I have never actually made a new year’s resolution in my life (aside from trying to con my way out of vegetables as a child – ‘no mum I can’t eat broccoli it’s my new year’s resolution’), but this year the change in the calendar seems to have coincided with a general feeling of personal evolution for me. 2015 is inevitably going to be a year of quite vast change; right now I’m half way through my final year of university meaning that, provided all goes to plan, I will be graduating this summer. I almost feel that writing this now, in January, is premature, because little will change for me in the next 5 or 6 months, but with the new year coming in one can’t help but get a bit swept up in resolutions and dramatic life change proposals and all those other rather silly things.
Anyway I digress, the main point is that 2015 will be the first year in my living memory that I won’t be in education, which is frankly terrifying. I will certainly be sad to leave university but I am looking forward to finishing my degree (I have considered post-graduate study, I think I’m going to at least have a year off first), however I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to (or even what I want to) do come the summer. This combined with being consciously aware that I am changing and evolving as a person at the moment is just the strangest feeling, and I think writing this post is a way for me to get my head around that, and to have some evidence of how I thought or hoped my year might go to look back on come the end of it. I also hope it might give some of you some ideas or inspiration, if you’re feeling a little stuck in limbo like I am! Here are my life resolutions for 2015:
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TravelI’m starting with this because it’s all I’ve been thinking about as of late. I’m not sure I’ll get the opportunity to travel until the summer (although fingers crossed a European trip around spring could be on the cards), but I just want to experience as many different places as I possibly can whilst still young and lacking in responsibilities. I was incredibly lucky with travel in 2014; in May I had a weekend in Belgium seeing Title Fight and visiting Antwerp and Brussels, I went to France (specifically Paris and Lyon) and briefly Switzerland (a day in Geneva before flying home) with my family, to Florida for Fest with my friends in October/November, and then back to Paris again at the end of November. 2014 has cemented the idea that travelling isn’t as big a deal as I had previously thought. Before visiting the US alone (I was with friends not entirely by myself, but by this I mean that I was in a position of responsibility when travelling whereas previously I had left everything to my parents) I built it up to be a much bigger and scarier thing than it really is. A long flight isn’t exactly fun, but it really isn’t that bad either, and flying alone (we all flew alone due to having other things going on both at home and in America) is actually quite pleasant. By the end of 2015 I’m hoping to have done at least one European trip and gone back to the US twice: I have rough plans to travel around it (or at least the east coast) for as long as I can afford to as soon as I finish my exams in the summer; and my friends and I will almost certainly go back to Florida in October/November for Fest as we honestly had the best time.
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Stop eating meatThis is an easy one – I have been eating ‘less’ meat for some weeks now, but as of a few days after Christmas I haven’t eaten any, and so I guess it’s an obvious thing to ‘resolve’ to continue with throughout 2015. I’ve never really made a commitment like this before, but it is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. The majority of my friends are either vegetarian or vegan, and there’s no question in my mind that they (particularly those who are vegan) are the ones who are morally in the right both with regards to animal rights and the planet in general, I’ve just never had the inclination or selflessness to make steps towards that myself. I hope I can keep this up!
- Read more for fun
Another relatively straightforward and more typical new years resolution – save for a few books read on holidays, I’ve hardly read for fun since school and that is really sad. I’d mainly like to explore more classic authors (of all kinds – novels, short stories and poetry) because I have read shamefully few. I think this one is quite achievable, and alongside it I’m going to make a conscious effort to improve my writing too (perhaps with some more posts of this nature, rather than a constant stream of ‘I like this outfit because it is nice’). -
Enjoy lifeI guess this is the big one. I think that travel is part and parcel of this and is the main means by which I intend to enjoy myself this year, but I don’t really want to ‘go travelling’ in the *gap yah* sense for months on end and so I would like to enjoy myself when at home too. Thus, I am very concerned with not spending my time fretting about what to do with my life. As you may or may not know prior to reading this post, my degree is in law, and whilst I absolutely have not written off a career in that field as it is still one that interests me deeply, I want to focus on my blog and the more fashion and writing related sphere of my interests whilst I am still mildly relevant (ha). On a side-note, I’m in the process of writing a (less feels-y, you might be pleased to hear) ‘blogging resolutions’ post in which I’ll talk more specifically about what I’m hoping to do with my blog this year! In summary, once I’ve finished university I want to spend some time learning and doing for the pure fun of it, not because I have to or because I’m working towards another goal, or because it will look good on my CV. If I can successfully balance the practical need to earn money with this in 2015, then I think I will be happy.
