Looking back and forward

I actually meant to write and publish this post yesterday, on December 31st but time went by so quickly, so I'm writing it today.

Yesterday I celebrated New Year's Eve with my boyfriend and his friends. I recently got a cold and didn't feel very well so I went to bed about 2 AM. Despite that it was a very nice evening. Because I only had my mobile phone with me I could not take any proper pictures. I tried to upload some but the resolution is too low to publish here, I'm sorry!

It is the first day of a new year and even though I could do it at any point in the year, it is a day on which I like to reflect on what happened the past year and just think about all the nice things and things that still need improvement. Last year I wrote down some resolutions for 2015 with the note that I would take a look at them just before the end of 2015 to see how far I've come. Let's take a look!

• Be more healthy: This is a thing I am still working on. I have made some progress, though. I spend less money on junk food but I sometimes get tempted to eat something bad, like crisps, and I find such things hard to resist. I have been thinking of limiting myself to junk food at set times each week. For example: I'll have crisps only on Saturdays. If you have any tips on eating healthier, I'd love to hear them!

• Teach myself how to properly paint nails: I haven't been painting my nails a lot to be honest, just for special occasions. Yesterday I painted them in a nice silver colour to match my evening shoes and I only had to paint them once without accidentally covering my fingers with polish as I've done sooo many times. This motivated me to paint my nails more often because it turned out I can paint them!

• Stress less about everything and think positive: Again, this is something I'm still working on. I have been living on my own for almost two months and that really caused some stress. Especially because I moved the same weekend terrorist attacks took place in Paris. I felt so scared. For three weeks I felt a little numb, afraid of terrorist coming to the Netherlands any minute. It was exhausting. Luckily I feel much better now.

• Be a little more outgoing: I still stammer. Some days are worse than others but since I went to a new school and got to meet new people I have been more outgoing. I even compliment strangers on their clothes sometimes. And I don't mind calling people as much as I did before. 

• Get organized: Since I live on my own in a tiny room, I have discovered that I simply have too much stuff for my living space. I also feel restless when it is a mess, I feel so good when I tidy up, clean the place and be able to sleep in a bed that's just been made. I still make a mess of things sometimes but I throw away garbage quicker than I used to do before because I know it makes me feel good.

I feel proud of myself, I might not have achieved the biggest possible goals but one's got to start somewhere, right?

I will work on the same resolutions on this year and I'll see how I did by the end of 2016. If I set too many goals for myself I know I won't be able to catch up with all of them properly so for now I'm just going to be happy, try not to stress about everything and enjoy the little things in life.

Even though I'm a bit late, I'd like to wish you all a wonderful 2016!

with love,

Jip.