Let's Talk - This Year, Next Year, What Happened? What's Happening?

Crap it's flippin 2018 tomorrow and honestly, even though 2017 flew by, I am happy to start a clean  slate and start a new chapter in my life. I just wanted to chat a bit today, I have a few things I want to talk about in terms of my blog but just mainly, want to talk about things generally.

2017 was a big year for me in lots of different ways, it had some amazing parts but also some really bad parts too. For me, in 2017, I did a lot of growing up, things happened to people around me that I needed to deal with, I made a lot of decision for myself, I worked and motivated myself to do my best and I started learning a lot about other people but mainly, what I wanted and expected from other people. I will definitely remember 2017 for some of the amazing things I got to experience which I think I would have already done a post on hopefully.

I don't really know how to approach this post as there are so many different topics I want to talk about so I think I am just going to split it into categories just so it makes a little more sense and it will also help me keep track of my thought.

School/Education

In 2017, I left year 10 and started my final year of high school. Even though I have only been in year 11 for a few months, I have already felt to significant difference between the two years which is like no other year change I have been through. It has been tough for me, especially December with my mocks and GCSE work really starting to kick in. My GCSE work seems to be going okay, I am optimistic about the situation and with my mocks just over I think my confidence has been knocked a little, in some subjects more than others but hopefully come May, I will be more ready and prepared for what's in store.

With it also being my last year of high school, I needed to decide my next step, what my next two years of education were going to be. Ever since I started high school, I always said that I would stay there for sixth form but when it came to looking around at subjects and stuff, I just didn't want to get there. I never really liked my high school but I just thought, well that is where I am going to have to go to maintain the standard of education people expect from me. At the start of this year, I also had multiple career options spinning around in my brain. One day it was artist the next it was a teacher and the day after that it was a lawyer so to say the least, I had no idea. When it came to it though, I wanted to spend my next two years in education doing something I loved and felt passionate about, no science, that was never my thing and never will be, no languages because, again, just not my things but one thing that I have always wanted to learn about and pursue is my love for fashion and the industry. I did actually base a lot of my GCSE options on wanting to pursue a career in fashion, especially the design part and so since that idea was still around, it must be one I really want to do. My current high school does offer a textiles a level but it didn't really stand out to me and so I started looking beyond my school and my local area and I find a collage that sounded like everything I could have ever wanted and more. Long story short, I went to an open evening, applied, sat an interview, and I have now been offered a spot. It wasn't that simple though, my dad wanted me to carry on a my high school jut so that I wasn't narrowing my options and so the comprise was that I would go to this fashion school, get my btec in fashion and do a maths a level alongside this btec because as much as I love fashion, I need a realistic outlook on after collage and I also didn't want to stop my education in maths, I love the subjects and I'm good at it so this is my little combination. All in all though, I am so super excited and happy to be moving on somewhere fresh doing something I feel so passionate about in a place that I think will teach and inspire me so much. I just can't wait.

As from when I am writing this, I have a spot, I am currently filling out a contract and once that is sent off, that's it. I will be a fashion student which you have no idea how happy that makes me. I still have no idea what I will end up doing but I feel good and excited about my next step of education.

Blog

My blog has been a huge part of my 2017, it turned three years old in November but generally, throughout the whole year I was posting content that I loved and am still really proud of. As well as my audience growing, which I am eternally grateful for, I have grown a lot, as a blogger. I have discovered what I like and want to change with my blog, I am constantly switching it up and coming up with new ideas, and I really love that. I think this year has really brought out my creative side in terms of my blog. 

Throughout the year, your support has been amazing. From the comments I read on my most recent post and the new followers that tell me that they love my content honestly just makes me feel so warm and happy inside. I have definitely learnt to appreciate these little things over the past year but I have also learnt that the numbers don't matter. We all go through phases of not feeling good enough and wanting to be like someone else but I am walking into 2018 with a fresh start in mind and also just wanting to do what I want to do.

In 2018, I hope to explore more of a variety in terms of the genre of my blog posts. I love makeup and I think I always will but I also love other things like fashion and fitness that I would love to share on my blog to. My blog has never been about numbers or becoming famous, I have always just wanted to share and type about whatever I feel like and I hope I stay like that in 2018. 

Majority of the time one my blog, I tend to stick to a schedule, even though it changes from time to time, I do always set a time and a day that my posts go up on. As of 2018, I have decided to just post whenever I want. I do like sticking to a schedule but the only thing I will be sticking to in 2018 is that, if I have a blog post going up on a weekday it will go up at 5pm and if I have a blog post going up at the weekend it will go up at 10am. A lot of things took part in making this decision for me, I didn't want to force content out of me, I want to be a bit more spontaneous and just write what I want, when I want but also, like I mentioned, I have really important exams this year that I don't want to have to prioritise, but to get where I want to, I need to make them my number one duty next year. Hopefully you don't mind this decision, I really don't want to disappoint anyone but you will still hopefully get plenty of content from me next year.

Fitness

This year has been huge for me and a massive turning point in terms of my health and fitness. I really tried to get myself in better shape but before I started going mad on a diet or working out seven times a week, I made an effort to really educate myself. I learnt a lot with the help of Youtube and I really pushed myself to do things the right way. I got a gym membership in 2017 which at first didn't go to much use but after learning about the best ways to train certain parts of your body I was going frequently and really making the most out of my workouts. In terms of my body, I am not exactly where I want to be but I am completely okay with that, I have goals I want to reach and things that keep pushing me to try harder. I am so happy with the progress I have made in 2017 in terms of my body and I hope I continue to make progress in 2018.

So that's the end of my little ramble and summary of 2017. It's been a super strange year but it had its good moments. I hope you all have an amazing new year whatever you doing, I think I am just staying in tonight with my dogs, watching a couple of films. Hopefully 2018 is going to be the best year yet, lets hope anyway.

Have a great New Year everyone!

Grace xx