2015!

I've been horrendous with blogging over the last half of the year - it's been a mix of heavy workloads, getting used to uni life and just having no motivation or decent things to blog about. I have idea but when I come to write them I just don't know how to write it. I have about 4 posts that are in my drafts folder that I've been working on - some aren't even relevant anymore so will need to be deleted!

You may also notice that I've changed the title and description on my blog - I re-read them and found them rather embarrassing so I decided to change them a little instead!

It's the end of another year so I thought I had to at least post something now - it's always good to look back at the year and think about what I want to change and improve on. Last year I posted a 2013 vs. 2014 review which I obviously can't just add to as there's quite a lot of difference I feel! 

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Confidence

This year I feel like I've come to understand myself a lot better as a person and have consequently become a lot more confident than I was this time last year. The fact that I managed to get into University helped this fact I feel as it made me realise I was good enough and could achieve the things I wanted to if I tried hard enough. I didn't actually get the grades I needed for my course but because of the extra things I'd done outside of my A levels to do with Archaeology and Ancient History, they saw my passion and accepted me anyway! Due to this, I also ended up realising that just because you aren't the best at one type of education, it doesn't mean you won't be good at another so don't be put off if you aren't very good at A levels like I wasn't - I'm now doing well at Uni because the teaching style and the way you're graded works a lot better for me! Asking for help to make sure you get all the help you need for exams is also useful - I probably annoyed my teachers last year by how much I asked them for help! However, this is another thing I learned this year - don't be afraid to ask for help because the teachers want you to succeed and if you show willingness to improve, they will try and support you so you can get the results that you want.

Another thing I've noticed over this year is that I've also become more confident in my body. I'm not a size 8, 6 ft tall model with long, flowing hair but I'm happy with my body in its entirety as I'm the only one that has to live with it so why live hating it? I wear things that look good on my body shape and wear make up because it makes me feel happy and prettier. I already did a post earlier in the year about how I feel about lipstick and how it boosts my confidence! Of course there are things I wouldn't mind changing but for now, I'm happy with myself. 

Work and independence 

Last year, I said I needed to focus on my work but I may have taken that a little too far during the last few months as I've been known to not leave the flat for a couple of days and not sleeping until 3 to make sure I could finish essays on time! I think this year I need to prioritise better as I'm now living more or less independently so I need to balance work and looking after myself as well as remembering to save some time to see friends. 

I also need to organise my work so I have time to do more background reading as I didn't get a lot of chance to this term. This also needs to include planning essays in advance so I don't have a mad rush at the end of term like I did in the last week of this term. It will be a lot better for me if I do little bits along the way instead of huge amounts at the end that get me overly stressed and run down.

Health

I want to try and get a bit healthier in 2015 as I know I could vastly improve what I eat - I think I'm going to try and post recipes when I find ones that are healthy but still nice! I'm already trying to cut down the amount of snacking I'm doing and the amount of sweets/chocolates I'm eating. 

I need to start going to bed earlier which links with my organisation goal - if I do more work earlier in the day then I'll be able to sleep earlier which would be a lot better for me - hopefully I'll be able to get a proper sleeping pattern sorted by the end of this term if I can work properly!

One last thing I need to do is to learn how to take breaks from work and just wind down sometimes. I am constantly working at uni so if by organising my work and life better I can add in break every so often, that would be incredibly helpful!

What are your goals for the upcoming year?
I hope you all have a wonderful New Years!
Jess xx