Rounding up the Old Year: 2015

So somehow we managed to survive a whole year!

Again!

Apart from the fact that, of course, that in and of itself deserves a party, I feel like this was actually a pretty good year – there were definitely some lows (very low!) but over all, 2015 is going to go into the books as a good year – and here’s 5 reasons why!

1. I started this blog

As I stated in my first ever mini-blog-post, this is something I’ve wanted to do for ages and only this year managed to gather enough courage for. Not only did I start it, I’ve managed to get quite a bit more than 2000 views in these past 4 months – which is probably nothing in blogging-land, but seems an enormous amount to me!

2. I somehow managed to juggle school, family, and social life – somewhat

I’m not saying I did particularly well (I should probably re-read the part about How Not To Freak Out of my How To Survive College-Series a couple times – or a lot of times), but I managed – somehow. I passed my exams, I didn’t drive my friends and boyfriend mad (or away!) and I’m still alive to tell the story (although the upcoming exams may or may not have me doubting how long that’s going to stay true for).

3. I started sporting again

College was particularly hard on my body – I went from 2 times PE every week, cycling everywhere, and 4 to 6 hours of dance class per week to, well, none of the above, and that, combined with suddenly living on my own (sort of) and something of a medication mishap (I had no idea how much that could influence my weight, let alone how much it would!) resulted in me gaining quite a bit of weight in my first three years of college.
Although I managed to get it somewhat more stable last year, it’s only over the last summer that – with the help of quite some doctors – I finally managed to figure out what exactly was the problem.

I now know I’ll probably never be able to get back to my body how I liked it (I’m telling ya, the medication was huge) but I did figure out how to get it at least to anywhere that…
If nothing else, this whole journey has really made me realise yet again (is there such a thing as re-realise?) that I actually can love sports, as long as it’s not something I feel forced into because I have to look a certain way. Coming to thàt particular discovery was aided A LOT by not having to go it alone (Thank You Sarah!) as well as by having probably the most supportive friends (Thank You Yoni and Leen!) and boyfriend ever!

That’s not to say I always like doing it – far from it, even! But at least I’m going to the fitness, I’m watching what I eat (in a way that’s actually good for my body!) and I’m making sure I move – and I actually like it…

4. I read – quite a bit

Each year, I set myself a reading goal – and since I joined Goodreads, I actually get to do that in more of a formal setting.
This year, as I knew I would have a lot of work for school, I started out with the (for me, at least) modest goal of 100 books. However, I managed to surpass that, and actually hit 150! Not only that, I also joined the PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge and managed to do pretty well on it! (Here’s to hoping I manage to go on like that in 2016)

5. I did new things

I’m one of those people who’s, quite literally, scared of just about everything – especially anything new and, as such, unknown.
This year, however, I tackled a lot of new things – I went on a holiday with friends, I went on a holiday with my bf and sister (no parental supervision! out of the country!), I got over some of my (animal-related) fears, I forced myself to start to learn to talk about what I’m feeling (rather than just expect the other person to know, cuz, you know, that’s bound to end well), made plans for the future (something I find thoroughly petrifying, let me tell you!) and so on and so forth – this blog is, really, only one example of it!