A look back at 2014

2014
Today I thought I’d take a look back at twenty fourteen before the new year appears at our door steps next week. This year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs for me. I had a clear plan of what I wanted to achieve this year however sometimes things don’t always go as planned. The biggest thing that changed was my plans to go to university. I ended up deciding that I actually didn’t want to go to university this year and so have taken a year off to reapply to different universities as something just didn’t feel right. However, 2014 has all in all been a good year for me. I think it's important to look back at your year before the new one rolls around to appreciate what happened, the bad times and the good times, in order to make the most of the next year ahead.


Plans for twenty fourteen

2014
One of my new years resolutions - carried on from last year - was to be more adventurous/spontaneous. To be able to do this I thought I should probably think of some things to do this year to help me on way - no concrete plans or else that ruins the spontaneity, though.

I have a burning desire to explore Britain this year. Ever since I was little I’ve travelled the world on various family holidays and never fail to go somewhere abroad at least once a year however I have never explored my homeland. I’ve been to London and Norfolk where my family comes from but besides that, nothing - I haven’t even been to the seaside. So I’ve compiled a list of a few places I’d like to go this year and hopefully I’ll be able to tick them off as I live through these next twelve months.

BRIGHTON


As I said earlier I’ve never been to the seaside despite England having a beautiful coastline. This one will probably have to wait until summer but as long as I get fish & chips and an ice cream cone - and maybe a stick of rock - I’ll be happy.

Going into 2014 | Reflection on 2013's resolutions

2013

At the start of the year I made some new years resolutions and wrote about them here. Now I’d like to take the time to reflect on my year and see if I actually achieved my resolutions from the past year as 2014 is fast approaching.

Firstly I made the resolution to be more focussed and motivated - specifically when it came to college work. I’m happy to say that I have achieved this resolution. At the start of last year I was taking some subjects that I really didn’t enjoy and most likely resulted in my slump when it came to college work. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned this year it would be that you can’t force yourself to do something that you whole heartedly hate. I changed a few of my subjects in September and have turned my grades around. I still have a long way to go though, with seven exams in the summer it could all go pear-shaped again.

My second resolution was to be more spontaneous this year. Throughout the year I’ve struggled with anxiety - something which has never effected me so much before - and so I haven’t been as spontaneous as I’d planned. However, Lucy & I did venture to London on our own for the first time this year - which can be seen here - so I’d like to say I’m getting there. I also passed my driving test this past October so with this new sense of freedom I’m hoping I’ll  have more spontaneous adventures next year.

Instead of making new resolutions for 2014 I’m going to stick with the same ones going into the new year. Both resolutions are still very relevant to me and I wouldn’t say I have completely achieved them yet - although I am getting there.



Did you achieve your resolutions for 2013?

~ Jade xx



Side note: Sorry for the lack of posts on here over the past couple of months but college work piled up and personal issues also prevailed. Also, the lack of decent natural lighting has made it difficult to take blog pictures. Hopefully in the new year things will get back to normal. We hope you all had a very happy holidays!

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.