It’s the end of the year which must mean that it’s time for my classic end of year round up! I was keen to leave 2018 behind but was unsure what 2019 was going to bring. We had a number of plans already set out at the start of the year which meant I knew it was going to be a busy one, but also a year filled with opportunities to see friends.
I think it’s safe to say that 2019 is going to be a year that I look back on fondly. Having a birthday at the start of each year means I associate each year with a particular age and 25 has turned out to be a very good age to be. For a start, it’s the first year where I’ve truly felt like ‘an adult’ and as if other people now treat me as such (I must be starting to look older!). It’s been a year where I’ve done new things, surprised myself both at work and in my personal life and have felt like I’ve had some significant achievements of my own making. If this is what the rest of my twenties are going to be like then I’m very much looking forward to it.
Looking back at my list of hopes for the year ahead, I think I managed to achieve about half of them which isn’t a bad ratio. However I’ve also managed to do a lot which wasn’t on the list from not buying myself any books this year (!) to visiting the USA in the summer and running Bristol 10k.
Here are some of the things I’ve learned or realised along the way:
- It is possible to become a runner even if you’ve never considered yourself to be one.
- Libraries are seriously undervalued by most people.
- New York is every bit as exciting as you might expect.
- It’s hard, but you can still maintain a wonderful friendship via Skype.
- Wedding planning is unnecessarily expensive and frustrating.
- People seem to find it very strange when you don’t want to discuss said wedding planning.
- Puppies aren’t just cute – they are also hard work and can be really annoying.
- Sometimes saying no is the best thing you can do.
- Honesty might not always win you friends at work but it can lead to respect, which is really valuable.
- Making the transition from colleague to friend can be surprisingly difficult but is worth working at.
- Humans are built to adapt, we’ve just become increasingly reluctant to do so.
- I really enjoy having friends to stay in our flat and doing our ‘visitor route’ of Bristol.
- Reading non-fiction is becoming more interesting the older I become and the further from normal education I get.
- Watching your friends getting married is a really special occasion.
- Things are always going to go wrong, but if you have the right person by your side it doesn’t matter quite so much.
- Americans have really strange toilets.
- TV is a much bigger part of people’s lives than you can imagine. You can’t really tell until you give it up for a while.
- Trying to be better to the planet is hard work but you can’t do it on your own. It’s easier if you celebrate your small changes rather than berate yourself for doing something wrong.
- People spend far more time complaining than they need to.
- The older you get the fewer answers you sometimes have, but you don’t always need all the answers.
Happy New Year everyone! And thanks to everyone who has been part of my 2019.
