6 Month Update: Goals for 2018.

Hello everyone. So it's been a little while since I last posted, I just really fell out of love with blogging. Not only have I not been feeling the whole blog vibes, I've been so busy too. In February I wrote a post about all the goals I had wanted to achieve in 2017 and whether I had achieved them and then I wrote one saying what my goals were for 2018 that I had written on January 1st. 

So I thought I'd update you on my goals and whether I have achieved any of them...

What were my goals for 2018?

- Go to the Harry Potter Studios. 
- Pass my practical driving test. 
- Insure my car for the year. 
- Start my Foundation Degree in Early Years.
- Go to a Spa. 
- Get a new childcare job. 
- Decorate my bedroom so that it has a desk.
- Go to at least 2 concerts. 
- Start the Gym. 
- Get a Tattoo. 

What have I achieved so far?

Well I have to say, I've achieved most of my goals already and had done within the first few months of 2018.

I went to the Harry Potter Studios back in January and it was great. This trip is bittersweet for me, as it was sort of the end of a 2 year friendship but I'm not going to dwell on it too much because I'm finally over the whole situation and it has took me months. 

I finally passed my practical driving test! I am so unbelievably happy that I finally did it. I was meant to do my test in December but then when I went they didn't have an examiner for me so it got cancelled and then it got rescheduled for the next day but then it got cancelled again because of the snow. They then booked me in for 23rd February 2018, baring mind I'd been waiting since 23rd November 2017, so as you can imagine I was not impressed. After stressing to my driving instructor that my 1 month car insurance was going to run out on the 13th February, she managed to swap a few things around and I finally ended up taking my test on 31st January 2018. I was so happy and ready to do it. I came away with 6 minors and passed 3rd time lucky. 

After passing my test, I came home and insured my car for the year straight away and I was so happy about it because it is something I had saved for, for a very long time. 

I started a new childcare job in April 2018, I had been doing supply work in a school for about a month and it was at the school I'd previously worked at but it just wasn't working out for me and I felt miserable. I finally went for a few interviews and got a job in a Nursery. I absolutely adore my new job and it has definitely kept me busy these last few months. 

I finally managed to decorate my bedroom and it now has a desk and it just feels more homely and practical. I saved up for all my new furniture and then ventured off to Ikea and then I painted my room myself. It took a week to sort it but I was so happy. 

I have been to 2 concerts this year. I went to see Paramore at the O2 in London in January when I went to London and I went to see Taylor Swift in Manchester on 8th June 2018. Both amazing concerts and worth the money but that is all my concerts for this year done. 

I started the gym as I have been training for my Pretty Muddy 5k event that I did on the 7th July 2018. Having raised over £1,600 I'm so proud of myself. So yes, I started the gym but since doing my event, I have cancelled my gym membership. I went to the gym from February to July. 

What haven't I achieved so far?

Start my foundation degree in early years - I start this in September and I'm feeling quite nervous about going back into education after having a gap year. 

Go to a Spa - I haven't yet managed to book to go away to a spa but i'm tempted to do that for my birthday in October but we will have to see. 

Get a tattoo - After craving getting a tattoo for so long, I actually don't think I want one anymore. I'm not sure why, but it's not really something that appeals to me at this moment. I might change my mind in the future but right now, I'm not bothered so I'm going to cross this off my list.

I have some goals already lined up for 2019 too. 

What are your goals for 2018?

What I Wanted To Achieve in 2017 and What I Want to Achieve in 2018...

Link

Hello everyone, I hope you're all well. It's been a busy few weeks for me recently and so I haven't really had the chance to just sit down and write. Although, I knew in my head that I wanted to write this post. Now we are nearly into mid February now but at the start of January I sat down and reflected on everything I had wanted to achieve last year in 2017 and moving on from that, what I wanted to achieve this year. I think it's quite important to set goals, I'm quite a self driven person and so by having goals, I'm able to motivate myself.

So last year, what did I want to achieve?

- Go to London.
- Go to a Concert.
- Harry Potter Studios.
- Buy my first car.
- Pass my theory.
- Pass my practical driving test.
- Finish College.
- Apply for a University Course.
- Save and go on Holiday.
- Get a job in a school.

What did I manage to achieve?

Go to London

I managed to tick this off at the beginning of 2017. I went to London on Saturday 14th January till Sunday 15th January for one of my work friend's birthday. She was 18 and so we all went down to London and it was a really nice weekend, we went to go see Thriller Live in the West End which was incredible and we also went to London Dungeons, which I thought I would be petrified of. Overall it didn't cost too much either and so it was a very successful weekend.

Go to a Concert

I managed to tick this off in March 2017. I had never been to a concert before and so I booked to go see Olly Murs at Sheffield Arena. I went on the 11th March 2017 and me and my auntie stayed over in Sheffield for the night, it was a great concert and I enjoyed seeing him live. I was lucky enough to go to another concert last year and that was to go see Ed Sheeran. I honestly can't believe I've seen him live and he was absolutely incredible. I went to see him in Nottingham. Me and 2 of my friends at the time went to Nottingham on the 24th April 2017 and we saw Ed Sheeran on 25th April. We stayed over in Nottingham for 2 nights and it was the first time I'd ever been there too. It was a memory I will never forget and I'm so glad I got to do it.

