2018: A Year in Review

Like a lot of people at the end of one year and the beginning of another, I find it quite useful to look back on the year that has passed. Christmas and New Year are so high pressure and stressful to many, it can be a difficult time of year. Social media and blogs are often covered with posts about everything people have achieved and usually I join in with the eyeroll and scroll right past it all, but this year I am feeling particularly positive and as though I have achieved a lot more than I normally do. With that being said, I decided to look at my top ten proudest achievements in 2018.

1. Travelled to a new country – United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Poland
2. Moved house – In March, I relocated even closer to Central London. I had been living in my university town since 2013 and I was more than ready to leave. Finding myself in a new (and healthy) relationship in January, I thought what better reason to motivate my move, and provide me with a general vicinity of London to start house hunting and job searching. After finding a job and a flat pretty local to it, I moved house on 1st March 2018.
3. Quit a job I hated – The job I started in March was not for me, when they told me not to return, it was a blessing! Yes, I have had three jobs in less than 12 months, but I do not care – you have to hustle to find what is right!

   

   Abu Dhabi kicked Dubai’s butt!

4. Explored a new city – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Prague. Warsaw, Bournemouth, Oxford
5. My Relationship: After a seemingly endless string of bad dates with dodgy guys, I was ready for a change in 2018. More determined than ever, from meeting my poor, hungover Bae on New Year’s Day I knew it was something special – so much so, I committed to relocating just 3 and a half months in!
6. Continued on a diet – Over a year into a refined sugar free life, it is more of a lifestyle now, not a diet

   

   Offices just are not for me. 

7. New job – Two actually. I started one in March and another one in September. I started looking for a new job right away in January. I liked the job I had, which made it hard to leave, but I knew that I was getting in to a rut. When my colleagues asked me why I was leaving, my answer was always the same – I needed change. I was too comfortable there.  Whilst some comfort is of course a good thing, I was not challenged anymore and I wanted something else, although I did not know what. By the last week of January I had secured a job offer in West London, quit and started to plan my move. 
8. Loved myself – I try really hard on this everyday. It is important to not let yourself get overwhelmed and to take a step back when you need to, without caring what ‘they’ will say. Your health should always come first.
9. Planned something for my Mum’s 60th:  In March 2018 I visited Abu Dhabi for my mum’s birthday. A huge Formula 1 fan, it was always on my mum’s bucket list to go around the track in a safety car during a race. Whilst during the race thing might not have been exactly plausible, I arranged for her to be taken around the circuit in the Mercedes safety car. Needless to say it went down very well and remains one of the best surprises I have ever arranged. 
10. Started to write again on a regular basis – This blog exists. My point rests. 

With all of this done, it is now time to think about what I want to achieve and progress towards in 2019. What are you most proud of achieving in 2018?