Friday 29 December 2017

Reflections - things I learned from 2017

Here is the second instalment of 2017's Reflection series. If you didn't see the first post - click here.

If you want to see previous posts then the links are below:


Lessons of 2016



  • Always, always, always listen to your gut 
  • It's okay to let people go
  • Tough love actually works
  • I cry at weddings
  • If you let your guard down and people in, you can be rewarded 
  • Despite the above, you do sometimes need to keep your guard up
  • You can still be empathic and a shoulder to cry on without taking on everyone's troubles as if they are your own
  • Every cloud has a silver lining, and with every difficult experience comes a lesson or a little more knowledge about life, yourself and people
  • Be honest when you need help AND ASK FOR IT 
  • Don't get a massage just before exam and revision period
  • First, second and third impressions can be wrong
  • You can miss someone you don't even really know 
  • Imposter syndrome is pandemic 
  • Sometimes you just know when something has to end 
  • If you want something to happen - don't be afraid to go for it
  • Working > studying 
  • Having a place to call home is more important than I realised 
  • I'm ready to stop going to the hospital 
  • I can sorta, kinda "run" a 10k
  • Tea-pickled eggs are not as enjoyable to eat as they are to make 
  • I'm still making rookie mistakes 
  • The idea of someone or something is often better than reality
  • Reality is sometimes better than the idea of something or someone
  • People can disappoint you and let you down
  • You can expect too much from people so you end up feeling disappointed and let down
  • Figuring out what you don't want is as instructive as figuring out what you do want 
  • Puns are a universal language
  • I could be a professional secret keeper 
  • Baked goods are a great ice-breaker 
  • I no longer enjoy Twitter 
  • I will never grow tired of life, or of living 
  • There are a lot of compliments I need to practice accepting 
  • Some people don't want advice, even if they ask for it
  • Some of my favourite people think I'm one of their favourite people too
  • You can be surprised by who your favourite people end up being
  • You can curl your hair with hair-straighteners
  • Storage heaters are more complicated to understand than a law degree
  • I need both the City and the countryside to stay sane
  • Libraries are actually a good place to study
  • I am very lucky 
  • Life is still an incredible, surprising and wonderful thing (and far too much has happened this year for me to neatly sum it up in these lessons)

What life lessons did 2017 bring for you?

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Thursday 28 December 2017

Reflections - some of my favourites of 2017

As I have taken to do at this time of year, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the past year. Two posts will follow - this one of some of my favourite things of 2017, and another one on things I've learned in the last year (coming soon). I will try not repeat too many of the same things from previous years' posts, but be warned there may be a few similar!

If you want to see previous posts then the links are below:


Lessons of 2016

As I said last year (and the year before)...without further ado, and in the immortal words of Julie Andrews, these are a few of my favourite things (from 2017)...

  • Red wine
  • Reunions
  • Rooftop bars in London
  • Walking - both for perspective and health
  • End of exams - especially if someone else pays for a celebratory lunch
  • Getting braver, and going for what I want
  • Polaroid pictures 
  • My friends and family 
  • An actual cat burglar 
  • Re-watching my 1SecondEveryday videos 
  • Playing join-the-dots with freckles
  • Pimms/Beer/Cider/Picnics at the cricket
  • Impromptu plans - although I don't think you can actually plan anything that is impromptu...
  • Being a pedant - see above
  • Trying (and failing) to (temporarily) dye my hair purple
  • Friends trekking across London to provide sustenance of more than one kind
  • Texts that start with, "Do you want to come round to mine for dinner?" and end with "I'll cook".
  • Staycations
  • FINALLY getting free coffee(s) at Pret
  • Kumquats
  • Telling stories about kumquats
  • Being teased about my stories of kumquats
  • Puns - forever and always one of the ways to my heart
  • Well-timed, freshly-boiled kettles
  • Good grammar
  • Good manners
  • "Good morning"s
  • Good referencing - in life, not just in essays
  • Making time for self-care
  • Sheet masks
  • Yoga – especially Child’s Pose
  • Early nights
  • Late nights
  • A dazzlingly coloured wireless speaker
  • The Eiffel Tower light show
  • Being the hostess
  • Being the hosted 
  • Being mistaken for a Parisian
  • Being afraid of an answer, but asking anyway
  • Robing rooms and court rooms (as always)
  • Having one of my idols as a mentor
  • The notification "xxxx has tagged you in a comment/post"
  • Voice notes
  • Screenshots and a flurry of messaging
  • Still having more favourites than not, despite a roller-coaster of a year
...and so much more...

What are your favourite things of 2017?