Capturing 2016

2016 has been a bloody whirlwind... wait no, not a whirlwind - a monstrous hurricane, with an off-the-scale earthquake and a lil tsunami thrown in on the side. This year it seems like the whole world has had to take a necessary step back to reflect on the huge events that have taken place. It's hard to overlook the political turmoil and humanitarian crises which have dominated the year, but I'm a newly converted believer in silver linings and the importance of finding inner peace - so I'm here to reflect on the highlights of the year and give myself praise where praise is due for making it such a memorable one. Please, don't roll your eyes at me as I fall victim to that cliché saying: 

"it's been a year of highs and lows..." 

...and blah, blah, blah - because it really has been and I think I need a hug. I've packed a lot of special moments into the past 347 days (and counting) and I thought it would be a nice idea to compile them into a blog post to celebrate the end of what has been the most challenging, exciting, terrifying, sad and happy year of my life. 

JANUARY - NEW YORK

The year got off to a good start as I jetted across the world to New York for four days at the beginning of January. The whole trip was put together quite last-minute by my university and with a few spare places available, I made the spontaneous decision to go and explore a city I've long dreamed of visiting. I ate an authentic New York salmon and cream cheese bagel, mastered the art of the pedestrian crossing/traffic light system, got caught in a blizzard at the top of the Empire State building and basically just fell more and more in love with every passing minute. I've never felt more instantly 'at home' in a new place than I did in New York and I really hope next year brings me back for another adventure. I've felt the city's magnetic force and now I can feel it pulling me back everyday.

JULY - INTERRAIL TRIP AROUND EUROPE

It wasn't easy to choose just one particular moment from my month abroad in July because every moment makes my heart so happy, but I think I've made a good choice with this snap during my time in Budapest of what felt like the most special place in the entire city. I visited the Fisherman's Bastion everyday, watching the world go by and feeling SO happy to be doing something I'd dreamed about doing for most of my teenage years. In the beginning, starting off in Berlin, everything felt like a bit of a mission. I was enjoying myself - obviously - but I was also super cautious, worrying about x, y and z and all of the potential hazards of being young, female and alone. It was at this point in my trip that I started to get really confident with my travels. I was staying out later in the evenings to explore in the dark and spending time much more comfortably with the people I met in my hostels along the way.

AUGUST - LEEDS FESTIVALIt was during this brief period of the year where I consumed copious amounts of alcohol and cried a lot, although I'm glad it looks like I'm having fun in this photo. Truth be told, I actually was having fun! It was my first evening at Leeds Festival towards the end of August. I was sporting blue eyeliner and greasy fishtail plaits, covered in glitter, freezing cold and wet, and running mostly on adrenaline. I volunteered with Oxfam at the festival this year and wrote a post about my experience which you can view here! It was a really good experience to be part of a friendly little community and to actually be fundraising money for really important causes through the work I did. It also got me a free ticket into the festival, access to semi-decent toilets, a few free meals and a nice, clean campsite. It was an especially challenging time, but I'm so glad I spent that week disconnected from the rest of the world and powering through.

OCTOBER - BACK AT UNIVERSITY

This photo was taken during Leeds Light Night in October which was a cool way to see a different side of a city that I've been getting to know much better this year, as I now commute to and from to work part-time there. I felt so relieved at this point in the year to be getting stuck back into university and enjoying having a solid routine and something worthwhile to concentrate on again. With hindsight, having just completed the first term of my second year, I think perhaps I was a bit naive! I'm feeling quite wiped out from the all of the stress, long days and late nights but I'm hopeful that it'll all have been worth it when I get the marks on my latest assignments back in January.

NOVEMBER - TURNING TWENTY

I'd spent a huge amount of time thinking about my birthday this year. The big two-oh was a daunting prospect and I'm still not totally comfortable with saying it when someone asks my age! Here I am cutting my (very adult-appropriate) rainbow sprinkle cake which I was really excited about. I really enjoyed my birthday and it felt good to spend it with friends, even if the night didn't exactly go to plan - hasn't that been the story of my life this year, anyway? It's strange that the idea of being an adult was so different in my mind as a child/teenager than it is in reality. I think about life back in 2008 and it feels like it was only a few years ago, as though time has barely even passed during all of those years. I expect it'll feel the same when I think about 2016 in a decade's time. 

 It's a sad truth that a lot of 2016's moments have been stored in some distant, detached part of my brain which I can't really bare to revisit yet, but I have huge amounts of hope and determination that this time next year, I'll be sat here typing away with total positivity about the way that 2017 unfolded. I hope that things will be going spectacularly on the career-front and that I'll have bagged the internship of my dreams. I hope that I'll feel at peace with my own personal conflicts and that the world will be a less hostile place. In particular, I hope I'll be able to say that my health, wellbeing and happiness remained the priority in every decision I made. 
No distractions and no precious moments wasted.