2014 in Review.

Today, I've been sitting here in my pyjamas with a cup of tea, reflecting on the past year and started making plans for 2015.

2014 was a hell of a year. There have been ups and downs, but I wanted to spend this year learning and growing as a person, and that I did. Going from such a negative start to the year to the happy place I'm in right now, I'm pleased with my growth in many different aspects.

Blogging

I'm so very pleased with the progress and growth of my blog.

Being able document my thoughts, feelings and adventures, and to be able to look back at all I've achieved, experienced and discovered, has helped me see how much I've grown not only as a person, but a writer, to.

Writing

I know my writing has improved immensely over the past year alone. Looking back at my first few posts is actually embarrassing but it goes to show how much you can learn if you just take the time.

I've met some amazing people.

Although I don't have thousands of followers, I get to interact with the people who read my blog and contact me, and I've gotten to know some truly amazing people that I am proud to call my friends through blogging.

Personal life

Looking back, it's almost unbelievable how different I am today, compared to the girl I was a year ago. 2014 was definitely the year of digging deep. I had a lot of questions that I needed to ask myself and a lot of somewhat unpleasant answers that needed to be heard but doing so has helped elevate me to the content place that my life is in now.

Jesse - my rock.

Enough said, really. I've written about the kid that many times.

I got over all that heartbreak shit and met my amazing now boyfriend.

I finally said yes, and a year on, I've never been happier. You can be in a relationship that makes you so happy, you forget the rest of the bullshit you went through. He's taught me more about myself and my strengths than I can ever thank him for.

I made the habit of setting and chasing goals.
Writing and sharing my goals on my blog really motivated me to get shit done and there's nothing better than that accomplished feeling when you reflect back and everything's been completed.

I re-discovered reading and writing.

I forgot how much I loved writing until I started blogging frequently, and I forgot how much I loved reading until I re-discovered my love for books by setting myself a reading goal which I've stuck with ever since. It's just so relaxing to dive in to a good book for an hour after a stressful day.

I discovered my true friends.
This one was a biggie for me this year. There are some people in my life who I considered to be good friends who, in retrospect, weren't. Cutting people out is hard but necessary and I'm so happy to have my true set of friends who've stuck by me and continue to be a part of my life today.

Lessons

I've learnt so much this year; 2014 is without a doubt the year I grew up.

There's no place like home.

Okay, so my home isn't the house that holds my shit, rather than the house that holds Jesse's family. I've spent so much energy trying to leave my 'home' and break free, and only now do I feel like I've found a place to call home.

Love yourself.

The most important relationship you have is the one you have with yourself; part of being human is being imperfect. If we can't love ourselves, then who is to say that anyone else is going to be able to love us?

Do it if you want to.

Never let somebody tell you what you should be doing with your life. Do what you want without overthinking or second guessing. The things I worked towards that I wanted to work towards instead of what I thought I should be doing are the things I'm most proud of.

2014 was a big year of growth for me, and I'm genuinely excited to see what 2015 has in store for me.