Five Things 2017 Taught Me…

Happy New Year…

So here we find ourselves on another NYE! I’m not quite sure how this year went by so fast but it has… and now we’re looking at a fresh 2018.. oh boy! Like most, I always find myself reflecting today over the past year and figured I’ve jot down some things I’ve learned along the way. I’d love to hear your own in the comments below too and of course any resolutions you have for 2018!

May 2017, I got married. We had been planning the wedding for a year and whilst everyone kept telling me how it would be the best day of my life, I guess I just wasn’t sure until I experienced it. It went by in a flash and now when I look back at the photos and videos I would do anything to re-live it.. in reality, I know that if I did, it would never be the same. It was the most amazing day full of love, laughter and happiness. I didn’t think anything would top Chris asking me to marry him in the first place, but it was very close.

I do still have a lot to say about wedding planning and aspects of my own day, so let me know if you guys would like some more wedding content in the new year too! But, if you’re new here or you just simple missed them, you can see all my wedding posts here!

I’m not ready to talk about a few things that happened to me in 2017 just yet so all I will say is that sometimes I have been shocked by how well I’ve coped with things. I’m not tooting my own horn or anything but I’ve done pretty bloody well. This year has definitely had massive ups and sadly also some massive lows too. There have been moments when I’ve not been sure if I’ll make it through the other side, not sure why I’m getting out of bed everyday and moments I could feel myself spiralling into a deep, dark place I’d never experienced before. However, I’m okay and I survived going through all this, twice. I try to look at these bad experiences as things that have perhaps happened for a reason. They’ve made me realise what’s important and what’s not but also, the ability to one day talk about it on my platforms and help people going through the same thing.

If you’re reading this and you’re going through a hard time, please know it will get better. I found that talking to people (or forums if you don’t want to talk face to face) reading books and seeking help were massive factors in getting myself feeling better. Whilst I know I’ll never quite be the old me again, I’ve learnt to deal with the fact that I’m a new version of myself, sure enough with a few more emotional bruises along the way, but I can deal with those.

I’m all for telling people how they should take care of themselves and then it comes to myself… different story! At the end of this year I started to think more and more about how I’ve never really done anything that could be beneficial to my body or mind (unless I have a bad back and can’t walk!) and to be honest I’ve always neglected myself in that area. So, I had some reflexology, I’m going to try a spiritual healing too and I already feel better just knowing that I’m doing my best to look after me. Having an open mind has helped me so much this year and I’m so happy about it. My plan for 2018 is to take this further, start yoga, eat healthier and just give myself time when I need it. It’s okay to spend Sunday’s on the sofa in your PJ’s if that’s what you want to do, never feel guilty for it.

Self-love also falls under this bracket and as I was typing this post a tweet popped up in my feed that read – ‘My New Years resolution is to stop wondering if I’m good enough for other people and start wondering if they’re good enough for me’. I couldn’t agree with this more. This year has really shown me how much I constantly worry about people, their feelings, their thoughts… even when they’ve hurt me. It’s taught me that perhaps I need to stop worrying about them so much, especially when they don’t worry about me. 2018 is the year I look after myself more and only after the people that truly care about me in the same way.

Obviously this is something I knew before 2017 but I’d say this was the year it really resonated with me. I learnt to enjoy the simple things, especially after going through a hard few months. It made me realise that forgiveness is such an important thing in life and I no longer wanted to hold on to the dark cloud that had been following me, whether that meant being let down by others or not. I soaked up every minute of my wedding, every second of our honeymoon and I decided that’s how I wanted to live more often, even on the normal life days.

Chris started his wedding photography business and it’s been amazing to work alongside him and enjoy how passionate he is, it was infectious to me this year. I enjoy every moment I get to spend with him and feel so grateful that life put me on the path that led to meeting him. The same goes for my family, my friends and my home, all wonderful in their own ways and something I will never take for granted again.

This blog makes me spend far too much and buy far too many clothes. However, all jokes aside – it’s what I love to do. I’m so grateful that I have been able to do this as my full time job and this year has had some amazing high points when it comes to my work. I still pinch myself when a campaign lands in my inbox! I shot an advert campaign with Rimmel, a social campaign with Wella, worked alongside some of my favourite brands including Free People, Anthropologie, Simple AND I got to fly over London in a freakin’ Helicopter with Carmex!

Aside from that, getting to chat to you guys is the best thing in the world. It’s the reason I kept this blog going all those years ago and whilst times were a tad different then (hello no algorithms) I still get the same buzz when I publish a new blog post, video and social image. I love creating imagery (which I plan on doing more of in 2018!) and styling new outfits but also editing a haul video is one of my favourite things because I love that I can help you guys when it comes to shopping (haha, soz!) Some of this year was pretty tough, the YouTube algorithm hit my channel hard and it became impossible to grow very much at all. However I’ve finally started to come out the other side *touch wood* and my channel has picked up, my views are back to normal and I’m so glad I stuck at it. So I guess in 2017 I learnt that I can do it, I can run my own business and love every minute of it.