Two thousand and sixteen
1. Achieving goals is possible but also damn hard
It has been a dream of mine for many years to move from wee Northern Ireland to England and this was the year I achieved that! 2016 mostly revolved around planning and saving for my big move. I could write a long list of reasons why I moved to England, one of them being more career opportunities. And this is where the 'damn hard' part is explained. Even though I have achieved my goal of moving to England, another massive goal of mine is to get a film/media career/job. This year I have learnt this is much harder than I thought. Some days I think that I will never get the film career I so desperately desire but I also thought the same about moving to England and here I am, writing this in my first little flat in Eastbourne, miles away from home. At the moment I am feel very disheartened by this goal but I am determine to continue to work hard and maybe, possibly, please God, can 2017 be the year I get a full time film job.
As we are on the topic of jobs, this relates to point number 2..
2. Every step is a valuable step to your future
Retail is not for me! I've always known this but sometimes you've got to do what you gotta do! At the start of 2016 I needed to find a retail job to work alongside my freelance work, to help me save for my big move. I hated applying for retail jobs and lying in applications, pretending I really wanted to work with tills rather than cameras. I have had retail jobs throughout the years and hated most of them. I eventually got offered a job in *insert big retail store here* and I was dreading it. I just didn't want to do yet another retail job, as past jobs made me miserable and I expected this one too would destroy my soul. Well how I was so wrong! This year I learnt that not every retail job is awful and this was just the next step in my life. It turned into the best little retail job and my work mates became my second family. Sometimes we have to do dreaded things but not to judge a book (job) by its cover as it may not be as bad as we think! Everything has a purpose; I worked my butt off in that job and every pay day I moved hundreds of pounds into my England savings account. Even though retail is not for me, working that job helped me to progress forward in my life.
3. Relationships - You don't know what happens behind closed doors
That happy looking couple on instagram might not be so perfect behind closed doors. This year I found myself as a shoulder to cry on as my friends opened up and told me about their unhealthy relationships. I saw some of my favourite Youtube couples break up and thinking 'but they were so perfect for each other?!'. This year has opened my eyes to how many people are actually in unhealthy relationships and you really don't know what is going out despite what their social medias say. One friend told me that their partner makes them feel good about 70% of the time!!? Everyone should feel safe, secure and 110% happy in every relationship and friendship in their life. Being with someone who truly loves you is so important. They should never, for a second, make you doubt yourself or their love. That person who makes you feel controlled, leave them. That person who makes you question your beauty, bye bye. That person who makes you feel less than 110% happy, not worth it. With all this is mind, I have realised that I am beyond lucky to have a very healthy relationship with someone who makes me feel truly loved and appreciated.. and who tells me I look beautiful even though I just ate a full pizza to myself and look about 6 months pregnant! I hope 2017 is the year people realise they deserve the very best.
4. Spotify and Halloumi
This year I discovered Spotify and hallouim cheese and they both have changed my life for the better. Yep.. that's all for this point!
5. Northern Ireland vs England
Being a Northern Irish gal living in England, I have learnt a lot about my new country. For example, SOUTHERN RAILWAYS. Southern is the Donald Trump of railways. Yep.. Enough said. England's food does not compare to Northern Irelands. Whilst living here I have realised just how amazing Northern Irelands restaurants, takeaways and food actually are. I miss being able to drive a few minutes down to road to Ramore or go to the shop and buy potato bread or taco sauce. Instead I have replaced potato bread with english muffins and Ramore for Five Guys. I always knew moving away from NI would make me appreciate home more but wow, it has made me fall in love with Northern Ireland. This year I've learnt that Northern Ireland is my beautiful home and even though I adore living in England and I can't wait to spend many years here, I feel so lucky being able to fly back for visits and see the beautiful North Coast coastline, hear the awful but brilliant accents, eat all the food and have all the craic and banter with the locals! English people really are lacking craic and banter, sorry guys!
6. Everyone has their own time
This photo explains what I tried to learn this year and will continue to remind myself throughout 2017.
And there you have. My 6 realisations of 2016. I've had a wonderful year of love, growth, friendship, family, travel and so many memories. At the moment 2017 looks like the year of job searching and bill paying! but hey, at least I have halloumi cheese now!
Beth
