New Year has always been one of my favourite holidays, despite the fact I am never ever prepared for it; no matter how hard I try to be. December is such an overwhelming  whirlwind of assignments, long working hours and social commitments that for me, the No-Man’s week between Christmas Day and New Years Day is always spent trying to scramble together a semi-cute NYE outfit. However, nothing is as hard or frustrating as trying to find an event that suits you & everyone you want to ring in the New Year with!

I have very vivid memories of scrolling through Facebook in the early 2010s around new Years, and reading all the highly inspirational #NewYearNewMe posts and being semi-impressed at the time (tragic, I know).  It’s crazy to think how dated some social media trends have already become despite them being super popular barely a decade ago. I guess it’s just reflective of how we’re living in an increasingly disposable society.

In light of this, I wanted to discuss my goals & resolutions for the upcoming year. 2019 has always loomed as significant year in my mind because it will (most likely, please God) be the end of my academic career as I gradate from Uni and jump into the abyss of post-Uni life and actual adulting *shudders*. Aside from that, this year I will finally be able to live my Taylor Swift best-life and sing 22 when my birthday rolls around again.

By making my hopes & dreams for this year public, hopefully I’ll be more inspired to stick to them and also, it gives you an idea of the blog content I’m aiming to publish this year! Without further ado, here are my resolutions and goals for this year…

• YOGA

I can already hear multiple eye rolls, but YES, I am determined that 2019 will be the year I finally cave and buy some Lululemon pants (just kidding, they too expensive). Jokes aside, I’ve been curious about yoga for a few years but was always too lazy to give it a try. Amongst my friends, I’m fairly well known for my utter lack of  balance, rhythm and flexibility so hopefully learning some fancy stretches will help me feel a little more like 21 rather than 87 due to my constant back pain.

So far, I’ve really enjoyed learning the basics. I’m trying to do it every night before bed to reduce my screen time because I’m bored of always being on my phone. I really recommend Yoga With Adriene if you’re a newbie like me, she has the most calming voice and her routines are really easy to follow. If I can do it, literally anyone can.

• HEALTH

Leading on from my previous point, this year I really just want to be happy in my own skin. I’ve always been fortunate to be fairly happy with my appearance but I’m definitely not the epitome of health or strength. Recently, I’ve really been trying to educate myself about nutrition and exercise etc. so hopefully taking small steps like starting yoga, rejoining the gym and going back to meal prepping will help me become a better version of myself this year (if I can give up my brownie addiction, that is). The aim of these resolutions is for me to make realistic changes that I can actually maintain in the long run.

• TRAVEL

I am aware that these aren’t the most original or inspiring of resolutions but hey, I never claimed to be original. With the end of Uni in sight, I’m determined to just get out and see more of the world. Having never flown til I was 18, I’ve been cramming in as many travel ventures as humanly & financially possible in the last three years. In less than 3 weeks, I’ll be in Paris with one of my best friends and I cannot wait. Aside from that, I will be finally taking part in Camp America this year *fingers crossed!*. This has always been a massive dream of mine and without the distraction of Uni, I’m hoping I can just throw myself into it this summer.

• LEAVE RETAIL

I’ve been really fortunate to have had a stable part-time job since I started Uni back in 2015 but I am so ready for something new. I’ve met some really, really lovely people through my job and made friends for life but retail is honestly soul-destroying. As a student, I have had to spend virtually all my free time working to try to support myself. It’s not a total negative though, because it’s really taught me the value of hard work and so many general life skills but I’m just ready to move on now and work in a more stimulating (and hopefully degree-related) environment. Thank u, next.

• START READING AGAIN

As an English student, people often assume I love reading and every time I’m hit with this assumption, I tend to do a mahoosive eye roll. Obviously, I do like reading, (I am constantly reading the news/current affairs) and literature but Uni has honestly killed the fun aspect of reading. Currently, reading equals note-taking, thus equals essays. I really hate essays, u g h!!!. I really struggle to remember the last time I read for fun, apart from maybe on holiday. However, with graduation looming, I’m determined to get back to my roots and try start reading regularly.

• START JOURNALING MONTHLY

I always used to write diaries as a kid. I tend to hoard all kinds of nostalgic items, there are literally dozens of memory boxes under my bed stuffed with cinema tickets, festival bands and polaroids. I’m not artistic enough to do a bullet journal so I’m trying the equally Pinterest idea of a memory jar, where I write down 1 memory per day and then every month I’ll write them up in a journal and stick in all the corresponding photos/keepsakes from that month with them. Scrapbooking/journaling is just way more personal than merely posting on here or Instagramming – and having a physical keepsake of being 21/22 will be really cool when I’m older.

• BLOG MORE FREQUENTLY

Being in third year and just being 21 is so hectic, it has actually been harder than I expected to sit down and write some content but this year I’m determined to be as organised as possible. I’ve got a lot of cool stuff planned for this year so maybe stick around and look out for more rambling posts and updates from yours truly 🙂

So, these are my main resolutions for 2019! As I’ve said already, they aren’t crazily original but I don’t see the point in making unrealistic aims for myself. Change doesn’t happen overnight and hopefully, these are sustainable goals that will make me happy in 2019 and beyond.

Thanks so much for reading!

Hol xo