Halfway through the year already! I know I harp on about this all the time, but I honestly can’t believe how quickly it is going. It definitely doesn’t feel that long ago that I sat down and wrote my New Year’s Resolutions for 2016, but here we are doing a midyear update.
I set a lot of mini-goals for myself, simply because I find these way more attainable than one or two big resolutions. The worrying thing is that I’ve had to pull up that post to see what they were, so they can’t have been going that well! Let’s see…
Blogging
So my biggest goal here was deciding what to do with Ninegrandstudent when I graduate. Well, I graduate in five days and I do have a small plan. The only thing to do is start to execute it – so once me and W have a few spare days there will definitely be some changes afoot. My other goal was to really work on my photography, take my camera off auto and actually learn how to use it. Yet again, I’ve failed! Whilst I don’t want to use it as an excuse, I guess I’ve been hugely focused on my degree and so blogging has taken a back seat. I’m excited to get back into it!
University/Work
This was the big area for me, the area that would shape the rest of my life. My main aim here was to make sure I graduated with a degree I am proud of, and obtain a job that I love. I still can’t actually believe it, but I’m managed to do both. I’m hugely proud of my first class degree, especially as there were a lot of moments in the last few years where I thought it wouldn’t happen. But I’ve perhaps even more proud of the job I’ve managed to obtain, the job that’s in the exact (and extremely specific) field I wanted and will enable me and W to finally live together.
The smaller parts are half done – I definitely managed to keep control of my RSI with only a few evenings where I couldn’t bear to write during the revision period. However time will tell how my jump into professional qualifications will go!
Cooking
Definitely a mixed bag here! I definitely drank a lot more water whilst I was at university, but I’ve noticed this hasn’t continued upon moving back home. In all honest I can tell how bad this is for me, I’ve even had a migraine lingering for 6 days so I’ve got to kick my arse into gear! My diet is looking pretty good, I’ve stuck mainly to homemade bread, tried a lot of new recipes (post coming soon about this), my main aim for the next few months is to cut down on crisps and processed biscuits.
And the things I want to make? I’m still to make a decent burger, though with W’s meat grinder and Kitchen Aid being closer to a shared possession means this is looking more likely. I’ve realised baking sweet potato fries will never work, and I’m scared of deep-frying, so I doubt that one will be achieved. I’ve also managed to bake my own pitta breads (so, SO good), and I made hobnobs. Which are almost digestives..:? So I guess I’m not doing too badly!
Lifestyle
The last section (we’ll ignore budgeting until the end of the year as I’ve had no income since!). As ever, it was a resolution of mine to take up running – I did go for a couple of jogs and still developed shin splints. I’m absolutely determined to do it one of these years though! The big one though is keeping the weight off – and I’m pleased to say I managed to do this. I’ve now stopped weighing myself at all and will be going on how my clothes fit.
And that bring me onto my next point! I have finally, finally gone through ALL my clothes and really sorted them out. The result was an embarrassing four bin-bags of bits to a charity shop, 1 bin-bag which is waiting to be Ebay-ed (it’s all unworn bits and bobs), and a plan to get rid of another load once summer is over. I decided to keep the most well-fitting bits (that are only 1 size too big!) of my summer wardrobe and then ditch that on moving to London – though I have treated myself to a few bits recently.
My most important resolution was that I try to remain positive at all times, try to concentrate on the good things, remember the parts of my days that made my smile. I personally (and I think W would agree) that I failed. I was not in a good way throughout a good few months of this year. I was struggling with rejections from job interviews, I was terrified about exams. There were definitely nights where I couldn’t remember a single positive thing about my day. And so this is my resolution for the last half of 2016 – I’ll be concentrating on writing in my line-a-day diary, talking over the good bits of my day with my fiance and making the effort to smile just that bit more. Because so far 2016 has been a good year, so I’m determined to make the most of it!
How has the first half of 2016 treated you? How are you getting on with your resolutions?
