Blogmas Day 7: The 'Look What I Did' List

I am a sucker for a resolution. I know there’s a bit of scrutiny involved and some people don’t really get the whole ‘new year, new me’ thing, but I totally do. I love do-overs and I kind of get my housemate when she said it’s like a Monday but on a huge scale. It’s a time to start a fresh, forget about the plights of the year before and throw yourself into the first one. The root of the problem is when people beat themselves up about failing their new years resolutions- don’t hate yourself for failing, try again or set mini goals, or most importantly, don’t take resolutions too seriously! 

This year however, I have a counterpart to my resolutions which will be coming towards the end of the month. The other night when we had our house Christmas, we all talked about what we’d achieved in 2015, and it actually made me struggle to think. I didn’t have a bad year by any means, but I couldn’t pin point to things I’d done which I was proud of, or which I would call a ‘success’. So today, I’m writing my ‘Look What I Did’ list, because I did do things I’m proud of in 2015, and I think everybody should have one of these lists to reflect on and feel that little bit more self-accomplished. I may not have lost 5 stone and turned into a Lily Collins look alike, but 2015 was pretty great anyway.

1. I cut out coffee- Last year I resolved to buy only one coffee a week, and by the fifth of January I had failed. But slowly and steadily I started to cut down, and by April of this year, I stopped drinking coffee altogether. For somebody who’s blood type used to be espresso, this is quite the achievement. And although I can’t turn down the occasional Starbucks Toffee Nut Latte, going from a 4-coffees-a-day diet to a 1 or 2 a week at Christmas time, is a huge success for me.

2. I got through first year- There was a point in my life where people (including me) didn’t think I’d even make it to university, let alone get to second year with a high 2:1 average and a couple of Firsts under my belt. I’ve still got a long way to go before graduating and second year has hit like a ton of bricks, but I’m well on my way now.

3. I moved into my first house- Student house admittedly, but the last 3 months have seen me put salt in the dishwasher, dismantle and put together furniture and watch far too much Don’t Tell the Bride.

4. I represented my uni in sports teams- Growing up, I was probably the least sporty person known to man. I’d write fake notes to get out of PE, I’d purposely forget my kit, and every swimming lesson was my time of the month. But over my gap year I started going to the gym a bit more. I always knew I’d play netball, having loved it from such a young age and in March this year I played on the courts at the Copper Box part of the Olympic Stadium. Then, after a drunken conversation with my friend Fleur, I promised her I’d try out for our university football club. Turns out I’m not actually that bad at it, have represented the university, met some amazing people and conquered my fear of mortally embarrassing myself at trials along the way.

5. I got a new job- In January of this year, the weight of my overdraft caused me to search for a part time job whilst at university. I applied to Pearls, a bubble tea company with a branch on campus, I had an interview on the Tuesday and by the Friday I was asked to join the team. There is a lot of competition for Pearls and because the brand is so particular about the type of person they want representing the product, there’s a lot more chance of being turned down than getting a job. I learnt all of the bubble tea methods (trust me, there’s a lot) and have a whole new group of friends.

6. I became Scary Spice- I can’t round up my achievements without mentioning myself and my 5 best friends turning into the Spice Girls. And doing a cracking job of it.

7. I learnt the London tube routes- I’ve always grown up feeling very at home in London. My parents used to take me and my sister into the city when we were younger and trains or tubes never frightened me, but I never had to use them enough to bother learning the system. Now, I live just outside of London and go in there frequently enough that over the last year, I’ve gotten to know the lines and what goes where. For a non-Londoner, this is a huge achievement. They should award us medals.

8. I taught myself how to cook and bake- At the beginning of 2014 I couldn’t cook pasta. Now look at me, cakes galore, recipes everywhere, I’ve also made a cracking green thai curry. The blog posts from Italy of my failed attempts at cooking are a thing of the past- hello, I made a three layer rainbow cake at Easter!

9. I went to my first premiere- Is this an achievement? Maybe not. But it's definitely something I can show off about a bit. 

10. I grew Alice's Antics- In the blogging world, I bought my own domain, I grew my followers by 300 people, I started being sponsored and working with brands and I fell in and out of love with blogging several times. Next year my goal is to reach over 1000 subscribers, because my blog is read my friends and family a lot, my readership is high but my follower count isn't, so this year I want to evolve Alice's Antics as a brand. But I definitely didn't do too badly in 2015 considering how much my post count lowered from 2014! 

I highly recommend a Look What I Did list to anyone and everyone, focusing on what you did do this year instead of what you want to do or reinventing the things you didn't! It's highly unlikely you went through the year without any achievements and those things you did achieve should absolutely be shouted about.

Ciao for Now!

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