some great resolutions! travel is definitely a huge one for me also and well done eating less meat! i've tried and failed so many times haha 🙂
Rachel // Style Soup
Love this post! Really like your new theme as well! x
Joanne // Fashion Polaroids
Wow, you traveled loads last year! I didn't go anyway (due to money issues), so I am hoping to go to some places after I graduate like you. Hope I can save up enough!
The Velvet Black // UK Style & Beauty Blog
Great post and really interesting to read hun! I feel exactly the same right now, knowing that it's a big year of change (I finish my PhD this year) and it is strange. I agree with the travel one, I've definitely been itching to explore places in the last year and hope to do more of it in the future. I'm also cutting down on meat a dairy, although I'd struggle to cut it out completely as I'm already gluten intolerant so I'd be left with nothing haha!
Good luck in all that you do, I hope your final year of uni is enjoyable and successful, I'm sure it will be!
Rosy xxxx
http://www.rostinted.com
Really beautifully put and interesting read Hannah – we are rooting for you <3
Sounds like you're in for a good year! I'm not sure what I'm going to do after my degree either but hopefully things will work themselves out. Good luck with your last semester at Uni. xx
A Fashion Tale // UK Fashion & Lifestyle Blog
I'm in exactly the same boat in that I graduate in the summer and have yet to really get my head around it. It was brilliant to read the same thoughts from someone else. 🙂 x
katedruryy.blogspot.co.uk
I'm actually a big fan of setting New Year's resolutions–I like looking back on them and seeing if I stuck to, well, any of them haha. Yours seem very achievable and I wish you the best of luck! 🙂 Some of ours coincide, although as much as I'd love to travel this year, it doesn't seem to be in the cards but I am saving up for traveling next year.
Amber | Lovely Notions
Excellent resolutions. Loving the new blog banner!
FEELING VAGUE
I've just written a strangely similar post about half an hour before I found yours. I graduated last summer and have really been struggling with my desire to travel and do things I genuinely enjoy, while watching my friends achieve in their high-flying careers. Like you, I rarely make resolutions but felt like 2015 really needed to be a year of change.
Your plan to do the east coast of American is an absolute dream!
Rosie
thirdtimearoundblog.blogspot.co.uk
This post has so much relevance to my 2015 (and life!) resolutions, and it's so well written. Although I try and save eating meat for special occasions, I'm not quite strong-willed enough to cut it out completely so I really admire you on that one. Best wishes for 2015!
http://cequisuit.blogspot.com
Travel will forever and always be on my list, no matter how much I do! Good luck with everything at Uni! x
http://cherieedle.blogspot.co.uk/
Love this post. It's so true and well-written! I definitely look forward to more of these wordy posts from you guuurl.
The Glitter Den
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Giving up meat is one of the best choices I ever made, I've been veggie for 8 years. Make sure you get your iron though, even meat eaters don't always get enough! I love more wordy posts too!
sheepishlyshameful.blogspot.co.uk
I love your more chatty style blogs, and your new banner is gorgeous too 🙂 Good luck, especially with the "no meat" one.
we rise & we fall | Poppy
http://www.pr0binson.blogspot.co.uk
xo
Great resolutions, I've also said I'm going to try eat a lot less meat but not put a title on it so it's a little more casual!
lucy xx