WHAT I WANT TO ACHIEVE IN 2019?

Happy New Years Everyone!

I love starting a new year because I always think that it is the perfect opportunity to set goals and make plans for the rest of the year. I understand that not everyone believes in resolutions and that you can create goals and aims at any point in the year, which is true, but I always like starting the year with a few aims in mind. This year I actually have a lot going on and so I have got quite a few goals that I would love to achieve by the end of the year. 

1. Get a job

I tried so hard to get a job in time for Christmas but I guess you could say that I was just unlucky. When I turned sixteen back in July, I was so determined to get a job but somehow I just ended up forgetting all about it. Obviously, I would love to earn a little extra money and save for my future but I also think that getting a job would be a huge learning curve for me. I have never had a proper job before so the experience I would gain would influence me massively, or so I believe it would. I would also love to step out of my comfort zone more this year and I think that getting a job is the perfect way to do that. I am definitely not a very confident person when you meet me at first, I can definitely be very shy and so I think a job could really help to boost my confidence and improve my skills. 

2. Go out more with my friends/ do new things

I'm not sure whether many people reading this would know this about me, but I am not very social, to say the least. I sometimes find it really hard to stick to plans and go out, and a lot of the time, it can end in me cancelling. This year though, I really want to further expand my comfort zone and go out more. I love going out with my friends and I always think that I should do it more often but I work myself up about it, but I really want to avoid that this year. Also though, I would like to go to new places this year, see new things, experience new things with my friends and family. I definitely think that I should do some new things this year whether that be trying new restaurants, or going to a new city or doing something completely random and spontaneous. I have already got a few ideas in mind but I want to document my new experience this year also, so I guess you will have to wait and see as to what I get up to in 2019. 

3. Take more pictures to document occasions

I have never been a picture person and although I am a 'blogger' I actually hate people taking pictures of me too, how ironic. However, looking back at 2018, I realised that I did so many amazing things but I had nothing to account for them and so I want to change that in 2019. I want to take more pictures with my friends and family, I want to photograph all of the amazing places I visit and I want to document it all whether that be on here or in my own little scrapbook. Photography is something I would love to be good at and so I really want to make a conscious effort to improve this year  

4. Learn to drive

In July, I will be turning seventeen and although I feel ready and unprepared at the same time, it should be an exciting age to turn because I will finally be allowed to drive. Not that anyone would want me on the road, but I am so excited to get behind a steering wheel and learn. It will be a journey, but I guess it's going to start in summer this year. 

5. Treat my favourite people

I love to spoil people whether that be for their birthday, Christmas or just a random occasion but I wish I did it more often. This year, a lot of my friends are actually going to be turning 18 which is kind of crazy but also super exciting and I'd love to be able to treat them all just to show them how much I appreciate them, I know it's cheesy but it's true.

6. Start running (try at least once a week)

At the start of December, I actually quit my gym membership and although I plan on starting out somewhere new, I would also like to use the facilities that are completely free, that I can access. In 2018, I discovered that I was not as bad as running as I thought but I do know that running on a treadmill and running on a road are two completely different things, so this year I would really love to get outside more and go on a jog. This is definitely going to be a habit that I need to form but I really want it to happen because I love how I feel once I've come back from a run and it is a feeling that weight lifting doesn't always provide. I've been a little overambitious for setting the goal of once a week because I know I'm just not going to be up for it that often, but we are going to give it a go and see how I find it. 

7. Read 24 books

In 2018, I really discovered my love for books. I was never much of a reader growing up but I feel like now, I have a real appreciation for them. I have set my goal at 24 books this year after reading 11 in 2018. 24 seems pretty realistic to me though as that is 2 books a month which I think is really achievable. I also have so many unread books on my bookshelves, that I sort of need to get reading at a quicker pace. You are probably going to be seeing many more book reviews on my blog this year because I love discussing them, I think it is so cool seeing how people's opinions can differ. There is also going to be a blog post going up within the next few days talking all about my top 10 books on my 2019 TBR, so I guess you can look forward to that. 

8. Post more, but to a standard that I am proud of

I think it is safe to say that I definitely slacked on my blog this year, but I don't want to fall into that habit again this year. I want to find a balance between posting consistently but also posting to a standard that I am proud of. I have had my blog for over four years and it is safe to say that the person I am now, is not the same as 12 year old me, back in 2014 and so my content is changing. I change what I talk about all the time on my blog and I want to keep on experimenting because I won't lie, I do feel a little lost right now because I don't know what content I want to make. 

9. Apply for university/ apprenticeships

September this year, I will be in my final year of school and I will be getting ready to sit my alevel exams and so that means, I will be looking at my next step in my life. Right now, I have no clue what I am going to end up doing but I really hope that by the end of 2019, I will have settled on what's next for me after alevels. University or an apprenticeship is looking very likely right now and so a huge part of my 2019 is going to be applying for the places I want. I am not going to get too hung up on it just yet, but that is definitely what's in store for my year this year. 

10. Learn to cook

I'm ending on quite a random note, but my brother actually inspired me to have this as a little goal of 2019 and that is because I am super lazy. I depend on my mum's cook and takeaways way too much and I think that it is about time that I learn to cook and that I start taking better care of my body and what I put into my body. There are so many meals I want to try and cook, so this is my year to do it all and to really teach myself something completely new to me. I have never really attempted to cook, I can peel potatoes and I can make a cheese toastie, but that's about it so I would love to come out of 2019 saying that I could survive on my own if I needed to!

I hope this post has given you some inspiration on what you might want to achieve in 2019. Let me know what your goals of the new year are as I would love to know!

Grace xx