There are New Year New Me posts flying around all over the place – Peoples goals for 2017, have they achieved what they wanted in 2016, changes they want to make in the New Year, blogging goals for 2017 and so on…. I decided that I didn’t want to write one of those posts, mainly because I try and stay clear from popular posts as I think mine will just get lost amongst the thousands of others out there. Then yesterday out of the blue I decided I wanted to write one, not for anyone else, but just for me. I really don’t care if this is read or not but I had a desire to write which is very unlike me. 2016 has been, how can I put it… an odd year for me. Not great, not bad, just very odd and along that journey I have learnt quite a few things.
Things never go as you plan
I’m a control freak, I know that. I like to plan everything and my life revolves around my very busy schedule. By planning I feel in control and ready for anything my hectic life throws at me, but do you know what, life doesn’t go to plan….. I had all sorts of ideas about where I would be and what I would be doing by 34 years old and pretty much none of them have worked out. I’ve tried so hard to put things into place so they could, but sometimes things just don’t and you have to accept that and not let it turn your world upside down when things don’t work out. Plan for the future, but know you can’t plan everything.
You can never really trust anyone
Some people may disagree with me on this one, but I have said this for years and 2016 cemented it for me. You can never really trust anyone but yourself. Life and circumstances change people, feelings change and therefore so can their actions. You can’t say that anyone in your life will 100% be there for you forever, I don’t believe it. You can hope they will and you may be one of the lucky ones where it does happen. I hope you are, but from my experience you can never really trust anyone but yourself.
Life is more fun with pink hair
On a spare of the moment whim (very unlike me) I dyed my hair pink this summer and I flipping loved it!! As strange as it sounds I suddenly felt more confident with pink hair and random people in he street would stop me to tell me they liked it. It also made me feel different (in a good way) and if I’m honest a little bit cool…. because all the people I know who have brightly coloured hair are really cool! Unfortunately I dyed it back blonde for my job and lost my “coolness”, but if my circumstances ever change again and I can go pink again I wouldn’t hesitate!
True friends reveal themselves…. eventually
This year has revealed that people who I thought were real friends really aren’t. Someone told me the other day that maybe my friend’s standards just aren’t the same as mine. If that’s the case I don’t want them in my life. I expect to be treated how I treat others, and if some people don’t do that then why would I want to be friends with them?? Some of these so called “friends” have been in my life for years and I thought we were very close, but I’ve learnt that they aren’t as good as friends as I thought they were. I think I’m just their friend when it’s convenient to them, well 2017 will see me caring less about these friends and giving more time to the people who treat me right.
Bloggers can be a fickle bunch….
The blogging world really is a whole other world and unless you’re in it you really don’t understand it. It’s very intense and bloggers build relationships with other bloggers very easily as it’s nice to have someone who relates to you. But for whatever reason it seems someone who can be your friend one minute and pay you a lot of attention, isn’t the next. You see constant indirect tweets, you hear of WhatsApp fall outs and awkwardness at events. I’ve heard this happen so many times and to be honest it scares me. I’m not sure if its jealously, petty fall outs, misunderstandings or what, but I’m very aware it goes on. It’s bizarre as I never see this sort of behavior amongst my friends so it’s all new to me, and I was never aware of it in the blogging world until this year.
But they can also be the most supportive people out there
On the flip side bloggers are some of the most supportive people I know and I couldn’t have got through this year without their encouragement. Unfortunately I don’t have a great deal of support from my family regarding my blogging because they just don’t get it, but I’ve encountered so many awesome bloggers who continually support what I do.
Whether it’s a #FF, tweeting about a blog post they liked, replying to my snaps or commenting on my Insta pics I’m so grateful of it all and it’s what has kept me going. Not to mention the biggest support of all they gave me this year was voting for me in the 30 Plus Blog Awards so I won Highly Commended! Like, Wow!!
I put this tweet out earlier this year: “I love how complete strangers in the blogging community are so complimentary and encouraging. More so than your “friends” on Facebook!” It got 248 likes and 47 ReTweets, so I think you all agree with me on this one!
Friends are the family you pick for yourself
I’ve had multiple conversations about family over these past few weeks because if there is going to be a time when your family rub you up the wrong way its going to be Christmas! Some people are blessed with a loving family who they really get on well with and others unfortunately aren’t. There isn’t much you can do about it, so your friends are the family you choose for yourself. I’m extremely lucky that I have friends that check in to see I’m Ok, cook me dinner (as I’m a terrible cook), make me laugh and inspire me to be a better person. Make sure you pick yours wisely.
You might never be a good enough blogger but that’s OK
I haven’t been blogging long, but in the short space I have, I have seen it become more and more competitive. So competitive I’m not sure I can compete. I don’t really have a strong USP (unique selling point – sorry marketing spiel!), I joined the blogging game pretty late, I don’t have a model physic, I’m a crap writer and can’t pose for toffee. At the end of 2016 I remembered why I started blogging and that was to help other peoples buying decisions. It’s quite easy to get wrapped up in the whirl wind of blogging and forget why you started. So even if I’m not ever deemed as a great blogger, even if I don’t get any bigger I’m Ok with that, because I never went into this wanting anything more than to just enjoy it and share my experiences. If I’m doing that, I’m doing OK.
Selfless people do exist
2016 has made me realise there are some truly amazing selfless people out there who do things just to be nice and not to get anything in return. I had the lovely Angela send me Christmas presents because she knew otherwise I would have had none to open on Christmas Day, and sent me some flowers for my Birthday. We have never met! Sarah, who is one of my followers on Instagram not only got hold of the MAC Mariah Carey powder for me that was insanely hard to purchase, but also sent me some lovely birthday gifts. Again we have never met. Chloe sent me some beautiful Christmas presents to thank me for being her friend – I did not send her anything! Oh and I didn’t write this to be all braggy.. Like “look how much I got sent”… I just literally can’t believe that people would be that nice…. to me. I can’t help or benefit these girls in any way, so for them to spend their hard earned cash on me to make me happier really makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
I don’t want this to seem like a depressive post, as I haven’t wrote it in that mind set but in a way this post was a little bit therapeutic. I hope whatever 2016 brought you, that 2017 is even better for you all.
Lots of love
