2016: Year in Review

Firstly, I would just like to say a huge Happy New Year to everybody reading this.

The new year often sparks the beginning of a new chapter in your life, a new start, and that is a topic that I will talk about in my next post. However, a starting a new chapter means ending the previous one - my 2016 chapter has now ended and I'm taking this opportunity to reflect upon the past year. The good and the bad. This is my time to take a step back and share with you my own personal 2016: year in review.

Firstly, let's take a look back at my 2016 Goals / Bucket List post, that I wrote all the way back in January and get a little progress report on how things went over the course of the year:

• My first goal was to pass my AS Levels and I can tell you that this did happen, and I was overall really happy with the results that I got. 
• Secondly, I wanted to do more work experience which, unfortunately, didn't really happen as it's been really hard finding places in certain industries that will take work experience students. 
• I also wanted to improve my blog and blog content this year and, if I'm completely honest, I think I did that. I've become a lot more comfortable blogging this year and I hope that continues. 
• Go to a festival: DONE. I only went to V Festival for one day, rather than the full weekend, but either way I did accomplish this goal.
• I also wanted to do more sport this year. Surprise surprise, this didn't exactly happen - oh well. Maybe next year?
• Eat healthier. Yes and no to this one, I generally have a fairly healthy diet but, let's face it, we can always eat healthier. 
• Pass my driving test: YEP. Passed in October and this is one of my favourite memories / accomplishments of the year. 
• I wanted to meet some of my internet friends and I did this - all because of The Vamps. 
• To make a photo diary / scrapbook was one of my goals for the year. This didn't really happen, but I did try to start one, so it's a work in progress. 
• Do voluntary / charity work. I didn't exactly do charity work as such, but did complete the Sports Relief 6 mile challenge and did donate to various causes of the course of the year. 
• Travel more - I would definitely say that I achieved this, I've been to some incredible places over the past year.
• Go to concerts. Tick, Tick, Tick. This definitely happened.
• Change my hairstyle. This didn't happen, and I don't think it will for a while at least. I was considering getting rid of my fringe at one point but ended up changing my mind. Though I did get my layers put back in this year, if that counts? 

Now that I've shared my 2016 goals progress report with the world. I'm taking a minute to look back at some of my favourite moments and standouts from the year:

• I've been lucky enough to go to London three times this year - twice with my lovely Mum and once with my pals on a trip organised by my school. 
• I've seen Sundara Karma live twice this year and they still continue to be one of my favourite live bands. 
• Seeing Ellie Goulding on tour was amazing also. I'm absolutely obsessed with her and cannot wait for her to tour again. 
• The Vamps tour was also a highlight of mine - I met my internet friends, I had so much fun with all of my friends, The Vamps (and their support acts) put on an insane show and we met The Tide and New Hope Club. What a great time to be alive. 
• I (unexpectedly) had VIP for 5 Seconds of Summer in Nottingham this year, and really enjoyed the entire experience. It was super great to experience their soundcheck and Q&A, along with the show itself - which was also incredible. 
• My friends and I have travelled to cities all across the country this year for various different reasons and have created memories that I will honestly treasure forever (even if that sounds a lil cringey).
• I've been to two of The Tide's tours this year and, while they're not my ride or die favourite band, I've really enjoyed their shows. 
• I was lucky enough to see Coldplay live on their A Head Full of Dreams tour at Wembley with my mum this year. She's basically Coldplay's biggest fan and it was so lovely to experience that with her. 
• My family holiday in Lanzarote is also a clear highlight for me. I'd never been to the Canary Islands before this year and thoroughly enjoyed it, and really loved spending time with my family also. 
• V Festival is an obvious standout from the year. Having never been to a music festival before, the experience was everything I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it. 
• My 18th birthday was a huge milestone for me, and I had the most amazing celebrations with both my family and friends. I couldn't have wished for anything more.
• I finally saw Fifth Harmony live this year (and even won my tickets, so that was even better) and that was also a really great experience. 
• I passed my driving test back in October and I am so incredibly happy that I made the decision to learn to drive. It's going to benefit me massively for the rest of my life and I'm absolutely loving it. 
• Justin Bieber's Purpose Tour and our adventures in Manchester is a clear highlight for me and I'm sure you would have guessed that if you've read my blog at any point over the past few months. 
• New York, New York, New York. One of my favourite places I've ever visited. I was so incredibly lucky to be able to visit New York with my Mum to celebrate my 18th birthday and it was honestly unbelievable. I honestly still cannot get over the fact that I've finally been to the one place I've always wanted to visit. I cannot wait to go back one day.
• Bastille's tour - aka my final concert of the year. It was amazing and I couldn't think of a better concert to end my year of concert-going. 

Of course, this list is not compiled of every single thing that's happened over the past year - these are simply some of my standout moments.

With that being said, the good things also came with some bad things this year. Without going into too much detail, my perspectives have massively changed in certain areas this year. I've experienced some things that I never thought that I would and I'm not going to talk about much of them on my blog but I do want to talk about one realisation that has probably been the biggest one for me this year and. I've realised that friends come and go, people lose touch, people decide they don't want you in their life anymore and that's okay. The people you need in your life are the people who stay in your life - no matter how long you don't talk for, no matter where you each are in your life, they're always there. Sometimes there isn't a massive huge fall out between friends, sometimes you just drift apart and sometimes there is a huge fall out and that is okay. There was a situation this year that changed the dynamics in one friendship in my life and it feels weird referring to this on my blog but, no matter what happened in that situation, I'm not angry, I'm not upset and, in all honesty, there's no hate towards anyone involved. I really think that some things happen for a reason, whether you realise it at the time or not, so it's okay if things change. You do you, focus on what's important to you. If things go wrong, or take a bad turn, get back up and move on. Onwards and upwards.

I can honestly say that 2016 has been an incredible year for me. I've experienced amazing things, I've achieved so many exciting things, I've made myself and my family proud, I've done things that I never thought I would do and it's been incredible. The good and the bad have made me who I am and I'm happy with that. I realise that this post is probably cringe-central but I don't care. That's the end of my 2016 chapter, and this is the beginning of a new chapter in my life. 2017. With that being said, I'm making a few changes this year so keep an eye out for a post explaining everything. Thank you to everyone who has read my blog over the past year. I really appreciate it. I hope you continue to read my blog during 2017, and continue to enjoy the content. Once again, Happy New Year. Have a good one.