed making time just to sit down and write...not for work for once, but just because I love it.I think that it's always important to reflect and before I embark on this New Year I wanted to take a little look back over the last one but not with your run of the mill New Years Resolutions type post. I've chosen 14 things that happened in my 2014, from the best bits to the not so good things, but things that shaped my year and made my 2014 what it was- a teeny tiny bit crazy.
1. In January my little blog turned 1. My first year of blogging taught me lots of things. It made me get a little bit more serious about taking proper photos with a proper camera rather than relying on Instagram filters and it led me to go way out of my comfort zone by getting involved in blogger chats, going to events and actually meeting likeminded people that knew what all the fuss about this blogging lark really was. The Sopho Diaries turns 2 on the 10th of January and i'm excited about what the next year of it's little online life will bring.
2. Another bloggy thing, but I hit and surpassed 500 subscribers on YouTube, not a huge amount by modern standards but a pretty massive amount for a girl who started off her Channel with a 20 minute video rambling on about being a university fresher. That video has somehow amassed over 30,000 views which I can't even quantify so for that I will be eternally grateful and baffled in equal measure!
3. I spent more time than I ever thought possible in a university library basement, beavering away for my masters and wondering A- why I was putting myself through another year of studying and B - whether shutting myself away surrounded by books instead of getting out there and seeing the world like some of my best friends were would ever be worth it. It was, so you know, stay in school kids! But also, take snacks, because 7 hour stints in the library will break you as a person. Believe me!
4. I made the decision to move not just a little out of my comfort zone, but move halfway up the country to live with Dan. Packing up my whole life on what was at that point nothing much more than a whim, with no concrete plans in terms of jobs or home was both one of the scariest and most liberating things i've ever done. Standing on the edge of your new life not knowing where you'll end up or how it's going to pan out is a pretty terrifying prospect, but hey, sometimes you've just got to jump in, feet first and hope for the best...
5. I dealt with one of the worst periods of anxiety i've ever had which really made me confront the fact that this wasn't another weird quirk that I should just put up with and was something that needed to be properly sorted. A 5 month stretch of daily panic attacks is debilitating to say the least and being 22 and not feeling mentally prepared to leave your house alone, even for the simplest of things makes you feel about 5 again. With the help of a lovely hypnotist and a good old fashioned bit of soul searching, i'm in a much better place now and finally enjoying life the way I should be.
6. I got a real, grown up, proper big girl job. I'm finally writing for a living which is putting all of my experience to the test and is hopefully putting me on the right path to my absolute dream job. Never underestimate how amazing it feels to actually use the degree you worked so hard for!
7. On the subject of degree's, I managed to, between working 2 jobs, write and submit a 20,000 word dissertation for my Masters, which by some miracle I passed. I'm going to be graduating in a couple of weeks as a Master of Arts... never thought i'd see the day!
8. I had to do lots of grown up things like organise flat viewings and ask sensible questions about water rates and work out how to pay council tax and realise that life without student loan day is not quite as fun as it used to be... i'm learning to live without the tri-monthly Topshop splurges or cheeky Jack Wills orders... sort of. Kind of. Not at all. It's a challenge.
9. After 6 and a half years, I moved in with a certain lovely boyfriend of mine, into a super nice flat in a really cute little town with the best sandwich shop in the world...seriously, like reaaaally good. I'm loving having our own home and filling it with all of our collective stuff (even if it's all a bit girly right now... I have a vision, just you wait!) It's nice having our own space and it finally feels like our little life is starting. I won't get all gushy on you but it's all super exciting and lovely.
10. We lost my lovely nan in November, she was an incredible lady who was one of the strongest, funniest and most truly inspirational people i've ever met, I can truly appreciate where my mum got her strength from. I feel quite lost without her being on the end of the phone when I have a baking disaster and her not being there to give me a pep talk when I feel like the world is against me. She was an amazing lady and the world is definitely less brighter but I was very lucky to have her in my life as long as I did.
11. I had a realisation, that maybe, just maybe, although I am a Devon girl through and through and there is nothing more comforting to me than salt in the air and the sound of the sea, I actually quite like all this countryside business. I haven't hung up my flip flops and beachy hair entirely yet but i've become quite a fan of muddy wellies and Sunday walks through the fields. Yes. This is me talking.
12. This is the year that I asked for a toaster for Christmas. I know. I'm a changed woman, but hey, a Jack Wills onesie will not a loaf toast... As saddening as that is, it just won't. I also swapped pretty shoes for clothes airers, dresses for cushions and discovered just how outraged I can get over the price of kitchen bins. Just call me a domestic goddess and be done with it!
13. We had our first Christmas together in our own place. It was also my first ever White Christmas...well, it snowed on Boxing Day but that definitely counts! We also got our first ever real christmas tree and somehow managed to fit it, quite easily into a Mini. We are however, now knee deep in uneaten candy canes and drowning in post Christmas chocolate overload!
14. I realised just how lucky I really am and although things don't always pan out exactly as I want or plan them to? Well, thats half the fun...
0 comments: