I am struggling to decide whether or not 2017 was good or bad overall, and I think I have come to the conclusion that there is no right or wrong answer for this. I mean, I got dumped twice and failed my driving test 3 times - but I also got a new job, had some amazing weekends with friends and been to a couple of (very) different festivals.
Sit tight kids and grab yourselves a drink and some snacks, this post is going to be a long one!
The year started with a plan that I was convinced was set in stone, I signed up for the gym and booked driving lessons, with a plan to increase my fitness and pass my driving test before I left the age of 21. I'm now 22 and a half and I still can't drive, my test has been rebooked for the 4th time and is rapidly approaching, so hopefully, I can pull my finger out and control my nerves for 45 minutes this time.
It was also in January when I gave myself a goal to be out of my post-uni job and into a new one by the end of may, and I actually achieved this one!
In April I got to scratch another place off of the map when Leanne and I visited Berlin, we slept a lot, drank copious amounts of cocktails, stared at cute waiters and visited photobooths so many more times than neccessary, but depite not falling in love with Berlin the way I have with other cities, I had the best weekend celebrating with one of my oldest friends - we have since decided that we are going to carry on with our tradition of not buying each other birthday and christmas presents and instead go on city breaks.
May was one of the most hectic months for me, it started when I went to go and see John Mayer at the o2 in London (where we actually almost missed him and I had to run from the Emirates airline cable cars to the arena carrying my shoes and trying to down my drink at the same time.) Shortly after that, I had an interview for a new job and then subsequently left my safe and stable job in the vineyard where I wasn't completely happy. I handed in my notice two days before my birthday and three days before I went away for a long weekend, so I wasn't there for much longer after that.
My birthday was brilliant, I headed to LCC in Islington with a gang of friends, before going to watch more friends play some alrightish music (i'm kidding, Mowbeck are bloody awesome and you should check them out!)
The day after my birthday I headed up to Stratford-upon-Avon for the night before we flew to Dublin for a few days of shenanigans, which included beach trips, the leprechaun museum and surprise surprise, more photobooth visits!
June saw the start of my new job and I was convinced I was making the wrong choice at first. I started my new job two days after the Borough Market terror attack and despite using the tubes in London all the time, for the first month of commuting, I was terrified that something may happen. I was suspicious of everyone and had regular panic attacks on the tube, despite not having one for a long time prior to this.
However, i pushed on, got through the 3 hour round trip to the office and sure enough, fell in love with writing magazine article for a living, Writing is one of my biggest loves and to be able to say that I could do that full time as a job was a surreal experience!
July came with a severe lack of energy, so much so that I almost fell asleep in Ikea one day, so I headed to the doctors and was completely unsurprised to find that I had a b12 deficiency. We are still working on it, and it's taking it's time to fix because despite the NHS being amazing, it does take a long time to get an appointment with a specialist!
However, I also went to 2000 Trees in July and, despite going to bed early a lot because I was so tired, I had one of the best weekends of my life.
The weather was absolutely amazing, I saw some of my favourite bands play, discovered new artists that I now absolutely love, and got to do it all with my two best friends by my side, for the first time since we graduated in 2016.
The late August bank holiday will forever go down as one of my favourite weekends of the year, a group of us met up in London in glorious weather, went for lunch, went shopping and then headed to the Queen Elizabeth park for drinks and nibbles, before heading back into town the next day for brunch and round two, Demi had a gig, and I drank all of the prosecco (literally, I think I was nearing on 3 bottles) and then complained to our Addison Lee driver on the way home that guys are rubbish and I don't need them in my life because I hate them all, except for him because he was nice enough to drive us home.
I know.
Tragic.
My friend Josh did write a song about the entire experience though so swings and roundabouts! I have always said that I would like a song written about me!
However August wasn't all fun and games, as I failed my driving test for the first time in 2017, before going on to fail another two times before the year was out.
The next few months whizzed by in a blur of driving lessons and working without much ceremony, when all of a sudden December was upon us.
I made several bad decisions in December, none of which I will go into in great detail, but it mainly includes me being irresponsible and messing things up with people that I really wish I hadn't. On multiple occasions. However, I have tried to make amends and can only hope that these people allow me back into their lives, and I know I'll have to work hard to rectify mistakes!
Christmas soon rolled around and this year, I really wasn't feeling it! It may have been because my brother and I have now grown up, or it may have been because we simply weren't spending it with our family in Yorkshire like we normally do. However, I got some amazing gifts (hello DNA testing kit, time to find out where I'm really from!) and had quite possibly the best Christmas dinner I have ever had!
New Year's Eve this year was a complete contrast to the previous year, as I was with my mum's side of the family for it for the first time since the millennium. We played games, we had the annual quiz and we drunk probably a bit too much, but I had the best time ever and can't wait until I get to see them all again
In December my internship officially came to an end, and whilst I am still writing for the magazine on a freelance part-time basis, I have no idea what my next chapter will entail; I do however know that it will include some more tattoos so sorry Jan, but it's happening at some point!
Thank you for everyone that has persisted with this blog over the past year, I hit my goal amount of reads despite not really writing anything for months and I absolutely promise that in 2018 you will be hearing from me a lot more!
Thank you if you have read this far down, I know I can ramble on!
C'ya!
Emily xo
