2018/2019 In Review and Lent

Since this year seems to be going so quickly I feel like now is the best time to reflect on what I've been doing and the goals I set myself each New Year. The last Resolutions post I uploaded was at the end of 2017, and I said I would focus on 5 things:

• Learn to drive
• Become healthier
• Succeed in 1st year of uni
• Start my own business
• Grow my blog

I can definitely say that I learned to drive (yay) and have been doing so for a while now, so that's the first one ticked off the list. This is a good start, considering I usually forget about my New Year's Resolutions by the second day in January.

Now the second one... I’d say I’m relatively healthy. I exercise when I can (probs not as much as I should) and I never really eat anything too unhealthy ('everything in moderation'). I think at the time that I wrote that goal I was stressed, not exercising much and probably feeling tired from revising. It's really important to look after your health during exams and deadlines, which is something I tend not to prioritise. Thankfully, I'm having a break from revision at the moment and I'm making time to relax and eat well - a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body.

My third goal is one that I'm proud of myself for. I was so focused and worked incredibly hard, which allowed me to do well in both of my university years so far. It was definitely difficult and very stressful at times, but all of the hard work paid off!

Soooo I haven't quite started my own business yet - I got close to getting everything sorted and then other experiences took over for a while (exams, work experience, hobbies, etc, etc). It's definitely something I'm going to revisit at some point, but I'm not in a rush just yet.

The last goal that I had was to grow my blog, and I'd like to say that it's growing slowly but steadily! I've created an instagram account where I can share ideas and connect with other bloggers, and I post when I can (probably not as often as I should, but I'm working on that). Hopefully I'll see my blog grow little by little each year, as it's a great space to share stories, tips and be creative!

I also wanted to mention what I did for lent this year. Often, I struggle to think of something that I'd like to give up, so I've started to focus on what I should do more of. This year, I was sitting at home watching TV, struggling to think of any ideas for Lent, when a WWF advert came on. I've always been keen on wildlife conservation and I love animals, but I had no idea that there were such small amounts of endangered species left in the wild. I'd recently done an online course on mass extinctions, so I was obviously aware that there were many animals in danger, but I didn't know that there were only 90 Amur leopards left in the wild! So, of course, I had to adopt one! I can honestly recommend adopting an animal with WWF as every little donation makes a huge difference. I receive regular updates on conservation and the issues that WWF is facing, and I also hear about how the Amur leopards are doing! As a result of this, I've decided that I'm going to adopt an animal through WWF each year from now on, and hopefully do my bit for conservation.