The year gone, and the year ahead.

Hello Everyone! Hope you are all well and a Happy New Year! to you all.

Today I am looking back at 2017 and with a mixture of emotions. Some moments have been incredible and others not so much. But everything that has happened has either made me thankful or a stronger person. I have experienced loss, anxiety, stress, but have come out the other side ready to take on the world. So for this post I am going thought I would talk about the good and the bad as all of it makes me who I am today.

The Good

This amazing man has been there for me through thick and thin and I couldn’t imagine not having him there for me. We have been together for nearly 8 years and have been living together for 3. He is so supportive and understanding I know that whatever stress I go through, he’s right there with me.

I have the most amazing family and I couldn’t ask for a more supportive and caring. We have had some wonderful moments this year, one in particular was my gorgeous nephew being born. He is the most amazing clever little man I’m not just saying because I’m his Auntie! and I cannot wait to celebrate his first birthday this year and see him grow more and more each day.

This is the year I started my new blog and I am so proud of creating somewhere that I can express my creative side and a have a little corner of the internet that is mine. There was a time this year were I began feeling like all I did was work and had lost all confidence in myself. I spent a lot of time feeling tired and crying, feeling like I had nothing that was my own. Michael suggested that I try doing something that I had enjoyed before and thinking back to when I was at University I had my own blog. So that’s what I did! I created my blog, wrote my first post and have fallen back in love with it. Granted I did have a longish break within the year but being back in full swing I am loving every minute of it. It has given me some fantastic opportunities and I am so excited to see what else it will bring in 2018.

I went to Radio Ones Big Weekender with this gorgeous gal and bestie Hannah. We had such an amazing day, the weather was perfect,  the music was incredible and I loved taking my bestie there and treating her to an amazing day. She is such a supportive and loving friend as well as being an amazing mum to her lovely boy. We have been friends for 12 years now I couldn’t have imagined that day without her. As our friendship grows more and more I can’t wait what we will get up to this year. 

Going camping with Michael in August was something that we had never done before and it was so much fun! We literally didn’t plan ahead a all. We picked a spot and drove, it was such freeing and enjoyable experience. We ended up in Wales, Bristol, Bath and Bournemouth and saw places that we never thought we would see. It is definitely something that I would be happy to do again. 

The Bad

I have had some stress and anxieties this year for sure, but I am proud that I have had the strength to get through them. Early on this year was witness to a gentleman committing suicide in our local shopping centre. I ran over to help the him and rang 999 however it was unfortunately to late for him. The image of this man with stay with me for the rest of my life and the thought that he thought that was his only options saddens me greatly. Please if you are struggling talk to someone. (for advice lines see bottom of blog post)

I lost a very dear family member who I had spent a lot of time with as a child. I had so many fond memories and it was heart breaking to know this family member is no longer with us. I suffered with anxiety a lot this year for lots of different reasons. I spent the a lot of August not wanting to leave the house but also hysterical if I was left alone for too long. I felt so helpless but then felt guilty for causing stress on my friends and family. I didn’t know how to get myself out of it. Luckily for me I had an amazing support system to get me through it. If you are not so fortunate like I said before speak to someone.

So What’s Next?

I am going into 2018 with high hopes and positivity. I want to achieve so much this year I am ready to take each challenge head on. Through my hard times in 2017 I have put on some of the weight I had previously lost, this year I want to get back down to a size which I feel happy and confident with myself. I want to excel in my new job role within teaching and continue to build a creative and enriching environment for the children in my school. I want to continue to build and create more content on my blog and hope to have more exciting opportunities this year as well as meeting some amazing bloggers in the process.

What are your hopes for this year? What are you proud of from 2017?

Love you guys!

Lizzie x

Helplines to contact:

NHS Choices: nhs.uk

Samaritans:  samaritans.org    helpline: 116 123

Anxiety Uk helpline: 08444 775 774