Buy My First Car

I did this on the 10th October 2017. I honestly can't believe I own my own car. I had been looking at cars for months and months, waiting for the day that I could finally go ahead and buy it. I say buy, I've had to get my car on finance for the next 3 years but it is still my car that I pay for every month. I have done this on my own and have paid for everything by myself and I'm so proud of myself as this is a huge achievement. I have worked so hard for over a year and half to be able to get my car on finance and have enough saved for my insurance, when the day comes that I finally pass my driving test. I actually had my first driving test on this date but I failed and went home crying and then took the plunge and bought my first car. Some call it retail therapy but honestly I just wanted to have my car. Since buying my car, I insured it for temporary insurance so every month I kept paying to have a 1 month insurance on my car so that I could go out in it with someone next to me as long as they held a licence and was over 21. I went out in my car a few times and I think this ultimately helped me gain confidence with driving. I should probably tell you all what car I actually own...I own a mint green Fiat 500 and I absolutely adore it.

Pass My Theory

 

On the 3rd attempt I finally passed my theory test. I found this really difficult and it was something that really stressed me, but I kept trying. I finally managed to pass my theory on 20th April 2017 and it was a huge relief for me.

Finish College

As you may or may not know for 2 years I was at college studying my BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Children's Play, Learning and Development (EYE). After more stress than I care to recall, from the having to resit my GCSE maths twice, to the 10 assignments I'd have to complete in 2 weeks, it really did at time test me. There was many tears and disagreements and overall I just hated college. I loved my course but the environment and people at college were not my favourite. I finally got told I was free on 11th May 2017 even though I finished all my college assignments and work on 21st March 2017. Overall though I was happy with all the hard work I had put in and managed to get D*D*D*.

Apply for a University Course

Now, this one was a tricky one for me. In the end, I have decided not to go to University as such but I am going to be studying my Foundation Degree in Early Years this September. I am going back to college to do this and then I will go on to do my Primary Education with QTS at University for 18 months. I know this is going to test me and be the hardest thing I will ever do but I know in the end it will be so worth it and will get me to where I want to be in life.

Save and Go on Holiday

I actually managed to save up and pay for myself to go on holiday last year. I went to Gran Canaria, I had never been and it was only my second holiday abroad. It was a holiday I was really looking forward to for months as I booked it back in May/June time last year. On the upcoming weeks to my holiday, there had been a lot of things going on in my life, friendships had broken down, I had cried A LOT, Work was stressing me out and I had the worst 19th birthday ever. By the time it got round to my holiday I was just ready to go and get away for a bit and try and de-stress. Little did I know that 2 days into my holiday my nana (who I live with and am very close to) got rushed into hospital. How I found out was not how I had planned and the whole situation was horrible to be honest. I found out in the end that my nana was in intensive care and she had sepsis and pneumonia in her right lung and we just kept getting bad news after bad news. We were meant to be on holiday for 11 days but we came home early so that we could be with my nana. I had 5 more days abroad before I was able to fly home from finding out my nana and I spent those 5 days being miserable to be honest. I stayed indoors and just cried constantly. So my month had already been going from bad to worse.

Got a Job in a School

Finally, I managed to get a temporary job in a school as a 1:1 Teaching Assistant. I really loved this role and finished at this school at Christmas. I worked with an Autistic boy who I miss a lot and it was a great learning curve for me.

So what did I not achieve in 2017?

- I didn't pass my practical driving test, even though I attempted it twice last year.
- I didn't manage to go to the Harry Potter Studios.

What do I want to Achieve in 2018?

- Go to the Harry Potter Studios.
- Pass my practical driving test.
- Insure my car for the year.
- Start my Foundation Degree in Early Years.
- Go to a Spa.
- Get a new childcare job.
- Decorate my bedroom so that it has a desk.
- Go to at least 2 concerts.
- Start the Gym.
- Get a Tattoo.

I'm sure it will be very interesting to see what I achieve this year. I was actually really surprised that I achieved so much last year and did so many things I never thought I would.

Here's to 2018!

 

 

Where Have I Been?

So where have I been? I last wrote a blog post on the 22nd August 2016, which is actually crazy. I never thought it was actually that long since I published content on my blog. For the past couple of weeks, I've really been thinking about my blog and how I really miss making content and the interaction that I used to have when I blogged. I really miss exploring other blogs, writing comments and connecting with the blogging community. My last post was all about taking the plunge and starting my driving lessons and it's weird to think that I've still not passed my driving test. If anyone would like a post about my driving lesson experience, let me know in the comments.

I have really been reflecting on quite a few things recently and one of the things I've been thinking about is, why I stopped blogging. In August 2016, I was going to start my second year of College, studying my Level 3 in Childcare whilst resitting my GCSE Maths too. I had a lot of stress and pressures going on in my life at the point, I worked a part time job where I was actually working 25-30 hours a week, as well as doing my placements, college, my assignments and learning to drive. I put a lot of pressure on myself and blogging sort of took a back step. I really regret letting it take a back step because blogging is something I love and adore doing.

Over the last 19 months, a lot of things have happened, at one point I ended up having 2 jobs and worked over 60 hours a week combined. I've done some amazing things; I went to concerts, I went on holiday and I learned to love my life. My life only really became unhappy again around October 2017 and since then it's been very rocky.

That is why I have decided to start my blog up again, write content that I love and hopefully be accepted back into the blogging community and be a part of something great.

Let me know in the comments, what content you would like to see.